Modern Christianity has completely lost its appeal. I don’t mean to say that Christ has lost his appeal, but rather that Christianity as a movement, or fad, or culture has. I don’t really know when this happened. Christianity used to be about having a personal relationship with Christ, but now it seems to be more about fitting into a particular culture, about conforming to a prescribed Christian culture rather than conforming to Christ himself. Someone please tell me, when did worshipping God become solely a musical preference? And when did the measure of spiritual maturity become determined by how many Christian books you’ve read or whether or not you’re on stage? Worse still, when did Christianity become just another advertisement, a label that I can somehow buy for myself if I just listen to the right music, read the right books, or say the right words?
Most of the time when I go to church, or even take the time to watch church services online or on tv, I feel like I’m going to a concert or watching a performance. Fancy lights, cool bands, and projector screens fill the stage area as hundreds of people passively sit by. I can’t help but wonder how many people would be there if we did not have such things. If we had no building to meet in, no Christian books to read, no Christian CDs to buy, no family festivals or youth group outings…if it were just the body of Christ, the Word of God, and Christ Himself…how many of us would take the time to meet? The fact is that materialism has the church in its grips. Yes, materialism is still materialism even when what you’re acquiring is “Christian.”
I’m not here to say that any of these things in themselves are wrong. On the contrary, they’re not at all. I’m just here to say that we must examine our minds and hearts and observe whether or not such a mentality has taken its hold of us. Are we following the Jesus of the Bible or are we following a Christian culture substitute? Are our church numbers growing because we’re reaching out with the Gospel or because we’re merely bringing in more like-minded people from other churches? Where is our money going? Where is our church money going? Are we buying what is necessary? Does what we are spending money on serve even the tiniest purpose to further the Gospel? Are we ourselves intentionally giving our time and money to the church or are we just another one of the Sunday masses? I ask these questions not to judge, but with a heavy and convicted heart, because I too have fallen prey to the trappings of materialism, selfishness, and the general desire to be a “cool” Christian. I see this in the young and old in the church, and I see this in myself.
It is my hope and prayer that we will no longer settle for mere books about Jesus, sermons about Jesus, or music about Jesus, but only for Jesus himself. I pray that we make room for the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and in our churches, letting him lead us rather than trying to lead Him with our prescribed songs, sermons, and routines. The church is dying, and giving the church a new hip Christian image is not what is going to bring it back to life, but rather a dedication to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If you believe that anything other than this will ignite passion in the hearts of the people, then you have been deceived, because apart from Christ our efforts are useless.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)
Don't you think its time we stopped worshipping the fruit or branches and started worshiping the vine who has given them to us?
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1 comment:
Amen!
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