Matthew 16:17-19
And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
I believe that the modern day expression of the church has become obsolete. Yep. That is a glaringly harsh opening statement. Maybe even heretical to some people, however over the next couple of posts I will show you truths and principles that will prove to you that we have become obsolete, but also that we must change in order to keep the church advancing.
I believe that November 6th, 2012 will go down in the books as one of the most memorable days in our countries history. Why do I say that and what does that have to do with the church? I say it because it is the year that the people voted for a second term for President Obama, even in light of four years of his failed presidency that stood against everything America was founded on. It was the year the majority of America knowingly voted for socialism and all the handouts people could get from the government.
I was shocked to see it among my own church. Shortly, before the election I found out several people in my church and among my other relationships were voting for President Obama. When I asked them about several key issues to me according to my understanding of the Scripture, I came to find out that there were a ton of issues why they were choosing him, however the Bible wasn’t at the top of those lists. In nearly every case it was because they believed that government had an obligation to provide something for them, whether that was health care or same sex marriage, or that Republicans are evil and Jesus would side with those who feed the poor, or that conservatives are war mongers and Jesus would side with the pacifists, or “I am not a single issue voter anymore…Abortion shouldn’t determine a president”.
November 6th, 2012 is also the year there was a clarion call that the church as it is constituted now has become obsolete. Across the board, when we hear about the statistics, the church at large is retreating instead of advancing. You might ask why I say that, and you would be smart to ask me that question.
Here are some reasons I believe that the church as organized and operated today has become obsolete: Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world; the largest donor to non-profit religious organizations is Budweiser at 4 billion per year; over 50% of Christians give nothing to the local church and of the others who give something, less than 6% give 10%; less than 50% of professing Christians believe the Bible is the word of God; there is virtually no difference between the divorce rate of non-believers and the church; and across the nation church attendance and conversions to a belief in Jesus Christ are shrinking. Need I say more?
November 6th, 2012 was a signal that the way the West, specifically America, does church, must change and will have to change within ten years. I am not a prophet by any stretch of the imagination, however, I can with complete certainty tell you that we are not accomplishing the mission that the Lord Jesus gave us to do; and with the change in the culture we will be less effective than we have ever been unless we change our strategy and our methods.
Image: 1927 Ford Model T; ploaded by Oxyman; author: Joost J. Bakker from IJmuiden
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
