I have been thinking about the “church” a lot in the last couple of month. Especially the “American Church.” Many of the main denominations have been lukewarm for quite some time it seems that some have completely departed from the faith.
They are far from what the early church was, who relied on the Holy Spirit. Nothing was done without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
A friend of mine, posted a message just today having similar concerns about the church. Are we doing what we were asked to do? Are we helping those in need? Feed the poor and take care of orphans and widows as Jesus commanded us?
Don’t misunderstand me, there are those who have a genuine heart to do the great commission and are doing a great job helping those in need.
I am speaking in general, the overall picture that I am getting is that some churches as I said before are lukewarm, watering down the gospel, trying not to offend anybody. They do not want to mention the word sin, let alone the blood of Christ.
They just want people to feel comfortable and cozy and enjoy little “sermonette’s.”
Others are trying to be more contemporary, putting on concerts with so-called Christian Bands that don’t look all that much different from Nirvana or the Foo Fighters.
There are so many activities going on around church, that one can loose track of which one to attend. It is sad to see the increase of activities and the rapid decline of teaching the word of truth.
I’m not singling out one particular church or churches, I see a movement within the American Churches that worries me a bit. There is for one a movement called “Religious Pluralism” or “Interfaith movement” which I wrote a few weeks ago about that is sweeping the churches, especially those who were already pretty much in agreement with the world and have compromised the true gospel.
I see this movement to be more “Contemprovant” in many churches and it does worry me to a degree. We now need light shows and PA systems that Metallica would be happy to have when they go on tour. Whatever happened to the more simple things? A time of worship and praise, followed by a study from the word of God? Why does everything has to look like modern and up to date?
The early church didn’t have any of that and there was no need to have any of those modern things like light shows, gigantic speakers and worship bands that look just like secular bands with their designer clothing and tattoos (Christian tattoos of course).
There is an old saying that goes something like that: If the Holy Spirit would have been removed from the early church, the church would have ceased to exist. If the Holy Spirit would be removed from today’s churches, 90% of the activities would continue.
Those are just one of my personal thoughts and I’m not saying that I’m right and everybody else is wrong. I’m just voicing some concerns and I would truly appreciate your feedback from either side of this issue.
May the Lord richly bless you and may we not lose our focus on Jesus, as Peter did when he stepped out of the boat to walk on the water as Jesus did. He lost focus and he started to drown. May the church not drown because it has lost it’s focus on Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Here is a link to a Christian Parody video called “Contemprovant”. I think you get the idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giM04ESUiGw
Media 4 Life Ministries 
Amen to that, yes sadly I see this all around me happening in some churches. I see some of it in my own church which is a Calvary Chapel.
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Sad. True. And this has got me praying even harder…for REVIVAL! (Send it, Lord!)
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My pleasure.
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Amen to that one. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
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Any who depart from the Doctrine of the Father, as delivered unto us by the Son, are not members of the Body of Christ. Many open doors and call themselves the Church, but they are far from it in Belief and Practice. The Church exist within the church, whereas there maybe a large number attending services, the true Born-again Believers are a minute remnant. Do not look with the naked eye, but look through the eyes of the Spirit, you will see a different number, and they ‘are’ about their Father’s business!
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“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses…(starting where you are and expanding outwardly)… to the ends of the earth.” When Jesus said this t His disciples, He was also saying it to all who would become believers empowered with His Spirit. There can be no debate about this central doctrine of outreach based on the direct command of Jesus! We either HAVE the empowerment of His Spirit – the evidence of which is a strong desire to obey His command to witness about Jesus – or we don’t have His Spirit as our prime motivator. The church of today in America DOES NOT have the Spirit of the Lord Jesus as its motivator. When was the last time anyone on this post personally witnessed to a non-believer (even a stranger) about the salvation that is available through belief in Jesus as Savior and Lord?
It is NOT the pastor’s fault if his congregation listens to the Gospel and then refuses to go out and share it with the world! It IS the pastor’s fault if he does not insist on having disciple training on a regular basis to equip member with outreach methods and training. It IS the pastor’s fault if he does not promote organized weekly outreach opportunities for the members of his congregation. Bur if he does provide the means, methods, and message for congregants to go and share their faith and they choose not to do so, it is his obligation to the Lord to remind them of their duty as disciples, and then enlist his deacons as outreach leaders to form teams of lay people to do weekly outreach.
We are the Lord’s ambassadors of reconciliation, we are the ‘light of the world”, we are the only ones to whom Jesus gives the Holy Spirit for the empowerment needed to evangelize the whole world! The time is short and the numbers to reach are great and growing! Share the Gospel with someone today!
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Maybe the time has come and God is sifting the church, separating the tares from the wheat.
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Thank you very much. It seems to me after getting much feedback on my social sites, that many people have thought about the condition of the church of today and have similar feelings. Who know’s, maybe there is a change on the horizon or God is sifting the church, separating the tares from the wheat.
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Some well noted points. These are all thoughts I have been rolled over and contemplated many times. Even grieved over. We need to focus on Jesus…without Him there is nothing else…God Bless.
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This is a good question! I have been sad for our churches for a long time, I know most have left it’s first love – Jesus Christ – I pray for bold pastors who will preach both the Glory of Heaven and the true punishment of hell and that we make our own decisions on where we will spend eternity. I think my problems with the church comes from the fact that they preach salvation and when a person comes to Christ they are not taught how to be seperated from the world. I see over and over again how we as Christians are in church – but once we exit the front doors we look and act just like the world – no one would be able to tell us apart. I think this comes from the church not preaching/teaching us how to live a Christian life. There is more that troubles me about our modern church but will leave for another time.
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I think you may have a very good point there Deborah. The early church started in homes, a group of people sharing, loving each other and helping those that needed help. It wasn’t until later that church buildings came to be. Just as Jesus said. The Mustard seed that grew into a tree i.e a monstrosity. We as followers of Christ are suppose to be of one mind and one spirit. Look around how many different denominations and churches we have now and everyone believes that they are the true church. The true church is not a building or denomination, the church is every single true believer, individual stones that make up the house of God. Who knows, maybe one day soon we will see people meeting in their homes again.
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I agree with this post. Where I live we don’t have a lot of mega-churches, but there is little love for the Truth. Salvation by faith is being replaced by more of a social message and a kind of kingdom-now theology. I get tired of hearing “our task is to go with Jesus to restore the Creation” and “to bring justice and equality”. I am personally wondering if the much of the mainstream church will go this way and a remnant will have to come out and meet in homes?
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I agree as we know there will be a great falling away. We see it happening. I love my church we worship the Lord, He is the center. We don’t have the drums or these things that distract from praising and worshiping Him. We sing songs that praise the Lord, thanking him for his promises and saving grace. The truth is preached every week based on inerrant scripture.Per John MacArthur and others, people are being taught easy believe-ism. We know Jesus says, take up your cross and follow me.That path is not and easy one. You must follow His path for you, forgetting self and serving others. He provides all we need in His word. We must be connected, and fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters. This is a true church of God. I am not saying all mega churches are not true to scripture. I know I would not want to watch a preacher on a big screen broadcast. I need him to be there physically and to know him and his family. I saw nothing about God in this video except to ask Him how much to give them.
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Some very good points and something to ponder upon. I don’t have all the answers, waiting to see some feedback on this post. I might add some additional thoughts to it later. Thanks for the comment.
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I kinda wonder about the pastors…what is going on in their minds??? With America in the declined position it is in…could it be the so called Mega Church is part of the problem…
Volume…and numbers are associated with and vocabulary for big business…can 20 shepards manage a flock of 20,000? Keeping sheep is not easy, and people are even harder…I come from a mega church and have had a front seat to this growth…lots of money involved! They say its a proof of Gods blessing…but most of the people in the heirarchy are anything but humble! Most of what they do is showcase themselves and their families while the majority of the church are bystanders…
I have seen some of these pastors loose children and wonder what God may be trying to say to them…I dont purport to know Gods mind at all, I just wonder if God is in it or if its
Their need for significance….Its hard to put it out there, but these questions need to be asked. I am aware of how hard to Ppwatch someone loose a child, but its not just about them….
Its about the church at large…and not to minimalize the loss, but to raise hard questions we all need to answer…is the church in the US going to be considered by God a failure???
Something to ponder…
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