September 24, 2008 9:50 AM

 

Sad, Sad News

I received this email yesterday. It speaks for itself:

With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person, which almost went unnoticed last week. Larry LaPrise, the man who wrote 'The Hokie Pokey' died peacefully at the age of 93. The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in. And then the trouble started.

Shut up. You know it's funny. Now send it on to someone else and make them smile.

(I am a shamelessly easy mark; this sent me into a giggle fit.)

The Division of the Church

There are two kinds of Christians in the world today --those who mean it, and those who don't. God Bless the Catholics who put the following message together:

There is a useful way of understanding the many divisions of the Christian church today, and it really doesn't involve traditionally "conservative" or "liberal" labels. It has nothing to do with the church's take on the last days, on the sacraments, on prophecy, or on worship music.

When I think of a church, my first impulse is to ask, "will fellowship here make me any better a believer, and will it make my community any better?"

Another way of putting this is very simple: on earth, in the here and now, is your church real, or is it pointless?

Nearly all Christian churches weigh in on the issue of salvation, and well they should, but they differ in one critical respect. Does the church have anything to say about the way you live your life and the way the broader culture functions? Is your church bold enough to weigh in on political issues? Does it have anything very coherent to say about the law, about film, about music?

There are some folks--Whoopi Goldberg comes to mind--who are scandalized that the church would have anything at all to say about the law, or about society. (Whoopi asked John McCain, in hushed tones, whether he would ask God, in prayer, about policy. Her version of the separation of church and state meant a president who never prayed very seriously.) These folks like a silent church, or a church that only speaks on an agenda they have chosen. On the far left, there are some churches which are little more than social justice clubs, with just enough scripture to serve as varnish. The media laments the power of the "values voters" associated with evangelical congregations, but if my experience is any guide, there aren't a whole lot of marching orders given at any of these churches. Some Evangelical pastors like John MacArthur even belittle the efforts of Christian political activists, going so far as to question their salvation, by implying they are looking to the government to save them.

I have come to the sad conclusion that most churches studiously try to be as inconsequential as possible. If they do venture outside of their sanctuary, it is to collect market-share points on issues of bland good will. ("Go therefore, into all nations, cleaning highway roadsides and recycling beverage containers.") A friend told me the other day his pastor was worried about tax law if he endorsed proposition 8. ("Go therefore into all nations, giving truthful sermons IF they square with existing tax law.")

In truth, pastors can speak to any issue they like. They can't endorse candidates, but they can talk about issues all day long, if so moved. They don't speak to real contemporary political issues, either because they don't believe Christ has anything to say on the matter--or, more likely, they just make a cowardly surrender to the "peace at any cost" church-growth imperative. Unlike the New England Congregationalists of old, pastors aren't given three year contracts anymore. They depend on the plate, and a sermon that is controversial might halve their take. It takes a very dedicated servant of the Lord to avoid the economic realities.

I don't think, however, that churches have become sluggish merely because of economic fear. Some pastors are proudly, and disdainfully mocking anyone who aims to make better this fallen world. "You're just polishing deck chairs on the titanic, brother," they say, as they get set for the next sound and light system fund raiser and their next prophecy conference. Others disdain tending the vineyard because they nurture "abandonment theology." Christians who build hospitals, who make movies, who run for office, who envision the building of a new city, are just investing in a kind of earth-based legalism.

A lot of Christians wonder why they don't get more converts. It's simple. The pastors have made their faith boring, inconsequential, and irrelevant. They are timid, boring cowards in this life--and that's the way they'll be in the next.

They should spend a little more time studying David, and Ehud, and Joshua, and Peter. With apologies to my boyhood friend, John Eldridge, they should get a little wild at heart.

 

 

More of the Farm Journal -- September 23, 2008