The Invisible Church Split - Part I

There is crack, a crevice almost, through many local church bodies. It splits a single congregation into two, without even the cost of a new building. While not terribly financially wasteful in most cases, it is a fissure that is always very costly.

 imagecred: richardwintle via AventuresInWonderland

The division of which I speak of is in age: the old from the young/the young from the old. We're going to take this slow and really unpack the issue. My goal is to deal with how I personally see it manifested globally and locally. (I would love to hear your personal observations as well!) I'd then like to look at the consequences on the mission of the gospel both worldwide and regionally. And thirdly, we'll go over some things each of us can do to make a difference where we are. (Hopefully I can keep myself from proposing giant generalizations that are unrealistic such as "if we'd all just...work at it!") 

What Division

I recently discussed this issue with a Spiritual leader of mine. When I hinted at the line down the middle of the room in one particular situation she looked at me with such a cluelessness that I laughed! She hadn't noticed it until I pointed it out, partly because she isn't part of the problem so she couldn't imagine young and old Christians treating each other as if they're aliens to be held at a safe distance!

In The Local Church

I'm sure there are many ways in which it appears in individual bodies, but here are things that I've observed in my own and other congregations. This is one issue on which I'd LOVE to receive e-mails/comments from you describing what you see.

• Lack of discipleship among believers of different generations: I know you've heard from me before on this issue, but it's the first one that comes to mind. If we weren't so afraid of each other (of judgement and approval, of vulnerability, of what we might have to say to each other...) or making our minds up without giving the other a chance, we could all learn a ton!(Titus 2:1-8)
• Lack of fellowship (inter-generational relationships): Plain and simple: we're not friends. This is not a rule, but for the most part I don't see a lot of 40+ or 50+ couples chillin' with the newlyweds, college age and high school students. Within the church, we are all equal in this: we we're outside, condemned to eternal seperation from our Creator and we have all been brought near through the Redeeming blood of Christ. Something about "those young'ns" and "those old fogies" makes us act as if we are different kinds of Christians. (Prov 27:9, Rom 3:21-25)
• Literal church splits and/or migrations: This is not an ingenious epiphany. Many have noted the increase in young people planting their own churches and leaving the grey-haired behind in a congregation with no long-term future. Young people reject the wisdom of those who've been around the block and so many experienced believers stand on non-Biblical convictions and "the way things are". Eventually someone says, "Fine, we'll just go do it our way."(Prov 16:31; 20:29)
• The physical line: Show up to your local worship service, maybe even Bible study or small group and the chances are you find this. It may appear as a line down the middle of the room, certain areas or rows that have an unspoken weekly reservation or maybe just large generationally discriminant pockets/groups. I have to be very open and honest with this one. This doesn't happen quite so much in our worship services, although everyone has "their spot" and in a rural community I think they pretty much get passed down in the will! However, I do attend a multi-generational Bible study where there has been some finger-pointing at "you young people" based on purely extra-Biblical convictions. One time I happened to sit next to another young mother who sensed my frustration simply because my body stiffened at the conversation going on around us. I (working on being slow to speak) knew I couldn't address the issue right then without overreacting in passion. She jumped in and said exactly what I wished I could have without blowing a fuse. I really appreciated her support and so I naturally migrated to the seat next to her around the table weekly. Slowly, everyone under 40 migrated to that side of the circle leaving everyone else to their own side. It was never intentional but I knew exactly what had happened.
• Failing programs: Without the wisdom of plenty of mature Christians of all ages AND the attendance of Christians (and unsaved in some cases) who have plenty to learn, also of all ages: well intended programs, classes and services die. You probably already know how I feel about cookie-cutter programs, but when people serve in the manner their community needs, people come to know the Lord and grow to be more like Him. This requires breaking generational gaps to be completely effective. Otherwise, we are severely limiting the amount of discipleship that could be happening.

These are just a few of the things that came to my mind as I write. Like I said, I'm sure there are more (maybe even obvious ones that I'm missing like my dear friends missed our physical line in Bible study).

Very soon we'll discuss the effects and some possible solutions. In the mean time, I look forward to hearing from you on what you see!

Do you notice any age separation in the church? If so, please share!

The church is a whore, but she is my mother.

I should start out by explainging that the title is a quote from St Augustine. Now that you're not completely ready to eat me alive, I'll get to my own narrative.

All of you who either follow my blog or read it through Facebook (or encounter me on the street for that matter) will have some idea of my frustrations with the church. This is not specifically with the congregation in which I worship corporately, but with the global Christian church. Without specifically going into my "beefs" with the Body (of which I am a part, just know that I don't think we are honoring God with our functions, resources, worship or envageliistic efforts by doing them in manner He has asked us to. I also believe that this is all very much our own doing. This statement also warrants more explanation than I intend to give right now, but maybe I can give it another post on a another day.

In all my passion and offense at the adultery and no forth of the church, I've wavered back forth on one very tough issue: where do I direct my frustrations. This is not merely an issue of who to talk to; I often wonder who to be mad at. An older (than us) youth pastor told me to be mad at the enemy. As I pondered this, I felt like it was giving Satan and demons to much credit and not holding Christians accountable for their actions and attitudes. But after reading one author's expounding on the title quote, the Spirit led me to understand why I should direct my frustration at the enemy.

To paraphrase Augustine, while the church has been a whore, she is still my mother. I can't leave her any more than I could my own mother. - Adam McLane from his article Open-Source Theology for Immerse Journal

If you were to spend any amount of time ministering to prostitutes, sex slaves or rape victims (or the many who have been all three) you would soon find yourself quite angry at the men responsible for making those women (and men) believe lies that led them to, forced them into or kept them in their appalling situation. You would see that, while their situation is horrid, the prostitute or victim has the kind of soul that Jesus died to save. Your disgust for the evil and deception that got her(him) there would ingite a compassion and passion to remove them from the burdens of their situation.

Likewise, who should we get angry at when we see the Body (and individual members of it) hurting itself? The father of lies. In a losing battle with the everlasting Father, Satan's best offensive is to seduce His Bride and mislead His children.

While I know all to well how difficult it is to keep this big picture in mind when confronted with the frequent "missing the mark" of the local church and conflicts with individual members of the Body, it is all very important to remember. Even when we witness the body injuring itself, we are to act as we would to the promisicuous sex-slave as we fight to free her. Our passion for the the church should never pit us against her. It should always spur us to humble obedience of the simple (and yet obviously very difficult) demands for the church in the Word. I would like to reiterate that we must (pick up our crosses and) follow Jesus, not the ideas of what the church should look like that men have conjured.

I repent of unhealthy attitudes I have portrayed before you all and my Saviour. It's hard for me to know any other way than to tell everyone to stop everything they're doing and start over (something I've had to do myself over and over btw). I'll finish with this, Bonhoeffer's words from his biography by Eric Mataxas:

Here I meet people as they are, far from the masquerade of "the Christian world", people with passions, criminal types, small people with small aims, small wages and small sins—all in all they are people who feel homeless in both senses, and who begin to thaw when one speaks to them with kindness—real people; I can only say that I have gained the impression that it is just these people who are much more under grace than under wrath, and that it is the Christian world that is more under wrath than grace.

I Am A Whore I Do Confess (Games Optional)

Yesterday I was thinking about situations within the congregation in which I serve. I was thinking about how many people have betrayed or degraded me when all I'm trying to do is tell people about Jesus and glorify God. They don't understand how much I care for the Church. They don't understand that all I want is Jesus and all I want for their kids is Jesus. That's why I do what I do...The thought popped into my head something like this:

"I'm tired of fighting for people who just keep taking from me." And right at that moment, Jesus reminded me (once again) that that is exactly what He did for me, through torture and to death. I, given the choice, am a traitor, a denier and a failure, and knowing that, He died for me. It brings a whole new meaning to "while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" and the second half of "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."

So, every week I spend hours praying, studying and teaching for students, most of whose parents and fellow church-goers would trade us in (if they haven't tried already) for a less-pierced middle-aged couple who will play lots of games and acquire a budget from the board to bring in huge bands and conferences. I'm sure I don't need to tell you, of course, how all of this would have minimal, if any, eternal value and that God's Word and His redemption require no make-over.

He is glorious. (on His own)
He is good. (and sovereign)
And He is willing, that none should perish; even us adulterous people whom he constantly has to remind that He has bought with His life.

Go into all the world and preach the good news, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.
(games, pretty logos, etc optional)

One more false doctrine, thousands more deceived people.

I have been extremely hungry for God's Word lately. I, not of myself, have been digging way deep into the verses I've been reading. Not even so deep in interpretation but in the context, culture and geography. I feel super connected to what the Bible says when I can see where it took place on a map or read about the same details in a secular source. I don't need those things to believe it's true, but I do understand it better or I enjoy it more or something.

Anyways, I was tracking the Israelites exodus from Egypt when a Google ad on the side bar said this, "How Jesus REALLY Saves : Jesus saves, but not by 'washing away sins' or by 'appeasing the Father'".

I thought it was interesting so I took the bait. It leads to a website for the "New Church" which is founded on the Bible AND the writings of one Emanuel Swedenborg.

I'll get straight to the point. I have some issues with Swedenborg and his New Church. (I'm sure you didn't see that coming.) However, I'm a fan of the sandwich method; so let's start with something good.

+Swedenborg was way ahead of the trend. As I'll point out in a minute (okay maybe two), he preceded our post-modern universalist tendencies by a century or more. I know he had many predecessors, but it seems to me that people should make at least a little fuss over him considering the ruckus Rob Bell caused. So my positive peace of bread number one: trend setter.

Now for the meat, or my beef so to speak with Swedenborg. I briefly considered just copying some of the New Church doctrinal statements from the websites followed by the scripture it directly contradicts. But instead I'll just summarize and briefly address a couple of my findings:

-To begin with, they (the adherents to the New Church doctrines) believe that people become angels. In Job 38:4-7, then angels sang when God made the earth (before humans where made) and in Hebrews 2:7 Jesus was made lower than the angels when He became human. Even in Revelation, both angels and people are described worshipping God around His throne showing that in Heaven there will be both angels and humans, two separate kinds.

-They believe that everyone goes to heaven except those who choose hell, they don't think you have to believe in Jesus to have eternal life AND they don't believe God judges. Holy cow! Where do I start?! Let's go with John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life (emphasis mine) ,1 John 5:12-13 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life and Psalm 7:11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.

+I think that's enough meat for today. I'm sure I've already lost a few peope. Positive piece of bread number two. Swedenborg and the New Church have something that sadly makes them very appealing to many people. In one of the explanations of what New Christianity is, they state that it makes sense because it's built on common sense. Congratulations folks! You've just tugged on the brain strings of many rational seekers. Unfortunately, human knowledge and reason on nothing worth putting faith in and it definitely can't save your soul. Why would you want to serve a god who is limited to the confines of you intellect?

I find many silarities between Mormonism and the followers of Swedenborg's writings. But I am deeply saddened by Swedenborgism for two reasons. One, the flesh wants to believe his bad doctrinal statements because they are so rational. And two, the heresies sound so close to the Truth that many could be easily deceived. Often it is a small phrase within a large paragraph that turns their whole position upside-down.

I'll close with this warning from God's Word, 2 Peter 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

I'm a Scoundrel

      "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This last half of Romans 5:8 is familiar to many. As I was spending time in the Word this morning, I was taken aback by what we're missing from this passage.

Let's imagine some things for just a moment.  A renowned physician known for his caring generosity has been in a boating accident at the lake your family is vacationing at. It would require risking your life to safe him. Worth it? Maybe. He could touch and even save many lives in his lifetime.

     One of the neighbors near your summer cabin has fallen down a mining cavern known to have disease causing agents in it. Is it worth risking your long term health to save him? Perhaps. I mean, he is my neighbor, and a good man and all.

     An obviously inebriated man in a bar fight is thrown in the street, cussing and swearing at his aggravators. You might have enough time to safely drag him out from in front of the city bus that's headed his way. Do you step out and take that chance? Maybe not.

     Even the stuff of Hollywood is about saving those who have a life worthy of living. Denzel Washington's character gave his life to save a young girl with a full life ahead of her in Man on Fire. In The Lord of the Rings book and movie trilogy, Gandalf fell to his death for the sake of the Fellowship, which was on a mission to save Middle Earth. Over and over, people are willing to give their lives so that ones with a promising future might live. I mean really, who would want to cease to exist for the sake of a drug dealer, adulterer or thief?

     Let's read the surrounding verses with that oh so familiar Romans quote. "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."

That is love. I am that person; that drunk man, that sinner that would be hard to die for. My pride gives me up. It proves I'm a scoundrel. I steal time, money and service from people who have legitimate needs. I withhold honor that belongs to the very Man who died for me, a sinner, and saved me from wrath. That truly is amazing grace.