This isn’t fun to say. And it’s difficult to impossible to hear. But church is dying. To be clear, I don’t mean THE church. But what church is, these days, in America, reveals the death of what it’s supposed to be.
And because church is dying, I tend to stay away.
Because I’m not the peace, love, and joy kind of Christian. So, if and when I attend a church that doesn’t rightly divide the word of truth, I can’t just sit quietly and listen. And that includes the vast majority of churches I see or read about these days.
It’s not easy to discern, just by reading about them on a website, whether a church is dying or not. Because I believe many of them copy and paste their position statements. Of course, I can’t prove that. But it sure seems to be the case when paragraphs sound almost identical. If not literally, at least the essence.
And this morning I looked up churches in the city where I am right now. After using certain search terms, I discovered a church with some pretty good “position statements.”
For example, on the subject of creation, they say, “We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. Therefore, we view evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution, etc., as unscriptural theories of origin.”
And they don’t just back up their position with Genesis 1.
They add Exodus 20:11. Most churches I’ve ever attended don’t do that. And it’s a small, but mighty, detail.
The creation account doesn’t tend to be one of the more contentious positions. But, shamefully, there ARE churches where members DO believe the evolution, gap, day-age, and theistic evolution theories.
THEN, this church I found this morning, added an actual contentious position. It shouldn’t be one. But it IS in most, if not ALL, contemporary churches. And I frequently see people on social media platforms make fun of any Christian who would dare take this position.
It’s the D word that causes most churches to tear their clothing and sprinkle ashes on their heads. And the word is, Dispensationalism. Here’s what they said about their position on that topic:
“We believe the Scriptures, interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal dispensations of grace, determined by God which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations – the law, the church, and millennial kingdom – are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture.”
And they used proof texts from Matthew, John, Acts, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, Hebrews, and Revelation. Pretty broad cross section of references. So, that’s good.
Then, they added other church positions.
And those included civil government, church separation, human sexuality, the hierarchy in family relationships, abortion and euthanasia, and love.
I’m glad they ended the position statements with love. Because I believe it’s the most important component of all Christian belief. In fact, without it, none of the rest matters much anyhow.
And when a church is dying, none of the rest of those statements of position will save it.
So, sounds like a great church to look into more deeply. Except, it’s a church that’s still very mixed up. Especially since they claim to adhere to dispensational theology. I like that. But they have “help” materials from John Piper, and somewhat devout Calvinist. Hardly dispensational.
And just as bad as that Calvinist connection, they make this statement in their Doctrinal Statements:
We believe the Church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ…”
Stop the presses!
The Church is NOT the body AND the bride of Christ.
Think about that for more than a glancing second. And you should be able to see the clear mistake. It’s basically saying Jesus is married to Himself. Yes, it is. The “Church” is also (better) known as the Body of Christ. So, logic should show you Christ, who is Jesus, has His body (body of believers) on Earth. Why would He choose His body as his bride?
Short answer? He didn’t. He hasn’t. And He won’t.
When you read the Apostle John’s description of the “Bride,” in the Revelation, you can clearly see he isn’t talking about the Body of Christ, the current Church. Because the Body of Christ never had 12 tribes, 12 gates, or 12 names of 12 people on those 12 gates. We are NOT the New (or old) Jerusalem.
We are in the age (aka: dispensation) of Grace.
And by “we,” I mean anyone who’d rather trust Jesus than try to face eternity on their own merit.
I told Elgielene that I’d bet the entire salary of every member of the American Congress that she could go into that church and meet some of the friendliest, nicest people you could hope to meet.
But I also told her I’d keep looking for a church that doesn’t confuse some of the most important parts of Christian teaching. It’s a cryin’ shame that it’s so difficult to find a church where stuff like this doesn’t happen. And maybe I’d go ahead and go if I thought they wouldn’t be too spiritually fragile and immature to withstand me “admonishing…in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”
Sadly, that’s not the case.
And even more sadly, most churches prefer dark auditoriums with rock concert-style, repetitive songs, and a built-in coffee shop to actual Biblical teaching.
If that’s your church, your church is dying.
No matter how many show up for the concert, that building is a “whitewashed tomb.”
I’d like to invite you to join us dispies. It’s highly exclusive/inclusive. So, you might be surprised at how much you’ll love the clarity when you join.
And who are you to judge?
Your eyes can clearly see
That you’re no holier
Than him or her or me.
So should you shut your mouth
And skip the words of Paul?
Did he misunderstand
The Lord’s enduring call?
No, no…a thousand times no!
(from my song, “A Thousand Times, No”)
Stay tuned,
