Things I Think…
1. I think there are as many truly regenerated Christians outside the institutional church as inside of it…. and at this juncture in history, they are the ones following Jesus…who has also left most of the buildings…
2. More people own more Bibles than at any time in history and more people who own them are utterly biblically illiterate despite that…
3. A cursory reading of the New Testament reveals that regenerate Christians are assumed to be in a state of transformation that is measured more in behaviors and attitudes than doctrine…and doctrine without the behaviors and attitudes is suspect at best and damning at worst…
4. A cursory reading of the New Testament also reveals that God is deeply concerned with the development of His people, not so much the sins of the world…
5. A cursory reading of the New Testament declares that world is changed through observing the behaviors and attitudes of the people of God by the power of the Spirit. The “church” is to be so radically different it draws attention to itself…
6. A cursory reading of the New Testament defines the primary difference to be exhibited is love for each other and the world…love that destroys tribal, racial, and national lines to create one people of God…
7. A cursory reading of the New Testament makes clear that the people of God should be most concerned about the holiness of the church, not the moral failings of the world and when they are not…they become just like that which they claim to despise…
8. A cursory reading of the New Testament brings the understanding that Gods power is displayed through sacrificial love and suffering…and any other power is derived from the world and cannot accomplish the works of God…
9. A cursory reading of the New Testament reveals that most American Christians have never read the New Testament in even a cursory manner…
10. There are none more ignorant than those who believe themselves already wise and none more dangerous than those who think themselves holy without Christ…
I would say “all of them”, but #10 sums it all up. We’ve branded a whole bunch of things as Christian or anti-Christian that aren’t, and we are listening to liars. Case in point-everything in the Twittersphere about the Pelosi incident in San Francisco (my home town-I’m very familiar with the interesting politics there). It just sickens me.
Thank you , Linn…I couldn’t keep it in anymore…
🙁
I am aware of churches in my area who either haven’t swallowed the KoolAid, or are discouraging political “talk” (that would be my church). I have a pretty good idea of the safe people in my church I can have a good discussion with , but even then, I am careful.
It needs to be said, Michael.
Thank you, CK…I wish it were not so…
“ I think there are as many truly regenerated Christians outside the institutional church as inside of it”
Yep. And more and more I’m starting to think my destiny is to join their ranks.
I prayerfully hope that, just as the church has gone through other phases (the Satanic Panic, for example), that we’ll all decide how stupid we were and get on the true kingdom matters, like loving our neighbors, the witness of the gospel, and the edification of the saints.
pstrmike,
I haven’t got this completely figured out…but I can see the possibility that those “outside the camp” need pastors who are out there too…
Linn,
Those were fads…what is happening now has transformed the church itself…
Skimming through the Bible one or two days a week at church is a very insufficient form of “study”.
JD,
Indeed…
True…It may be because it happened when I was overseas. I came home one summer and just wanted to get back to “normal” Colombia as fast as i could.
I ponder sometimes about early believers who were so Christlike to be called little christs, as an insult by their neighbors, while only sharing & living the spoken words passed on to them by disciples.
Anne,
It’s a wonder … but they were simply following what the Word actually says…
I am glad to have found a church whose leadership and many of its people understand these truths gained by a “cursory reading”.
I also still often get discouraged living in a culture where so many self-declared “biblical” Christians do not understand them and act and speak in manners opposite to them.
It would seem that the greatest tool Satan uses to render the American church ineffective is deception.
Kevin H,
I think what has me so concerned is that the deception is so deep…
Amen to all of them. Well maybe I shouldn’t say Amen. It is probably better to say your observations are spot on and it would be better if these things were never so. But alas, here we are with the need to say what needs to be said because those things are so.
Two thoughts:
Sometimes I feel I am becoming Biblically illiterate as much of the way I understood, interpreted, and especially applied them is shed while at the same feeling I understand the basic tenets of the faith better than ever.
While it is true that there are many regenerate people outside the institutional church let me just say, though I can neither confirm or deny from experience, that it is often a very lonely place. Freedom often has unforseen consequences.
Bonus thought:
I was saddened to learn of a missionary that during the last election who lost some of their monthly support because of his opposition to Trump. Thankfully a couple churches outside the USA, who obviously are not enamored with American politics, filled in their budgetary gaps and then some.
Yes, perhaps it helped having living examples of those who lived the words of Jesus that were actually heard long before men began debating what Jesus must of meant, how to turn it into a book to help expand & control their earthly kingdoms both secular & religious. Before those who would control the narrative became once again bearers of law rather than grace. 🤔
Shawn,
I think as we mature in the faith we often feel we are less literate….because the Holy Spirit shows us different things we didn’t see before or different possibilities about things we once were certain about.
I spend less time these days on being doctrinally precise about secondary matters and more time trying to understand the heart of God and the way of Jesus…
Anne,
That is a good insight…and true…
Maybe I should look for a job being pastor to those who have left the institutionalized church 😁. Michael, on another note, my wife and I are giving serious consideration into retiring in Southern Oregon. We are looking for a senior manufactured homes park. We are driving up next month for a few days.
Bob,
I seriously think there is a need for this kind of ministry…it dawned on me that it’s what I’ve been doing for 30 plus years already.
I’d love to have you here…but Southern Oregon ain’t what it used to be…
I was in Portland last year. It’s a far cry from when I left in 1985!
Bob,
I can’t fathom what Portland has become…but we’re on the way there…
Michael
The fact that most of these churches are so susceptible to deception indicates that they haven’t taken the Bible seriously for a generation. Trump and his ilk may have provided permission and a political base, but the powder was already packed just waiting for someone to light the fuse…
Duane,
Indeed.
Look at any post where we exposed evil in the church and you will find in the comments that many have been catechized for deception…
Duane,
Your comment brings to mind a comment by John Stott about the American church…a mile wide and an inch deep. I do think this well predates the Trump ascendancy. That just brought it to a boil.
#10
Holiness is a religious construct. If one does not believe Jesus is the answer, why would anyone want to achieve an ideal concept of people from someone else? That will never make sense to me. It seems to me the opposite of holiness in the mind of Christianity is merely individuality.
No surprise, some Christians are joining in the jokes and conspiracy theories concerning the Pelosi family… They apparently think that an attack on an 82-year-old man is somehow funny…
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/november-web-only/nancy-pelosi-politics-violence-post-truth-church.html
Russ Moore (at Duane’s link above me) so nailed the truth.
life in Christ outside the walls of organized religious institutions is unimaginable until one actually goes there–not on a recon mission, but to live. I struggle to compare, but feel more honest, humble, genuine, and approachable on matters of faith & the gospel. It is so sad to see so many who name the Name fall for the hoaxes that beleaguer our communities. Lord, have mercy.
Amen, Michael, amen