The "Modern" Church's Idol(s)

MODERNITY IDOLIZES NOVELTY!

As the previous post pointed out, Modernity (and the Modern Church) has a particular disdain for tradition. In keeping with this principle, the modern church must satisfy her cravings for the "novel" by seeking out new ways to keep her members entertained and happy. 

Think about this for a while -- Does your Church always seem to be looking for and grabbing hold of the newest 'Christian' fad to come along? -- If so, Why?

The real question for you is: "When did Jesus stop satisfying -- When did Jesus cease to be enough to keep us happy"?

Wade B.

The "Modern" Church

Some have described "modernity" as possessing the attributes of value pluralism, privatization, individualization, and over-intellectualization, which have characterized Western civilization since around 1500. From a political perspective "modernity" is know as (or shaped by) liberalism. 

Liberalism, according to Peter Leithart, is "the political system dedicated to the one proposition that political systems must not be dedicated to one proposition". It is an ideology which is founded upon a self-refuting principle .............. It's insanity! Please don't think I'm only talking about a particular political party, I assure you I'm not. This is the ideology which characterizes, for the most part, our entire political system. It characterizes America and 'the West' in the modern era.

Peter Leithart paraphrases Alasdair MacIntyre's description of this ideology when he says, "liberal democracy claims to liberate individuals from all tradition, leaving every member of society free to live according to whatever concept of the good he finds pleasing, to live out whatever narratives he can conceive.". To drive home the self-refuting nature of this ideology, Leithart, paraphrasing MacIntyre, continues, "liberal democracy does have its own overriding story and its own overarching purpose. Despite its claim to liberate from tradition, liberalism is itself a tradition and has a particular vision of the good society." (emphasis mine). In other words, you are free to choose any 'story' to define yourself ..... except a story which conflicts with the ideals of liberalism. How's that for freedom?

So what does all of this have to do with the Church? Look around you. We have allowed secular, pluralistic, individualistic, privatized ideologies into the Church. This is another way of saying, "we are worldly". The problem is ............. we don't recognize these attributes as a problem. We are drowning in the sea of 'secular, liberal modernity' and we don't even know it. 

How often have you heard Christians characterize , and even emphasize, their 'relationship with God' as being "a private and personal thing"? How often have we heard preachers/evangelists call people to Christ by stressing the need for a "personal relationship with Jesus"? This type of thinking has led Christians to conceive of salvation in strictly individualistic terms. The "It's just me and Jesus" attitude is a result of the influences of 'modernity' and  has crippled the Church. 

How many times have you heard (thought), "Well, that might be o.k. for that Christian / Church / Denomination, but it's not for me."?  Or, "I'm not going to join a local congregation because I can't find one that believes exactly like I do or offers a worship style that I like or plays the type of music I prefer."? Or,"I know my pastor preached on this or that, but that's just his interpretation. He is entitled to his opinion on the matter and so am I". Or, .............. I could go on and on. These are nothing less that the symptoms of our common illness. The Church is infected with the disease of modernity and all the individualistic symptoms that come with it.

The cure is to reject the modern ideologies which have infiltrated the Church. It is to reject worldliness. And we will do this only as we accept as our own, the full story which our God has given to us in the pages of the Bible. Only as we retrain ourselves to see the world through a Biblical 'lens' will we be able to understand who we are and what our true place in this world is. 

Wade B.

Resurrection and the Covenant

Another thing the resurrection teaches us is how God normally operates. Not that raising people from the dead is a common occurrence, -- what I'm speaking of is how God ordinarily works in redemptive history to accomplish His will or the common patterns of God's working that we can discern from the scriptures.

The bodily resurrection of Jesus teaches us that God doesn't abandon a work previously started. This is clear in the Psalms where God promises not to abandon His servant to the grave or "let your Holy One see corruption" (see Psalms 16:10) (and Act 2:27). And it is also seen in His promise to all believers to finish the work He has begun in us (see Phl 1:6). Our God starting a work and then seeing it through to completion should not come as a surprise to us because this is the pattern of God throughout all of scripture. God does not change. When He makes a promise, the promise will be kept. When He says He will do something, we can be sure that it will be done.

In the context of the Biblical Covenant(s) this is important because of the tendency we have to separate the Old Covenant (OC) from the New Covenant (NC) in such a way as to make it seem that the OC and NC are not vitally and organically connected to one another. We treat the OC and NC as Plan A and Plan B respectively.

The question is: "To what extent are the OC and NC connected"? The resurrection of Jesus teaches us that they are so connected that they are really ......... the same covenant. They are really both Plan A. Jesus didn't do away with the OC, He took it up in Himself, fulfilled it and made it what it was always intended to be. The OC died, was buried, and then was resurrected and transformed(as the NC) with Jesus. In Christ, the OC was was made perfect.

Jesus alludes to this when He says "Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them" (Mat 5:17). We (Christians) are fond of quoting this verse, but I'm convinced we don't grasp what Jesus is really saying, because after quoting it we go on with life as if the OC scripture has nothing to teach us about how to live our lives before a Holy God. And we conceive of OC and NC saints as not being vitally connected to the same body of Christ. We teach, preach and live as if the OC has been abolished. 

In maintaining this false dichotomy between the OC/NC and OC saints/NC saints, modern pastors/preachers/teachers have short-changed the Church by only teaching us one-third of our identity. We are not "New Testament Christians" only, we are the Biblical people of God whose story begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation. For the Church to understand who She is we must tear down the wall that we have built between the OC and NC. We must learn to think "Biblically" by seeing all of scripture as one continuous story of God's love for and redemption of His people.

To be sure there is much mystery involved here. There are certainly many differences in the Covenant now that Christ has appeared and the NC has been inaugurated. Our Father continues to work in us, transforming us from glory to glory. Because of the resurrection, you can have hope that "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phl 1:6).

Wade B.

What the Resurrection Teaches Us

One thing we learn from the bodily resurrection of Jesus is that God is concerned about His creation. God is concerned about the real, physical world (the entire cosmos) that He created. Salvation reaches far beyond any concept of the "individual" and "spiritual", to embrace all of God's created works (Rom. 8).

What does this teach us about the full content of the Gospel?

Wade B.

Old Covenant vs. New Covenant ... or is it?

Is it possible that the modern Church holds to a dichotomy between the Old Covenant people of God and the New Covenant people of God because we hold to a dichotomy between the Old covenant and the New Covenant?

Not infrequently, we hear Christians make statements that separate The people of God in the Old Covenant(OC) from the New Covenant(NC) people of God. The statements usually go something like this; "The OC relationship with God was 'outward and physical' where the NC relationship is 'inward and spiritual' ".

Is this a Biblical view?
What's your take on this?

Wade B.

The Omega and the Alpha (more thoughts)

Adding to the previous post, I think there is an overarching principle to take away from this teaching on the Church. We should understand the Church to be the 'culmination' of God's work in Israel. Too often we understand the Church to be a totally separate 'thing' from Israel. As if the Lord had to go with plan B. The common thinking goes something like this: "God used to have a people called Israel, but now He has a people called the Church". 

This common thinking creates a false dichotomy between God's people of the Old Covenant (OC), and God's people of the New Covenant (NC). The fact is that God's people are God's people. Name any OC saint and know that they are as much a part of the Body of Christ as you or me. God's people are God's people. Our groom has always had and will always have only one bride. God's people are God's people throughout all of time.

The teaching of the NC scriptures are clear; we, the Church, have been engrafted into the tree (Kingdom) which already was. We who were "separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope without God in the world ..... have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2). Near to what? -- Near to that which already was. God did not plant a brand new tree. He matured the tree which He had already planted! 

In Christ God has kept His Promises to His people. He has planted, He has watered, He has caused the tree (Kingdom) to grow and mature. This continues even to our day and will continue until our groom comes back for His bride. Then, and only then will we fully realize who we are. May we be granted eyes to see and ears to hear. 

Wade B.

The Omega and the Alpha

From time to time I would like to post "stuff I learn" from sermons, SS,  books, etc. . If nothing else it will help me sort out my own thoughts as I write it down, and if anyone stumbles across this blog they might be able to add some helpful insights to open the Scripture up even more.  

Today my Pastor preached from Matt. 13: 24--43. While explaining the parable of 'the kingdom and the mustard seed' beginning in v.31 he offered some perspective that I think is helpful to understanding the Church. He showed how Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, but is also the "Omega and the Alpha". When Jesus' life and ministry are viewed in historic perspective we see that He was first the end (Omega) of the old Covenant, before He was the beginning (Alpha) of the New Covenant. 

Jesus as the end:

Jesus' use of the mustard seed, the "least of all seeds" reminds us of Israel being the "least of all people" (Dt. 7.7). God planted them (Ps. 80.8-11; Ezek. 17.23) and they became a tree which grows up into its fullness in Jesus. 

What was most helpful to me was his pointing out that we should understand this "ending" more as a culmination. Jesus is the culmination of the story of Israel! In Christ the purposes of Israel find their fulfilment. 

Jesus as the beginning:

Just as Jesus is the culmination of the story of Israel, Jesus is the inauguration of the story of the Church. Don't miss the importance of this. The story of the Church has been inaugurated, but it has not been fully consummated.  This language (and the parable) teaches us that it is the nature of the Kingdom of God to grow, to mature.  

Jesus takes a remnant from Israel, plants them, and they will become a great tree in which the nations find rest. (Ezek. 17.23, Dan. 4). 

Stuff I learned from the parable of the mustard seed:

1) This mustard seed (The Kingdom/Church) is planted in His field (v.31). And His field is the earth .............. now. 

2) The nature of the Kingdom is organic: The Kingdom is not something that comes in fully mature, all at once. It begins small and grows/matures. Sometimes this growth will not be perceptible from our perspective, but as surely as the Word of the Lord stands the Kingdom grows.

3) Ultimately this Kingdom (tree) will be the greatest in the world. Under this tree (Kingdom)".......will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord, I have spoken and I will do it." (Ezek. 17.23-24).

Wade B.

Goin' To Church

"Going to Church" has become like attending a class. We go, assume one posture (sitting), face the lecturer (preacher), receive our information download (sermon), and then go home.

The result of this is that far too many Christians have been taught (by common methodology) that the Christian life consists mainly of intellectual exercises. This teaches us that being a 'good Christian' is measured by how you think, not by how you love.

How we worship together also teaches us!

Wade B.

A Question

Question: Is the gospel about saving individual souls or is it about building a Christ honoring culture (Kingdom) on the earth?

Answer: Both.

This type of question creates false dilemmas that I believe are responsible for disagreements in many areas of evangelicalism today. Most (not all) disagreements come about because the parties involved take opposing sides of an either/or dilemma ("It's either the Word preached or the Sacraments", "It's either the family or the Church", etc.). If only we could recognize that to some degree the truth usually involves both, and we have probably placed too much emphasis  on one side or the other. 

I think this is what has happened with the question posed above. In our modern hyper-spiritual, individualistic, introspective, even hyper-evangelistic Church culture we have gone too far in focussing on the individual and if we can "get them saved".  For these new converts and even for our own children, our focus in discipleship normally consists only of making sure they go to Church, read their Bibles, and have their personal "quiet time". The modern Church's focus is almost totally on what we consider to be personal piety.

We have forgotten that the gospel, while it certainly includes the salvation of individuals, is more about the restoration of man as a community. The gospel is more about restoring how we, as the people of God, relate to God and to one another. The gospel is about how God, in Christ, through Christ, and for Christ has kept His promises to reconcile fallen humanity to Himself. We, the Church, are that new humanity! 

Wade B.

Citizens of The City

I guess you can't talk about "the Church" without addressing the Greek term ekklesia. This is the term most often used in the N.T. for the Church, .... but why? What were the N.T. writers trying to teach us about ourselves by picking this term? 

This term was used in the Septuagint (LXX) to describe the assembly of Israel in many different contexts. It is used for Israel as a religious, social and political body. In the Greek world it was used to describe the citizens of a particular city when they gathered for "official" business. To put it bluntly, ekklesia was and is an inherently social and political term.

When Paul went to Gentile cities and proclaimed the message of the gospel, he was announcing to the leaders and citizens of that city that a new city was being formed and in this new city we bow the knee to King Jesus. In this new city, we have our own story and are governed by our own King. The Church was not being offered as a club or sect that existed along side or under that particular city, but as a clear alternative to that "city of man".  

Wade B.

We Sure are Spiritual

The modern Christian conceives of Christianity as an internal religion, existing in the spiritual realm of the 'heart'. This mindset insures that the Church has nothing to say about all of the physical stuff in the world like education, our judicial system, politics, etc. . In short, this mindset makes us think that most of the world in which we live is outside the realm of the Church. 

Wade B.

What Battle?

If the Church is to be a new culture (which she is), doesn't it seem likely that we would be at odds with any culture that 'competes' with us? If we are proclaiming the gospel rightly, then isn't a battle inevitable? Didn't Jesus tell us that the world would hate us?

As we have it, the Church is at peace with the world around us. What does this say about the manner in which we are proclaiming the gospel?

Wade B.

Tell Me the Old Old Story

Every culture is defined by its stories. For any culture to survive it is imperative that these stories be passed on to the next generation. Take our national culture as an example. Our calendar is organized around special days which commemorate, memorialize, and help tell the story of who we are as a nation. It's these 'stories' that define us as a nation. Telling and retelling the stories of who we are and where we have come from helps create a sense of common history and common purpose which bind us all together as 'Americans'. This sense of common history and purpose creates in a cultures' citizens the single greatest attribute necessary for its perpetuation -- loyalty. 

One question in my mind is; 'How have we come to the place in the modern Church where there seems to be so much confusion over who we are '? The answer to this question, I am convinced,  has much to do with the story of the Church, which ultimately defines us. One thing we must be aware of is who is telling our story and thus, who is defining the Church?  We have allowed modern society (the world) to define the Church for us , and so we think that the Church is supposed to be a private, religious club that we tack on to all our other weekly activities. And as long as the Church doesn't interfere with the lives of those who don't belong to 'our club' we are allowed to live peaceably with the world around us.  We have allowed the government to define the Church for us, and so we believe its normal for the Church to exist at the margins of American culture. We have been convinced that the government exists to take care of "public/corporate" concerns and the Church exists to take care of "private/individual" concerns.  As long as we behave and stay where they want us, the government will let us keep our 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. If we're not a 501(c)(3) then we're not really a church, right? We have too often confused the story of the Church with the story of the USA. So much so that some of us actually think that the spread of "democracy" and the spread of the gospel are the same thing. 

Make no mistake about it, the Church of Jesus Christ is meant to be a culture. And like other cultures we have a story. The problem is, as Christians, we don't know our own story anymore. We have forgotten that our story starts in Genesis and not in Matthew, therefore most of our local congregations are only taught one third of their identity.  We have forgotten that it is our triune God Himself who defines us. We are what and who He says we are. He has given us His written word which tells us exactly who we are and what we have been created to do. His written Word is not a systematic theology textbook. It is a book which tells a story. Properly understood it is The Book which tells The Story. If you are one of His, if you are a part of the people of God, a member of the Body and Bride of Christ, then this is YOUR STORY.

Most importantly, we have forgotten how crucial it is that we know the whole story of who we are so that we can pass on our story faithfully to the next generation. The story of the Church must be told and retold to our children and our children's children. We must know our common history, embrace our common purpose and pledge our loyalty to our common King, King Jesus!

Wade B.

Who did you say you were?

Some of the confusion in the Church comes about because we simply don't know who we are. And because we don't know who we are, we don't know what we are to be doing. I realize there is a lot in those statements, much more than can be covered in one post, but here is where I am convinced we can begin to unpack some of what is foundational to our understanding of who and what the Church is.

I am certainly not trying to give an exhaustive definition of the Church. I've heard it said of artists that when they begin painting a picture they start with the background and finish with the detailed portions of the foreground. I think its most helpful to do the same with understanding the Church. Start with overarching principles, then move to the details. So, overall, who are we?

The Church is the new creation. The Church is a new humanity, created in, for and by Christ Jesus. We have been recreated in Christ to live together before God the way humanity was always intended to live before God. 

Wade B.

The Bride has Amnesia

I'm going to go out on a limb. Not too far out, just one step. -- The Church (the bride of Jesus Christ) has forgotten who/what she is. Is this a fair statement or not? Of course, this begs the question; "who are we and what are we to be about the business of"?

It's not my intention to 'have all the answers'. It is my intention to get us thinking. Looking at the 'landscape' of the church, it seems that the culture around us has great influence in/on the church. Shouldn't this be reversed? Isn't it the church's mission to transform the culture? I'm convinced that our corporate amnesia is a huge part of the reason why we are failing to transform the culture around us. If we don't understand who (whose) we are and what we are to be about the business of, then we will find ourselves ................ well, where we are right now.

Thoughts?

Wade B.

Getting Started: Introduction

This will be the first post on this blog, so I think it best to say a little (very little) about myself and the purpose of this blog. 

I love Christ and His people, the church. I love my wife. I love my children. I'm the guy sitting with my family in the pew or chairs behind, beside or in front of you at your local church meeting. 

I have no advanced degree in theology. I have never attended a seminary. I most certainly have more questions than answers. 

The purpose of this blog is to 'test the waters' and see if there are others, like me, who look at the American Church landscape and think, "What's wrong?". Another goal of mine is to remain as anonymous as possible while doing this. It's simply not about me and I want to keep it that way.

May the lamb who was slain receive the reward of His suffering!

Wade