I’ve been so busy lately that I have lacked sufficient time to articulate my thoughts and convictions—to write and share the things that I believe God is teaching me through my life experiences, through the study of His Word, and through careful observation of the life of Jesus. Still, five things have been weighing heavily on my heart that I need to share:
That the Church of Jesus Christ has been off track early & often throughout its history. Jesus never imagined that His movement would digress in a moral code sustained through religious gatherings at the beginning (or end) of every week. Jesus never imagined that 90% of the resources entrusted to His church would be invested in buildings rather than people, and in programs rather than ministry. Jesus never imagined that His church would become a counter-culture or sub-culture but rather a light to whatever culture it existed within. I’m not calling into question the omniscience of Jesus, but rather the faithfulness of His church.
That real Christianity cannot be reduced to any political party or ideological persuasion. Too many Christians equate GOP with GOD and this is little more than the Hebrews clamoring for a king during the age of the Judges—and with similar results: spiritual confusion and political tomfoolery. The reality is that neither political party in America has Jesus in mind. Furthermore, Jesus never espoused Nationalism and would have been horrified at the prospect of exceptionalism (American or otherwise). His Way is one of humility rather than pride, of peace rather than partisanship, and of servanthood rather than power. I respect the government as an agent of justice, but I reject it as anything more.
That Jesus defined righteousness in very different terms than Christians define righteousness. We often define “righteousness” as living without sin, as relative morality, and as refraining from various sins that are most offensive to our personal values. A better definition of righteousness is “being conformed to the nature of God.” However, Jesus defined “the righteous” as those who feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, and heal the sick. How can we possibly promote the Gospel of Jesus without any kind of emphasis on such things? Praise God for His grace because His church has miserably failed to meet this standard.
That God is calling us to the urban populations of our society. I confess this is a very personal conviction (and contextualized to my experience). Every person badly needs Jesus, regardless of his or her locale. However, America is filled with churches (particularly suburban and rural) that have missed a large part of the Gospel. The Gospel calls us to go to all the people of the world. And particularly to go to the marginalized people within our societies: the poor & downtrodden, the homeless & helpless—to the people that are powerless to help themselves. And most of these people are found in the urban corners of our society. I wish that God would call me to a rich suburban community, but I see nothing in the life of Jesus or His Apostles to support such a calling.
That American Christians are willing to give but unwilling to sacrifice. That’s the crux of the matter, is it not? Sacrifice. Jesus came to give no matter the sacrifice. His followers are willing to give, but few are willing to sacrifice. We’re not afraid to give our money, but we’re afraid to give up our amenities. Consider this: If 200 Christian families would give up their cable television & internet (at approximately $100 a month), then that would create nearly half a million dollars over two years for real-life ministry. But how many Christians are willing to give up ESPN and FOX NEWS? The earliest Disciples walked away from their homes, jobs, politics and traditions to follow Jesus—ultimately they paid the price with their blood. They followed in the footsteps of Jesus as they articulated the message of Christianity and initiated the Church. How can we call ourselves Jesus-followers if we have made little or no tangible sacrifices to bless people with the Gospel?
All said, I have neither lost faith in Jesus nor His church. However, I have lost faith in the traditions of the modern-evangelical church (and have never put faith in the “social gospel”). My heart’s desire is to plant and lead churches that are faithful with the whole Gospel, that are patterned after Christ and His Word, and that do two things: (1) bring people to heaven; and (2) bring heaven to people.
