Church Key Evangelism...

A MAJOR challenge exists for the small modern Christian church as we are yet mandated by Jesus Christ to proclaim the gospel message. The gospel, simply stated, is that though a sinful people, we have been saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. This faith has been and still is… a gift from God, a gift provided by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was given to the tiny gathering of apostles during a Pentecost festival held nearly two millennia ago. However, the same eternal Spirit of God hovered over the church so that it grew worldwide. That same Spirit is close by as I write this article about small church ministry. Through the Spirit, God whispers wisdom from scripture into my ear as I type, and guides my Enter key.

 What presses upon me is that each week in our little mission church, I normally end the Sunday worship experience by saying, “Let us go in peace, to love and serve the Lord!”
 This being said, we go… and to some degree we serve… but the echo fades as the week rolls on. The realization again reappears for us and most Christians in this American society, that serving the Lord does not center upon proclaiming the gospel so that the church grows. This is true at least in many small towns and rural areas..

 The realization hits many churches that we are not growing. Excuses loom. For example, I live in a rather busy, small town that is filled with a lot of nice people. Our congregation is a tiny mission outpost that gathers some very active and busy people. But we haven’t gathered new persons to worship with us in more than a year.
 As I think about this, I tend to explain this stagnation away by a theory of relativity… in desperation we look for anyone to just gather in sameness for the next Sunday AM… and bring a relative once in a while. Overall, it often seems that a demon has taken a scatter gun to Christian witness in our town. Christian community is getting smaller and smaller. Therefore, I count us as blessed last year when our congregation held its population steady… while some churches linger closer to closure.

 But that is deceptive excuse. Our small church, which shares the building with another faith family from another denomination, is yet losing persons. In the midst of this foreboding coming upon us, my mind is guided to a scriptural word picture. I am reminded of old Simeon as he waited in prayer for the salvation of Israel... 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

 And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said.., “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:25-26).

 Looking for the salvation of Christian expression in our community, therefore, while I know that the Spirit is present in our church… I feel like Simeon in my waiting that the gospel voice be surely heard in the public square. If our congregation does not do the task of evangelism in the public square, it and other churches will rightly fail.

Beer Can Crushing?

Sociologically speaking, I see that our various Christian denominations and traditional church structures are slowly failing across the nation. In recent decades many faith expressions have suffered crushing statistics. Worship has become sparsely attended, and this decline falls more so as faithful elder members die. This fact is especially accelerated for any church or denomination that suffers inner turmoil while standing firmly against certain modern trends. Churches that have condemned such practices as alternate marital lifestyles and abortion seem to be hardest hit. A bright spot that I have noted locally, however, is that “fundamentalist” churches have been given to turn to “entertainment theology”. Down-home talent helps to maintain, and even grow their existence and outreach. But in my view, care must be taken. A demonic trade can be present. Some of these venues do wonderful outreach, but only mention salvation through Christ as an afterthought. This tactic is excused so to envelop the newbie attendee with personal human relationships, and hopefully, eventually… promote a “relationship with Christ”.

 While this bait and switch does gather some persons to the gospel message to some degree, the entertainment shell game does not fit my own pastoral skill set. For me, I see that this entertainment trend can be a hindrance, especially if the music, etc… draws more importance for the disciple than the sermon and holy meal. I ask, “Do we really need to soft pedal sainthood to a supporting role behind the bass guitar?”

 But if we do not favor this method, how do we cease the slide toward becoming extinct? Have orthodox faith expressions fallen so far from mainline favor that our congregations shall be whited sepulchers sitting alongside a rural road like a decorative, recycled milk can? By observation we can see that modern lifestyles lure many of our faithful away from the church, and hinder others from joining us. These lifestyles promote a believer’s casual interaction or sporadic attendance within the faith community.

 Living in a small town and rural society then, I see where the church is often replaced by other realms. School activities draw persons into a liberal secular life that becomes prominent for young families This is such that public schools now schedule sporting events on Sunday mornings without excuse or afterthought about the faithful who would usually attend church.
 Indeed, demons do shell games as subtle diversions occur within political arenas, labor unions, fraternal organizations and businesses. Any church community that holds dearly to traditional biblical standards for human relationships quickly becomes archaic to a family having youth whose biggest Sunday challenge is how to get everyone to football or band practice. The parents often feel justified to take this busy path, hoping to dissuade young family members from getting involved with alcohol and drug subcultures. Thus we in the church see that Sunday School may suffer second string to softball.

 Social issues such as marriage, abortion and tolerance for all religions rise to lure faithful parishioners so strongly that whole traditional denominations are tumbling. The locks on the church doors have been picked by the demonic... so that the churches accommodate liberal, progressive theologies just to keep membership rolls from lessening. By doing so, a supple, whited sepulcher stays financially in place though emptied of its faith-filled life. As this occurs, too many ministers find themselves relegated to doing feckless “social ministry” projects. Some mega-churches often cast aside feeding poor widows and children or caring for the ill and dying; replacing these worthy ministries as their “spiritual guides” preen in the public square. These may cling to car seats in marches supporting gay pride or speak in labor union drives to raise minimum wage… all the while the nave in the church sits emptied.

 This modern atomization of our Christian population is being fought by some, but this has been somewhat focused upon keying in on outreach to the wider world. For me it happened in the form of Facebook pages and blogs. I claim that they do have their place. I must defend and claim some success for such as this blog… and a bible study that I write. But.., while these efforts stand good for evangelical message declaration to those in the greater audience, they do not accomplish much to support the local mission of a small church. I often think the activity is too much a distraction for me, as we continue on the local path to dissolution.

 In our small town, therefore, we march along with social changes from active factories to cottage industry… and from family farms to part-time gardening. We lumber less, and our trucks send wood chips out of town. We’ve gone from large church families to scattered individuals as children move away for college and employment futures. We see these souls occasionally in the coffee shop communicating with distant family via cellphone, modem and other gadgets. The results? Family and community activities dwindle. As distance between family members and community ties grows, too often, many isolated young people find themselves mired in lowered morality, higher divorce rates, children aborted, parents spurned… and a greater rise of suburban and urban isolationism. This feeds our growing national suicide rates. The extremes of this social movement drives the headline news across a society that knows deeply even through legal drugs and booze… things are falling apart.

The Gospel Key!

Thus I make no excuse for turning to scriptural source for cure. Faith history reveals to us a path forward for the small town church. We need only remember that our Lord Jesus was not born into the access of a metropolitan government or temple cult, but was of lowly birth in a small community. He grew, was tutored, and came of age nurtured by a small religious group that valued one another’s company. I offer that this pattern, once prevalent in the great expanse of the Roman Empire during the first century, is what God graciously used to give spiritual power and foundation to the early church. I contend that this is the pattern yet called for at this stage of our collective American history.
 I believe that the Christian church in small towns and rural settings must regain this vision of our calling to worship and proclaim the gospel by accepting our social atomization. What does this mean? Simply put… use “smallness” deliberately. Cast away your keys to mighty fortress walls and focus on the building the kingdom of many small satellite communities. How small? As small as God wills! Remember that Jesus said…

“For where two of three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

                                                                                       (Matthew 18:20)

 Yes, certain adjustments will be made to the community of believers. House churches will need to be started and these may flourish in either small towns or rural crossroads! The locksmith minister will simply carry lighter key rings. The faithful cleric may travel farther to do community visits to more than one church. The image of the circuit rider may loom large again. Let us not worship our empty church buildings… instead worship God!
 In this future day, we shall choose to walk in the ways of our predecessors. Amid twelve disciples, like a gathered small group of onlookers… we may meet on any Sunday morning. We may find that we can also gather on any Monday, Tuesday, or any day of the week within our Lord’s making. We can gather in meeting houses, libraries, funeral homes, and barns. Remember that Jesus said…

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Matthew 16:18-20)

In this way, by following our Lord’s instructions, we already possess the key to the medicine chest for the church. We have in hand the balm which cures the busy, yet lonely hearts that flail desperately as they try to swim through this often overactive and sinful current.
 Consider this! As our scripture stated, Jesus “strictly charged” the disciples gathered on that former day to tell no one that he was the Christ. But the secret got out later through the Spirit. Thus know that as a pastor I think we should show Jesus to others through our hopeful behavior as his disciples. In that way, we pray that the hidden keys to the kingdom that we each possess… shall be mysteriously revealed. In this way, doors shall be opened… and our Lord shall be found.

Vanity Plates Us All...

ANYONE WITH an ounce of restorative impulse can relate to the feeling, especially the elderly and skilled in this life. We often hear them say, “Things wear on you.” They emphasize that like sandpaper... whether smooth or coarse, the world grinds you down. The world is caustic they emphasize. It strips us. And we grow to realize that this observation teaches that the hostility of the world swirls all about. We are sinful victims… both young and old alike. Good Friday falls hard upon those who would restore.

 A person may be like an experimental vehicle that never survives the drawing board. We are sometimes aborted before we even get started. A dreary color thus casts first shadow on the human plight. We find that good planned at the beginning is eventually trashed by punitive time, wear or will. And, though we may attempt to restore those precious things that too soon fall into disrepair.., age, rust and corrosion continue to destroy. Those things we had restored soon need restoration once again. Finally, we are reminded when called to go to church to attend someone’s funeral or pay our respects for that which was humanly accomplished. There we can rightly hear the dismal truth. We hear it said from ancient scripture. The words toll to us across the pews…

“The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem, “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains for ever. The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south, and goes round to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.

 All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.

 Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"? It has been already, in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any such remembrance of later things… yet to happen among those who come after.”
                                                                                  (Ecclesiastes 1:1-11)

Those in the automotive industry surely know this dying color. They see it whether applied by brush or spray. The color appears a lot in dull hues of grey or rusty red. With filler and primers we try to heal scars and blemishes. We try to set the bare stage anew. But all is vanity, says the Preacher. Finally, even with new brightness covering... we know that we are simply delaying the inevitable.

 Some think that we are left to just enjoy for the time that we have. All seems too depressing if we dwell long on stark thoughts... if we think too much about the human condition. So we return to our work. We work and we toil. We often try to raise our spirits with demonic spirits. Yes indeed, in toiling we find that all is vanity. Putting on a mask workmen try to make breath protected, as we scrape, scratch and scrub.Yes, if we stop and dwell on these thoughts, we know the futility felt by the ancient scriptural writer. We feel the futility that drives people to anger, others to pleading, some to bargaining, others to shrug, and still others to the very point of letting go of life itself. The thickness felt becomes a dull substrate for that which is to come. But, thanks be to God... we are surely wrong.
For thanks be to God, through Christ Jesus... a gift of eternal hope and faith can cover us. You see, unlike tired workmen or past kings who finitely gripped despair in the face of sinful misery, God does not rest from the doing of mercy. God came into this vanity to be with us.., to share our plight. Though innocent, Christ our salvation came into this fallen world deliberately..., to feel the pain. We read…  

So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 

 Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the cross; it read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. The chief priests of the Jews then said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" 

 Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." 

 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom; so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the scripture, "They parted my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." 

 So the soldiers did this. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" 

 Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. 

 After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), "I thirst."  A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. 

 When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished"; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:17-30)

Scripture tells us, therefore, that the depths of our creative plight are felt by God. In the face of sinful crazing, cracking, slew footing, and reflective runs… his Beloved Son worked that we may live and love forever. He worked teaching his apprentices like a master craftsman. Our Lord healed scars both visible and hidden... just to show us how to do it. His success was so great that competitors grew jealous of His work, and tried to mar the finish. But it would not be so.

 “Vanity of vanity, all is vanity” said the preacher. “What is done… is done.” Now truly there are some yet who wisely say what is repeated here. Some who follow like me shall say.., “No ancient preacher, in brightness it was truly finished only when God said “It is finished”. Nothing more was, or ever will be needed since then. All creation darkened shall be truly restored through Him. That good news  sparkles and glistens forever... from the cross of the Beloved Son.

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Slippery Slope Driving?

WHILE MOTORING home in a late model car, I had occasion to jam my foot hard on the brake pedal at an intersection. A proper response was felt beneath my arch within a second. The Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) kicked back repeatedly. I felt the brake pedal buzz. I was alarmed, but able to steer the vehicle safely through rather slippery snow that had blanketed hidden ice.

 

 

 

 In thinking about this, it seems that the unfolding of a greater emergency rattles us. The incident made me think about how we've been skidding in our nation today. Vehicles we call Church and state are competitively cycling from high to low in our culture. Many persons working in the world thus panic and freeze, wanting us to come to a screeching stop.
 Consider this! Accelerated by our modern communications... we in this country fast approach a historical collision. We seem out-of-control and are careening downhill a lot faster than in the days of ancient chariot and spear. Because we now communicate and accelerate using computer technology, going far beyond the speeds possible in former days, we think that any powerful collision can be handled. I fear, however, that this is not so.

 For example, we are already severely divided politically. Additionally, we have became a nation that has skidded into moral depravity. Like late-60s gas-guzzling cars, we've adorned our peoples with external baubles and beads, and put gun bullets in our grills.
 Worse yet, we of the Church ride like dumbstruck passengers in this corruption society. We have not escaped this downhill skid. Previous healthy steering systems formerly seen in many mainline churches... communities that once offered the right worship of God... now languish in the sinful back seat… sliding into a hell of false idols and unbridled progressive politics.

 Indeed, the road ahead looks dismal. We must ask ourselves, "Does hope for renewal exist?"
 I believe so, I contend that we must pay strict attention to the Word of God as spoken by an ancient prophet. He warned the dividing kingdoms of Judah and Israel….

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? 

 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry! 

 Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land. The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing: "Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.  (Isaiah 5:8-9)

 Here we see a portrait of an ancient society in a downward, sinful slide... one that came to view faith in God as an anathema to be detested. So it was historically in their land; and so it is today in ours. 
 Note the similarities to today's American society! We now have the words of true Christian preaching and persons we know as disciples.... threatened daily. Societal demons tear at the very existence of the Word of God rightly proclaimed. 
 We are politically torn, with our national steering misaligned like long ago Judah and Israel, and I fear that we in the United States may be fast on the road to exile from God. The ancient warning rolls to us across the centuries.

 Please remember our faith history! The children of Abraham and Sarah were called out of Egypt by God and the Hebrew nation was formed. From this calling came the Decalogue... that portion of scripture which we term as the Ten Commandments. The laws were then, and still are now… a list of unchanging, divinely-given rules. These rules can provide a believing nation with abundance.
 Now, we of this land take these foundational documents down from our courthouses as we rudely skid past God. We, like those two ancient nations… thus devalue the Law. We no longer adhere to divine dictates. We trade them for permissive, undulating human legalities which undermine the path and substance of family in society. As the divine metric system that measures us, we deflate the Law from beneath us like a tire about to blowout its bead from the rim.
 For example, consider that we no longer rightly worship God. We ignore his precepts, salvation and altars. We fail to respect our elders, inventing senior care industries under governors and states that will pull their life plugs for the sake of profitability. Our governmental leaders tell us falsehoods regularly, without account… using any slippery media means to fulfill shifting and thieving ends.

 Further, as a nation we murder our unborn with staggering efficiency. By doing so, we legally and intentionally swing the chains of racism. We also have desolated the definition of rightful marriage bed. As well, we show great distrust for our neighbors by increasing the flow of personal weaponry across our land... all in response to needed “homeland” security. Indeed, the upshot is that our nation slides toward a nasty collision with evil. 

 Within the Church we are not escaping. The Law of God is cast aside by too many leaders in the name of securing their own monetary acquisitions. In order to increase coins in the offering plate, rather than proclaiming both God's condemnations and the soul saving Gospel, the dictates of the Law are altered, demeaned or completely ignored. All this is done to keep moneyed-persons seat-belted into the pews.

 I say to you, tread softly here… for if there is no Law, there is no need for the Good News that declares the saving grace given freely through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In summary, if there is no Law and Gospel... no Christ needed… then there is no purpose for any Church proclamation. We of the church become a rolled over and crumbling speed bump. We are little more than a poorly-administered social club that fails to excise demonic powers.

 Faith history relates to us the tale of what is needed. The scriptures tell us that in sores ancient Job sat as a sick man in ashes and dust. Persons gathered around that righteous man and told him to just curl up and die. But sitting dirtied alongside history’s road, blessed and soiled... Job firmly sought the will and Word of God.

 Take heed! I say to you that we are in the same shape on that same dirty and slippery road. This nation will either sit in ashes, turning to interact with the Word and judgment of God, driven to seek forgiveness and empowerment through Christ... or we shall continue to slide and most certainly perish. We shall crash under the judgments of history.

 Shall we waste time in this? Dare we sit idly by until we tread the ashes and silt of this great nation? I say to you that we need not do so. Long ago, when all was said and done and though Job’s friends saw their words disappear into the dust; God spoke to the man of faith out of the whirlwind, He brushed aside all human claims to wisdom and self justification, until Job said…

 "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted." 

And God responded... “Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?”

Job replied... "Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."

And God said,  'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me."

And finally, finally... Job said, "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:1-6)

 Consequently, as the present runs full tilt and the intersection of a new season looms, we are called to imitate blessed Job. We claim no justification. By doing so, by true repentance... we shall also see and know “the Way, the Truth, and the Life“. We of the Christian church are shown a most certain way. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can step on the brakes until reforming faith returns.