It’s not too often that I’m at a loss for words…but I was last night when I went to bed and read over the Sunday paper. Now I love a good cappuccinos (skinny cap with a shot of caramel, thanks!) and I also like to look nice but this new brand of church has me confused and grieving.

Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage?with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:2-5

I like technology and think that as God’s people, we can certainly use progress and technology to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. This denomination/church claims that when one would walk into the church they would see the message in a way that appeals. Hmmmm, the question is not about the message being appealing, rather WHAT message is being presented?

People are being encouraged to come to church to receive the freebies like “coupons for beauty treatments, clothes, interior decorating, meals, discount shoes, kitchen renovations and more.” One’s social life can be complete at the church with activities like, “group golf, enjoy family movie nights or join the Xbox gang ? a group of teens and twentysomethings who play computer games on church big screens between services.”

One attending woman said that God has given them a beautiful life and while this is true, there are many other people to whom God has given a different road to travel. I am concerned that this church is preaching the faith, health and wealth
doctrine, which is scripturally unsound and false.

It can be worthwhile to spend money on technology and equipment in order to proclaim the message of Christ but it certainly needs to be balanced. Of course, relationships and meeting the true needs of people are far more important than the latest and greatest gizmo’s. Mind you, I feel the same way in traditional churches where lots of money is spent on ornate decorations and sculptures…I’m not anti-modern, nor into tradition for the sake of tradition. I am concerned about the foundation that this church is laying. It can preach the right words but true faith is caught, as well as taught. You know…actions speak louder than words and all those proverbial sayings. Is the gospel of Christ being preached and thus drawing people or is it the false lure of money, fun, and other things that satisfy the lust of the flesh. What is the ‘good news’ being preached by this church? Is it the grace of Christ or the ‘good news’ of satisfying the worldly lusts of the flesh (under the guise of Christianity)? When Jesus is revealed to us, He will also be revealed in us. This could/should/would compel us to be prepared to deny ourself and follow Him…we need to give our every worldly care to Him.

My faith isn’t about what feels good. It isn’t about what prospers me. It isn’t about what appeals to my ego. I am thankful that God called me and washed me in the blood of the Lamb…that I wasn’t brought to the faith by education nor by the emotional, feel-good satisfactions of my flesh. I pity those that have found Christianity through having their material possessions and needs met, for they are missing so much!

So, what can I apply to my own life from all this? Well, quite a few things. 1) Just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning (remembering that he appealed to her sense of ambition and ego) I need to be diligently studying the word of God and keep abiding in Him so that I will not be led astray…that I may stand firm and continue to develop a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
2 Corinthians 11: 3

2) To teach my children well. To teach the attributes of God…His purpose for His bride, what pleases Him, the nature of true worship, the role of the Church, and how easy it is for man to fall prey to satisfying the lusts of the flesh.

2 Corinthians 11 is worth a read.

Yesterday, John and I went to a Christian bookstore together for the first time in awhile. I go there fairly regularly and, as a creature of habit, there are specific sections that I just naturally avoid as they don’t interest me. John doesn’t go as frequently as I do so he decided to stroll around. He couldn’t believe the resources available for pastor’s and lay leaders. He remembers the day when an expanded concordance was groovy. Nowadays, all one needs to do with the right software, is type in the keyword and hey presto, not only does the software do all the work but it also generates a sermon! How easy is that? We live in an age where we have access to much more information than we need. We also need understanding and wisdom to follow that knowledge.

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A few years ago, in my home-schooling experience, I learned how important it is to search for information for oneself. Predigested information rarely touches a person’s heart and mind, compelling them search further with the hope of finding a truth or impacting their life. However, as a person comes into contact with ideas and concepts, searches and studies to find the truths within, this process is his responsibility. It is in this process of responsibility, that the knowledge being learned is connecting with other ideas being learned and it is slowly being transformed into understanding and eventually, hopefully, wisdom. (Of course, predigested information can plant a seed in a listener’s heart, driving them to pursue truth further)

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Knowledge is not a dirty word. There’s nothing wrong with knowledge- it’s necessary and good and worthwhile. However, the Bible tells us that…

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
1 Corinthians 8:1b-2

 

So, what does all this have to do with leading our children into a lifetime habit of Bible study? We don’t need all the latest software or the latest book that gives us all the information. Sometimes it is good but most times it is predigested. Someone else has done the work…read and studied. No doubt they have benefited from their study but simply reading or listening to someone else’s nugget without doing any work for ourselves, will not yield the quality and life impacting gem we need. It’s easier but we need to think of process, not just outcome…we need to think of quality, not quantity.

How familiar with the Holy Bible are you? Have you learned any truths simply by being in God’s word with a few simple Bible study tools? I’d love to hear from you.

In His Grace,