I read an article on Facebook this morning by a certain Baptist minister, whose name I have now forgotten, and of course I cannot find the article again (you all know how it goes on Facebook). But anyway, the article concerned his increasing embarrassment at being a Christian, given the distinctly non-Christian character of the modern Protestant church, most especially the evangelicals, of which he of course, as a Baptist, is one. The man is the son of a pastor and became a pastor himself, and has become now keenly discouraged by the shallowness, the hate, the divisiveness, the intolerance that he sees. Not Christianity at all.
Well, I feel him. I certainly do. And embarrassment, I think, is insufficient to describe the feeling. Ashamed, appalled, outraged, angry, heartbroken, disgusted--some word embracing all of those would do. In short, when the church sounds more like Donald Trump than like Jesus Christ, we have a problem, Houston.
For me, it has been a long while since I attended any church at all, such that I have kind of missed out, thankfully, on a personal experience of the general apostasy, but of course one sees it all the time on Facebook and hears it from loud-mouthed popular "representatives", who seem to be in competition with one another over just how misguided they can be. I read books--the classic theologians of the early centuries, contemporary philosophers and commentators who have taken up the sober and reliable examination of the Word, and I learn, and grow, but still I will sometimes miss the fellowship of the body, communal worship, the companionship of sharing in the love of Christ. Song. Of course, one can sing by himself, but one voice is very clearly different than one hundred in unison. But the price of conformity to a spirit so clearly non-Christian is far too high.
At the same time, it seems safe to say that the infection is confined, so far, to the charismatic/evangelical churches. The rot can certainly be avoided by sticking to an orthodox church of one sort or another. These may lack the joy that typified my own young experience in a Pentecostal church, and yet, given apparent views of many 'spirit-filled' faiths, I'm not sure what 'the joy' is about. It's certainly not about Christ and The Way.
I appreciate that this pastor has spoken out, and no doubt does so where his flock is concerned as well. We need more of this. Much, much more. As with the current political miasma, people of integrity and good heart need to stand up and say "Enough!"
Well, I feel him. I certainly do. And embarrassment, I think, is insufficient to describe the feeling. Ashamed, appalled, outraged, angry, heartbroken, disgusted--some word embracing all of those would do. In short, when the church sounds more like Donald Trump than like Jesus Christ, we have a problem, Houston.
For me, it has been a long while since I attended any church at all, such that I have kind of missed out, thankfully, on a personal experience of the general apostasy, but of course one sees it all the time on Facebook and hears it from loud-mouthed popular "representatives", who seem to be in competition with one another over just how misguided they can be. I read books--the classic theologians of the early centuries, contemporary philosophers and commentators who have taken up the sober and reliable examination of the Word, and I learn, and grow, but still I will sometimes miss the fellowship of the body, communal worship, the companionship of sharing in the love of Christ. Song. Of course, one can sing by himself, but one voice is very clearly different than one hundred in unison. But the price of conformity to a spirit so clearly non-Christian is far too high.
At the same time, it seems safe to say that the infection is confined, so far, to the charismatic/evangelical churches. The rot can certainly be avoided by sticking to an orthodox church of one sort or another. These may lack the joy that typified my own young experience in a Pentecostal church, and yet, given apparent views of many 'spirit-filled' faiths, I'm not sure what 'the joy' is about. It's certainly not about Christ and The Way.
I appreciate that this pastor has spoken out, and no doubt does so where his flock is concerned as well. We need more of this. Much, much more. As with the current political miasma, people of integrity and good heart need to stand up and say "Enough!"
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