Our turbulent times are shaking basic institutions of American life, including the church. Gallup’s report that 47% of U.S. adults belong to a church or synagogue or mosque, down 20 points from the year 2000, has church people talking, maybe even panicked.
This morning I saw a post on “Buzz Feed” quoting why people left church. “The church we went to was a really boisterous, hallelujah type place… So I went to the bathroom to try and avoid a full blown panic attack. When I was in there a few ladies crowded me and were saying I should take the panic as a sign that the Lord was flowing through me.” Another, “I think church is mostly a social group for people with similar cultural beliefs, more than an exercise in spirituality.” Another, “I started to realize that the teachings of the church weren’t Biblical. Every Sunday the pastor would talk about righteousness that was really nationalism.” “Raw Story” quoted well-known Christian blogger, Paul Maxwell, “I think it’s important to say that I’m just not a Christian anymore, and it feels really good.”
Looking at American society, we see substitute saviors, like politics (my kind, of course, not yours), economy (getting what I deserve) and the like. When we look at the church, do we see a substitute for the Savior? When the dominant culture put Christians on the defensive, St. Peter wrote, “It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God” (1 Peter 4:17). As I observe and read, I wonder if we have unwittingly substituted the life and activity of our congregations for Jesus. Have we put so many filters on the Jesus revealed to us in the Gospels, that He might say, “I never knew you”? (Matthew 7:23). I’m not accusing, just wondering.
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