The Reality Check--Misuse, Disuse or Correct Use

Misuse, Disuse or Correct Use

I've been thinking a lot in the past few years about the trend in Christianity in the West and the social trend of the postmodern worldview (no absolutes, relationship, and distrust of conventional philosophy) of dialectical thinking (consensus, dialog, political correctness, and inclusiveness) and their relationship to each other. The idea of praxis (experience) that has become the foremost thing sought after in Christianity in the US and the priority placed upon feelings and relationship trouble me. Not because I don't place any importance upon these things, but BECAUSE they are important parts of life whose proper roles have been usurped in not only individuals or society but in the "church" as well. This is neither a hate mongering rant, nor a fundamentalist 'stand for truth', but rather a look at where the "church" has come and to what it is becoming (or in many cases has already become).

It seems to me that slowly, over the years the "church" has made many mistakes in how it answers the questions of society (culture) and as such the answers have been widely reactionary and aggressively controversial. Either the church Circle the wagons! has used the ‘circle the wagons’ mentality to insulate and estrange itself from the ‘world’, or it has embraced worldly viewpoints and methodologies with the thought of changing individuals through acceptance (relationship), the idea of ‘belong then believe’. Neither of which are supported by scripture except through ‘proof texting’ (taking a verse or verses out of their context and building doctrine upon it). This postmodern tendency is most prevalent in the younger generations (GenX and younger). They have seen the frailties and shortcomings of ideals that went off the rails, they have seen people hurt, marginalized and forgotten because of (what they perceive as) a rigid, selfish, self righteous, hypocritical, spiteful and impersonal exemplification of conservative religion. Many have been brought up in conservative religion and have seen both the good and the bad of their ‘parent’s religion’. They love the good but hate the bad. They recognize that there is something about that type of religion that causes the message to be lost in translation to the ‘world’, and they seek to find a way to get the message through to a world that really doesn’t want to have anything to do with a ‘rigid, selfish, self righteous, hypocritical, spiteful and impersonal’ religiosity that has become the stereotype of conservative Christianity in the West.

Whether or not Christianity in the West is all of those things are not, the FACT is this: many (if not most) of the people in the ‘world’ see Christianity that way. All they see are hypocrisy and dishonesty and they want no part of it. Couple that with the political movements of the past 25 years and the tendency of many conservative Christian spiritual ‘leaders’ to either;

a. become directly involved in the political process

b. make statements of a political nature from the ‘pulpit’ often supporting the conservative party Conservative Church

In some cases the conservative political movement has been married to the conservative Christian religion. People see ‘conservatives’ as religious fanatics that are more concerned with keeping what is theirs and excluding others that don’t agree. They see it as sectarian (sect) and therefore feel marginalized.

Many times in either situation when the world sees the ‘fruit’ of these people’s lives and contrasts this ‘fruit’ with the words that they have said (and continue to say) they see hypocrisy. I realize that many will rightly say that a system of belief should not be judged by the actions of it’s adherents but rather on the merits of the belief system itself, because no one is perfect, we all fall short of the Glory of God. Unfortunately, the postmodern mindset of the West does not recognize this fact in the same way as traditional conservative Christianity. They wear their faults in the open for all to see, they don’t minimize it’s exposure, and they think (sometimes correctly) that Christians do! I think this is why Postmodern Christianity i.e. Emerging, Emergent, and Driven ‘churches’ strive for genuineness, authenticity and relationship towards people. They have correctly detected the ‘pulse’ of the culture (society) and see the gaps that have been left unfilled and this is where they focus their words and actions.

“To interpret the scriptures according to the tenets of conservatism or liberalism or any other ism we care to dream up is a subtle idolatry, for if these tenets become the filter through which we divide the Word of God, rather than the other way around, then we have dethroned God as the ultimate Judge and placed our ideological idols in His place.”—Mark Turney

Unbalance of Truth The unfortunate truth is that conservative Christianity has missed the mark in this respect. Which, by the way, is what ‘sin’ is…to miss the mark…to not be perfect. Most (including conservative Christians) will agree that the conservative ‘church’ is far from perfect, because it is filled with real people who are far from perfect. If I may paint with very broad strokes here…it has “proof texted” the scripture about being in the world but not of the world. In doing so, they (unwittingly) have let their 'experience' outweigh the Truth knowing full well that the Truth always trumps experience. This and many proof texted verses like it are at the root of the ‘circle the wagons’ mentality and has caused the ‘postmodern gap’ to widen. The message of the conservative Church is a good message, but its actions often fail to reflect the message. It has become largely unbalanced…WE have become largely unbalanced. It is not enough to know, we must DO. We must come back to the core of the truth; we are saved by grace through faith. We must also remember this: faith without deeds is useless and dead! We have forgotten to balance our ‘faith’! How many sermons have been preached on James 2? I don’t know, maybe there have been some, I don’t know of many. How many people have read James 2; or have we just become content to be spoon fed by the pastor?

James 2:14-19, 24 (NIV)

^“14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. ¹⁸But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. ¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”

^“24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”

Balance The postmodern generations have become enamored with relationship because it has been lacking, they have fallen in love with the idea of right actions. Many do not believe in absolute truth, because what they have been told (misrepresented) is absolute truth has proved (in their experience) not to be true. They no longer look for truth in any other way than through experience, because experience has become their schoolmaster or tutor not ‘the law’ or True Truth. The Emerging, Emergent and Driven churches have placed the high priority of relationship and experience to the extreme. The postmodern vocabulary has replaced the traditional, instead of Sunday morning church it’s called the “weekend experience”, instead of a Bible study it’s now called “relational bible study” or something similar. The church itself isn’t a congregation it’s a “community”. The words in themselves aren’t bad or wrong, but the philosophy behind them is unbalanced. Both sides are unbalanced. The Emergent, Emerging, Driven, and Seeker Sensitive churches by and large have either totally or nearly abandoned the Christian faith. So much so, that in many cases, they don’t deserve to be classified as “Christian” any more than do the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witness.

The Conservative Christian church has either resorted to condemnation (the typical ‘hell fire and brimstone’ sermons) or isolated themselves into seemingly cold and unemotional congregations (“The Frozen Chosen”). In either case it is not what it was…it used to be that the church provided more for the needy than anything or anyone else including the government. Organizations like the Salvation Army, Goodwill and the YMCA were born out of the Conservative Church. Today we might see a few soup kitchens or food pantries but ironically the soup kitchens usually have more people volunteering in them that are decidedly NOT Christian than those that are.

One of my nephews was born with multiple severe birth defects, my sister and brother-in-law were attending a church when he was born and to this day they will say that they received more help, financial and emotional support from non-believers than from Christians including those they went to church with and supposedly had ‘relationship’ or ‘community’ with. Something is drastically wrong with the church that does that. While a Sr. High Youth Pastor at the same church my wife gave birth to our first child who was born nearly 2 months premature and spent the first 14 days of his life in neo-natal intensive care. It was the common practice in our church for women to get together and prepare meals for a family that had just given birth as a way to help during a time which could be a bit stressful albeit joyful. I know that things like this shouldn’t be expected by anyone, but I did expect it, in fact I sort of looked forward to it especially during the first few days when our son was in the hospital. It didn’t happen…at least not until I actually mentioned it as an aside to someone…more than 3 weeks later. I don’t say this in bitterness or condemnation but simply as an example of how far away the 'church' has strayed from what we (as Christians) are supposed to be doing.

I know there are things that I could have done for others, things that I should be doing now. I know that I haven’t done and don’t do these things. I want to change that. Not for the sake of a show, but because I don’t want to be someone who only has knowledge but is deceived.

James 1: 22-27 (NIV)

“²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. ²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

The key here is the balance of the last verse. We are to care for others in distress while at the same time keep worldly philosophies from contaminating our beings.

“The solution to misuse is not disuse, but correct use.”—Ron Allen

Because we (the conservative church) have misused or not properly applied the knowledge of the scripture in our lives does not mean that those who see these errors should stray away from those teachings and revert to worldly solutions. As Christians (conservative or otherwise) we are to DO WHAT IT SAYS! That means right action is a ‘fruit’ of true faith that is not deceived while at the same time not corrupting ourselves or others with vain philosophies of man. We need balance, in our minds, hearts, actions and words.

“If you’re stuck in a ditch, it is not a solution to drive across the road into the other ditch.”—Darren Turney

When I say balance I don’t mean moderation, for there are some things that are totally unwholesome and forbidden by scripture, of these things we should have no part. We must have scripture as the sole source for determining whether something is right or wrong. We cannot abandon truth for the sake of feelings, relationship or experience! It doesn’t really matter how scripture makes me ‘feel’, because my feelings can change, scripture does not. My feelings come from my heart; scripture (absolute truth) says that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 NIV) Scripture is the lens through which we should look at everything, including ourselves and use it as the standard or pattern to determine how we should live. My relationships with others cannot be the determining factor. If I value my relationship with someone or some group higher than God’s word then it has become idolatry. If experience determines right and wrong then I rely upon my flawed understanding and perception. It doesn’t hold up. I won’t deny someone’s experience but I might take issue with the conclusions they reach based upon that experience. If I build upon the foundation of feelings, relationship or experience then it is a foundation built upon sand and when the storm arrives it will come tumbling down with a loud crash!

We should instead obey God through understanding His word AND applying it authentically, genuinely and realistically. Our feelings are given to us by God as a tool, a radar, our relationships must conform to God’s standard of what is wholesome, good and righteous and our experiences, supernatural or natural, should be examined through the lens of God’s Word. This is what it means to be balanced! We should not discount feelings, relationship and experience but they must be in their proper role, otherwise we have strayed.

I write this not only to others; in fact, it is mainly to myself, for I know that I fall very short of the mark. I write this in the prophetic sense of calling God’s people (including myself) to righteousness and conformity with His Word. We are left with a choice, either we can hear the word and do what it says or we can hear the word, not do what it says and in so doing deceive ourselves. The choice is ours!

“You can fool some of the people all of the time or all of the people some of the time. But you can fool yourself anytime you wish.”

"So which shall we choose? Experience or truth? Damn all false antitheses to hell, for they generate false gods, they perpetuate idols, they twist and distort our souls, they launch the church into violent pendulum swings whose oscillations succeed only in dividing brothers and sisters in Christ...If emerging church leaders wish to become a long-term prophetic voice that produces enduring fruit and that does not drift off toward progressive sectarianism and even, in the worst instances, outright heresy, they must listen at least as carefully to criticisms of their movement as they transparently want others to listen to them."--D.A. Carson (Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications pg. 234)

If the Conservative Church wants to be effective in this postmodern society, then we must be involved in meeting the real needs (not felt needs) that have been largely ignored. We must admit to our shortcomings honestly and freely without reservation to display humility and genuineness. We must continue to hold to the truth, not shy away from it, but make sure that our neighbor has no doubt that we truly care for them as much as we do ourselves, while demonstrating with all our ability that we love God with all our hearts, minds and strength.

Matthew 25:35-46 (NIV)

“³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' ³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' ⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' ⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' ⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' ⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' ⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

We must neither ignore what has been done incorrectly or what has been left undone. Nor must we overcorrect by totally swerveing in the opposite direction. If we no longer use the truth because of its misuse by others, then we err just as much as the former. The solution is to correctly apply the truth!

The Conservative Christian Church has become “So Heavenly Minded They Are No Earthly Good”, and the Emergent, Emerging, Driven and Seeker churches have become “So Earthly Minded They Are No Heavenly Good”. We are to be about the Father’s business in a Real World.

Know the truth! Protect the truth! Manifest the truth to others!

Mark Long

May 2009