"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to to the point of death, even the death of the cross."
Phillipians 2:5-8
I have been invited to a Christian camping conference. I've been invited because I am a Christian camp director. I get to attend conferences about camp so I can learn how to improve the camp where I work. For this camping conference I have been asked to read a book that details a number of ways to make an organization outstanding. Rats! I have required reading for my upcoming conference. I enjoy books, so that part doesn't bother me. What I cannot understand is that it is a Christian camping conference, yet we are being asked to read a secular book about making our corporation more profitable (ka-ching).
If this was an isolated incident I would ignore it. However, it is even more prevalent in our churches. I used to work for a church that gave its staff a number of secular books aimed at building a better organization. It seems business "experts" have become the darlings of church leaders across the country. Churches have made them very wealthy men by holding nationwide leadership conferences inside our houses of worship by way of live streaming video (ka-ching).
Pastors are forming their own learning communities (book clubs) in which they assign a book of the month, then gather to discuss the books. For the most part they are using secular books about building their businesses, er, uh, churches (ka-ching).
Using today's business standards, Jesus Christ was probably the worst businessman in history. If Jesus were to apply for any job today, the outcome would be hilarious. He had no interest in being a businessman, but if He did, I'm not sure how long it would last. My point is that Christian ministry is not big business. The religious leaders in Jesus' time were excellent businessmen. They were making sound business decisions for the temple which were filling the treasury with cash. Jesus hated the fact that they were operating the temple as a business. He hated it so much He threw them out of His Father's house.
The model of Christian leadership is the complete opposite of the popular business model. It is actually exemplified for us in the verse above: Humility . . . being comfortable with one's position enough to consider everyone else first. Jesus, as God, wrapped Himself in the skin of a man, limiting Himself to just what a man can do. He set aside what he was capable of and humbled himself to the point of taking blows, to the point of being spit upon, to the point of whips, cords and thorns, to the point of nails and spear, to the point of death. Today, such a model of leadership is a sign of weakness. Today's church-goers do not want to follow such weak leadership. We want a leader who will hold tightly the reins of our faith and make it comfortable. We want to come to church and be led and fed. We want to come to church and be inspired. We want a Chicken-Soup-for-the-Churched-Soul experience: short little vignettes, packaged very tidily with no obligation to read past the preface.
Because of this current propensity toward having our salvation "worked out" by a person on stage, we have become a nation of Christians who haven't even cut their baby teeth. We are unable to chew on the meat of the Word. We have been Christians for so many years, yet we can only drink the milk of the Word because we have not made our salvation our own. We rely on great contemporary praise music peppered with inspiring Sunday sermons.
I mentioned this in my last post, and I find myself being asked to include it this one as well: Your church attendance is not a time for you to be fed. If you are a born-again Christian, your presence in church should be about ministry and fellowship. It is a time to give of your gifts and talents to others. Your relationship with God is a minute by minute, every day journey, nurtured by frequent conversation and prayer. At least, that's the goal. Your daily intimacy with the Father is how you prepare yourself for Sunday morning.
We trust our pastors for spiritual leadership. We trust our pastors for biblical wisdom as they are led by the Holy Spirit. A pastor's ability to micro-manage a multi-layered business model in order to market a church to religious consumers makes him the impetus of a church's success, not Jesus. "Rock star" pastors, appealing to the masses by offering Sunday self-help seminars, are one reason why we have a church body still suckling on Christian nominalism. Jesus drew followers to Himself not to draw a crowd, but to make disciples who would go and do likewise. He really didn't have much use for those who gathered around Him for the "show."
The required reading for my camping conference is a secular book on improving my business. I am halfway through it, and now I'm thinking of starting up a successful business. As for my ministry to young people, I will continue to use the best textbook on ministry leadership; the author: Jesus Christ.
sal
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Don't Be a ChINO: "Christian In Name Only"
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 2 Timothy 4:3, 4
I have been frustrated. I have been disenchanted. I have been embarassed. Churches across the country have become populated by congregations of "ChINO's." I go to churches across the country and see them in the pews, in the auditoriums, in the caf-a-gym-a-tori-aries -- or whatever hip, new, urban, trendy name they've given to the latest church gathering place. Sunday services everywhere have become rock concerts. How dark can we make the room? Will it be dark enough to elicit the right mood? Will it provoke enough emotion to draw tears? Will this experience knock the socks off those "seekers" who have decided to darken our doorway? Will we appear "sensitive" to that visitor by giving them what they want to see or hear? Adjust the temperature. Dim the lights. Turn up the bass. Don't forget to bite your lower lip when telling about how you came up with the inspiration for your latest lyric.
Even before I was a Christian rock concerts never were able to whip me into a frenzy to the point of swaying with the lighter high in the air. "Contrived crowd control" is what I call it. It's when those on the stage do all they can to elicit an emotional response from the audience. It never really worked with me; "Are you ready to rock and roll? . . . Are you ready to rock and roll? . . . ARE YOU READY TO ROCK AND ROLL?" Uh, could you start playing the music I payed money to hear, please?
We have been assaulted by many churches who have taken the rock concert formula into houses of worship. We have watched as modern churches have created a nation of what I have called ChINO's: "Christians In Name Only." Seeker-sensitive churches everywhere have adopted this method of drawing in converts by scratching those itching ears described in 2 Timothy 4. These holy rock concerts have child care, too! They have videos, video games, carnival games and any other kind of entertainment to cater to every ADHD pre-adolescent desire. In the meantime, small churches everywhere cannot keep up. But they try. They purchase the packaged "this is how we do it at our mega-church" formula and miserably fail. In the process many people who want to fellowship with other Christians church-hop their way around their home towns, bailing out when they are not entertained enough.
It is a vicous cylce which keeps many would-be disciples from truly developing a relationship with the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we have ChINO's: those who attend church so they can call themselves Christians, yet have never in their young "Christian" lives been challenged or discipled into an authentic relationship with their Creator. They have every "Praise and Worship" CD downloaded on their iPod, Blackberry or iTouch. They have the "metrosexual" look and lingo down. Skinny tie? Check. Designer glass frames? Check. Layered and unbuttoned, untucked shirts? Check. No need to bring a bible; they display the verses on the Jumbo-tron (though, I do own a "green" bible and only drink shade-grown, organic coffee from 100% recycled paper cups).
This type of faux Christianity is not only discouraging, it is frightening. As the end times draw ever closer, more people will be deceived; even many of those who call themselves Christians. I believe it will be more and more difficult to distinguish so-called Christians from any other faith. Sincere Christians will become more glaringly out of place. They will be labeled as "radical" and "intolerant". Meanwhile, the ChINO's will continue to conform to this world in order to be sensitive or tolerant, hoping to win others into their trendy church building with faux-painted concrete flooring (it's makes for easy clean-up of spilled, shade-grown coffee).
I know this posting will not win any friends. It will certainly cause many to call me radical and intolerant. But if it causes any ChINO out there to consider true Christianity, then mission accomplished. Go to church, my friend. Go to church not to live out the latest experience, but go prepared to serve others and to serve your heavenly Father. The local church does not exist to entertain you, or even grow your relationship with God. I cannot change what kind of fads and trends the hip, new churches are feeding us. But I can speak to you, the church-goer. So, here is my unsolicited advice: Church is not for your sake. Church is your opportunity to minister others, and thus to God. In doing so, you become filled with the fullness of spiritual fellowship. Your spiritual health and well-being is your responsibility, not your local church's. Do your growing at home, in your quiet, personal prayer and study closet. That is where your relationship with God flourishes. What you gather in that closet is what you bring to church for your fellow believers. Oh, and do bring that bible of yours. You never know when you'll need it.
sal
I have been frustrated. I have been disenchanted. I have been embarassed. Churches across the country have become populated by congregations of "ChINO's." I go to churches across the country and see them in the pews, in the auditoriums, in the caf-a-gym-a-tori-aries -- or whatever hip, new, urban, trendy name they've given to the latest church gathering place. Sunday services everywhere have become rock concerts. How dark can we make the room? Will it be dark enough to elicit the right mood? Will it provoke enough emotion to draw tears? Will this experience knock the socks off those "seekers" who have decided to darken our doorway? Will we appear "sensitive" to that visitor by giving them what they want to see or hear? Adjust the temperature. Dim the lights. Turn up the bass. Don't forget to bite your lower lip when telling about how you came up with the inspiration for your latest lyric.
Even before I was a Christian rock concerts never were able to whip me into a frenzy to the point of swaying with the lighter high in the air. "Contrived crowd control" is what I call it. It's when those on the stage do all they can to elicit an emotional response from the audience. It never really worked with me; "Are you ready to rock and roll? . . . Are you ready to rock and roll? . . . ARE YOU READY TO ROCK AND ROLL?" Uh, could you start playing the music I payed money to hear, please?
We have been assaulted by many churches who have taken the rock concert formula into houses of worship. We have watched as modern churches have created a nation of what I have called ChINO's: "Christians In Name Only." Seeker-sensitive churches everywhere have adopted this method of drawing in converts by scratching those itching ears described in 2 Timothy 4. These holy rock concerts have child care, too! They have videos, video games, carnival games and any other kind of entertainment to cater to every ADHD pre-adolescent desire. In the meantime, small churches everywhere cannot keep up. But they try. They purchase the packaged "this is how we do it at our mega-church" formula and miserably fail. In the process many people who want to fellowship with other Christians church-hop their way around their home towns, bailing out when they are not entertained enough.
It is a vicous cylce which keeps many would-be disciples from truly developing a relationship with the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we have ChINO's: those who attend church so they can call themselves Christians, yet have never in their young "Christian" lives been challenged or discipled into an authentic relationship with their Creator. They have every "Praise and Worship" CD downloaded on their iPod, Blackberry or iTouch. They have the "metrosexual" look and lingo down. Skinny tie? Check. Designer glass frames? Check. Layered and unbuttoned, untucked shirts? Check. No need to bring a bible; they display the verses on the Jumbo-tron (though, I do own a "green" bible and only drink shade-grown, organic coffee from 100% recycled paper cups).
This type of faux Christianity is not only discouraging, it is frightening. As the end times draw ever closer, more people will be deceived; even many of those who call themselves Christians. I believe it will be more and more difficult to distinguish so-called Christians from any other faith. Sincere Christians will become more glaringly out of place. They will be labeled as "radical" and "intolerant". Meanwhile, the ChINO's will continue to conform to this world in order to be sensitive or tolerant, hoping to win others into their trendy church building with faux-painted concrete flooring (it's makes for easy clean-up of spilled, shade-grown coffee).
I know this posting will not win any friends. It will certainly cause many to call me radical and intolerant. But if it causes any ChINO out there to consider true Christianity, then mission accomplished. Go to church, my friend. Go to church not to live out the latest experience, but go prepared to serve others and to serve your heavenly Father. The local church does not exist to entertain you, or even grow your relationship with God. I cannot change what kind of fads and trends the hip, new churches are feeding us. But I can speak to you, the church-goer. So, here is my unsolicited advice: Church is not for your sake. Church is your opportunity to minister others, and thus to God. In doing so, you become filled with the fullness of spiritual fellowship. Your spiritual health and well-being is your responsibility, not your local church's. Do your growing at home, in your quiet, personal prayer and study closet. That is where your relationship with God flourishes. What you gather in that closet is what you bring to church for your fellow believers. Oh, and do bring that bible of yours. You never know when you'll need it.
sal
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