• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Bible Reflection Ideas have consequences

Ideas have consequences

Posted on January 2, 2021 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment


Ideas always have consequences.

Bad ideas always have negative consequence.

The bad idea I have in mind this morning is the thought that it is up to us to reinvent the church to make it more relevant to current cutlure.

I am reminded of a paragraph I read a while ago by Os Guinness:

But where in all this movement is the prayer to match the punditry? Is the church ours to reinvent, or is it God’s? Does the head of the church have anything to say, or do the consultants have the last word? Shouldn’t ‘doing church’ follow from what we believe is the church’s being? Was the church first invented by a previous generation, so that it is our job to do it again, or is the church’s real need for the revival and reformation that can only come from God?

Os Guinness in Prophetic Untimeliness

The root of many church problems is that leaders feel that it is their responsibility to build the church. Christ himself told us that it is His responsibility and His alone. We are not in the driver’s seat. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus plainly told us, “I will build my church.”

We are called to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ. Jesus put it succinctly in the Great Commission:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

Matthew 28:18–20a, ESV

We are not called to tweak the gospel to make it align with current social justice theory. We are not called to downplay the message that we are sinful and in need of a savior. We are not called to adjust our message to make it more palatable to our generation.

But too often leaders have redefined the success of the church in terms of budget numbers and attendance. When the focus is transferred to attendance or giving, there is a not-so-subtle pressure to change the message for fear of offending those who attend which would result in a reduction in giving. In response to this pressure, too often the church substitutes glitz for substance.

What prompted this post is the pain that has been caused by a church in my area that formerly was healthy but has fallen into this trap. Ongoing conversations have revealed that too many families (my own included) have been hurt because that church has ceased offering spiritual nourishment in an effort to conform to the ideas of current church growth “experts.”

It is my hope that in 2021, we will see a renewed desire in believers for being taught the full counsel of God in the Scriptures and that we will have a reduced tolerance for churches that focus on numbers rather than on true spiritual growth.

We need to put away the spiritual Twinkies and hunger after a healthy spiritual diet.

Maybe we should pass on the large auditorium and open our Bibles in our living rooms instead.

If you are encouraged by this post or would like to make a comment, please use the comment form below to offer your feedback. I enjoy hearing from you.


Filed Under: Bible Reflection

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

G. K. Chesterton

Chesterton on original sin

Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved.

Knock

Ask, Seek and Knock

Luke 11:9–10 (ESV) 9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. In response to these […]

Dread fear

You shall not be in dread of them

Moses said to the Israelites: “You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.” (Deuteronomy 7:21, ESV) Yet being in dread of the Canaanites is exactly what the Israelites had experienced. They allowed their fear to overwhelm their faith. They had ample […]

Foot Washing

Be served to serve

While we have not had the experience of physical foot washing, as Christians we have had the experience of receiving forgiveness for our sin and failure. That knowledge of forgiveness should be the engine that drives us to offer forgiveness to others. We have been served so that we can serve others.

Young Golfer

It is worth doing badly

The fact that I sometimes do the Christian life badly does not diminish the truth of who Jesus is and what he came to accomplish. The Christian life is worth living, even if I fall short of where I think I ought to be in my level of spiritual maturity.

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
January 2023
SMTWTFS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031 
« Dec    

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2023 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in