LIKE A GLOW IN THE DARK PLASTIC CROSS...
The
modern church is a paradox: Great masses of world class debaters defending
their favored denominational flavor or brand while embracing cobbled together
half-true doctrines that promote and satisfy worldly desires: Devoid of
demonstrable agape love, requiring no sacrifice for others, expecting no denial
of Self, experiencing no transformation into Christlikeness, and producing not
a hint of humility. The focus is on making converts – a change of belief – when
we should be making disciples – a personal follower of Jesus who is disciplined
in His ways -- and building bigger buildings (barns), as if ministry size
implied God’s favor. Love, Sacrifice, Passion, Obedience, and Humility, these
five characteristics capture the reality of God’s heart Like a glow in the dark plastic cross the
church is a cheap substitute for a divine reality.
The
true “ekklesia” needs not man’s “forms of godliness”, for God’s ekklesia, which
takes no form as a particular building or denomination, is at work everywhere
often working under the radar of church structures. It would do us well to
study the history of the modern church to understand how this man-made
pretender came to represent God’s Church. We are entering the times of the
Great Apostasy, when the modern church will be shaken, and God’s ekklesia will
take visible form much like the first century church, as small organic
gatherings under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. To be forewarned is to be forearmed...
Disclaimer:
This is not to be construed as an attack on all churches, the sincerity of
members, or justification to ignore the call to assemble together as believers.
I have been blessed to have been a part of several good churches. But the
majority of churches fit this narrative, and the church as we know it will
undergo dramatic change as the Church Age winds to an end.
“GO THEREFORE AND MAKE DISCIPLES
TEACHING THEM
TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS THAT I HAVE COMMANDED”
(Matt. 28:18-20)
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