The Decline of The Church
If we were to study the seven letters to the church, using the numerology of seven as God's number of completion, we could see the progression of the church from a called out body to that of an instutionalize body, an apostate form of religion that Jesus said he hated. (Revelation 1:-3:) The history of the church is detailed in these seven letters, from conception until the time it is caught up.
I tried to read an article on the internet about a reality show that involved six preachers of LA. After the first biblical reference that was totality shaped and out of context I lost interest in the article. The most profane things about the article was that they all attributed their great wealth to the their service to the church and God.
I received an e-mail from an outstanding prophet, in that e-mail he told me how God was speaking to him concerning my condition. God had revealed to him that things in my life were getting ready to shift. Financial blessings and good health were coming my way. The one and half paragraphs was designed to create a feeling of euphoria as I grabbed my debit card and sent him fifty-five dollars to receive the rest of the prophecy.
There is a strangeness about human nature, how we will cherish and uphold the things that we know are wrong. How we struggle to emulate the ways of others without regard to our personal convictions. Why do we strive to make sense out of things that in reality don't make any sense? What is it about the crowd that attracts us? Why do we create heroes, movie stars, football player, so-called rock stars and Hollywood preachers? Why do we sit them on a pedestal and pay them a huge sum of money to entertain us? Is the total sum of our desires and needs is entertainment? The value of our relationship is how much we spend for entertainment. Now that's entertainment has again emerged again as the driving force of civilization, the same as in the days of the Roman empire, to compete the church has opted in as a major source of entertainment.
In the early sixties the music industry began promoting song that was known as crossovers. There was nothing strange about going to a nightclub and dancing to the soulful sound of Mavis Staple belting out, "I'll take you there". Once this venture became successful it was easy for the Devil to reverse the process and bring the nightclub beat into the church. Gospel music today has taken on a new beat and the entertainment aspect of Christianity has risen to an all time high.
The sacred solitude of Christian worship has progressed from prayer groups to praise teams and now dance teams hold many congregations in awe as they are entertained. Church attendance is often based upon who is considered the best entertainer. A local pastor standing in the park reading the twenty third psalms would not attract as much attention as a television preacher reading the same verses.
As church attendance decrease among the younger generation church leaders are hard pressed to find other means to attract members. The demographic makeup of the church attendance based upon age is depressing. It is the older generation that has been indoctrinated into the church that is supporting the church. They are that supportive core that believe if the preacher says, "God said it", they are hearing the word of God.
When question about the decline in church attendance, those that are well versed in the scripture are quick to respond that Matthew 16:18 says, " And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against." Another minister counter by stating the Bible says in John 12:32, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Many are quick to quote Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." When a parent group asked for clarification and enlightenment the response was, "it mean what it says and it says what it mean." The transformation of the Bible into a book of cliches, based upon verses surgical removed from the context in which they were spoken is not in the best interest of the Word of God or the church.
I tried to read an article on the internet about a reality show that involved six preachers of LA. After the first biblical reference that was totality shaped and out of context I lost interest in the article. The most profane things about the article was that they all attributed their great wealth to the their service to the church and God.
I received an e-mail from an outstanding prophet, in that e-mail he told me how God was speaking to him concerning my condition. God had revealed to him that things in my life were getting ready to shift. Financial blessings and good health were coming my way. The one and half paragraphs was designed to create a feeling of euphoria as I grabbed my debit card and sent him fifty-five dollars to receive the rest of the prophecy.
There is a strangeness about human nature, how we will cherish and uphold the things that we know are wrong. How we struggle to emulate the ways of others without regard to our personal convictions. Why do we strive to make sense out of things that in reality don't make any sense? What is it about the crowd that attracts us? Why do we create heroes, movie stars, football player, so-called rock stars and Hollywood preachers? Why do we sit them on a pedestal and pay them a huge sum of money to entertain us? Is the total sum of our desires and needs is entertainment? The value of our relationship is how much we spend for entertainment. Now that's entertainment has again emerged again as the driving force of civilization, the same as in the days of the Roman empire, to compete the church has opted in as a major source of entertainment.
In the early sixties the music industry began promoting song that was known as crossovers. There was nothing strange about going to a nightclub and dancing to the soulful sound of Mavis Staple belting out, "I'll take you there". Once this venture became successful it was easy for the Devil to reverse the process and bring the nightclub beat into the church. Gospel music today has taken on a new beat and the entertainment aspect of Christianity has risen to an all time high.
The sacred solitude of Christian worship has progressed from prayer groups to praise teams and now dance teams hold many congregations in awe as they are entertained. Church attendance is often based upon who is considered the best entertainer. A local pastor standing in the park reading the twenty third psalms would not attract as much attention as a television preacher reading the same verses.
As church attendance decrease among the younger generation church leaders are hard pressed to find other means to attract members. The demographic makeup of the church attendance based upon age is depressing. It is the older generation that has been indoctrinated into the church that is supporting the church. They are that supportive core that believe if the preacher says, "God said it", they are hearing the word of God.
When question about the decline in church attendance, those that are well versed in the scripture are quick to respond that Matthew 16:18 says, " And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against." Another minister counter by stating the Bible says in John 12:32, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Many are quick to quote Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." When a parent group asked for clarification and enlightenment the response was, "it mean what it says and it says what it mean." The transformation of the Bible into a book of cliches, based upon verses surgical removed from the context in which they were spoken is not in the best interest of the Word of God or the church.
The real message of many churches
is becoming more and more polluted and unbelievable. The uses of superficial clichés do nothing to
hold back the tides of doubt or uncertainty that floods the mind and soul of
those who are suffering. Too many of
God’s prelates have reshaped the Bible to reflect nothing more than irreverent
platitudes and scriptures out of context that are designed to excite and
entertain the masses, rather than heal the souls of the suffering.
Christianity is groaning in the clutches of diversity and common
sense. If you do not believe as I do you
are lost, this is a concept that was eliminated long ago by the forces of common
sense and diversity. How can the
ideology and the concept of a religious attitude less than two thousand years
old state that is the only true one.
Diversity and common sense in society will rise up to crush the
interloper and the believability in God is what suffers most.
The
sheep of God’s pasture is not without blame for the decline in the believability
of God’s word. They sow the seed of
confusion, and perform acts and deeds that scatter the sheep. Jumping from pasture to pasture, they build
fences of segregation in the process. In
their search for greener pastures, they use God’s words to misjudge those left
behind as hell-bound miscreants. They speak
using metaphors as if some hidden knowledge is imparted, and act as if they are
performing special deeds or actions that Jesus sanctioned. Church members with attitudes are standing in
Holy places creating chaos, which is equivalent to pouring gasoline on a fire.
2nd.
Corinthians 11:13-15 states, “For such are false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ, and no marvel;
for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no
great thing if his ministers and members also be transformed as the ministers
of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” Many are claiming to have a mission or message,
invoking the words of the Holy Scriptures and citing prayer as the only answer. Our prayers and actions has become the voice
of a supervisor of God rather than a servant of God. The world situation is not changing for the
better, yet more and more people are praying for God’s intervention. Family values are eroding and alternate lifestyles are on the increase and
even acceptable in some churches. Many
churches have become pawns of the government and the breeding ground for
corruption and political aspirations. We
are building immaculate sanctuaries at an alarming rate, and it seems that God
is issuing new directives every day. Political
correctness through faith-based initiatives are strictly enforced. We speak in God’s name and of a God who show
love without punishment and justice, as a new way of life. “God love me,” has become an excuse and a
metaphor for the ungodly.
We
sing and testify of wanting to go to Heaven but we are afraid of dying. We are enjoying this trip in a flawed
vehicle, and we do not want the trip to end.
We pray for the healing virtues of God, while we rush to the doctor’s
office. We speak of God healing our
headaches, and our lifestyle and our testimony have become contradictive and
deceptive.
In
my search for the real God, I began to wish for the days when we could speak
openly about the Devil. Those were the
days when we could rebuke the Devil and cast him out. Those were the days when we were afraid of
God and not afraid of the Devil. Those
were the days when we could say, “Fear God, and keep his commandments.” Where are those days when we could tell
sinners to fear God and repent or God will kill you? It is time for some of our religious entities
to gently remove their collective heads from their sanctimonious sand dune, step
outside of their marvelous and immaculate sanctuaries, and realize that there
are people who are poor, sick, and dying. “God loves you,” is true, but it is not the
answer, and its presentation nothing more than what I will later describe as a
“cookie-cutter remarks.” Remarks that
rely upon what I call “the James Brown effect” that create feelings of euphoria.
There are those of us who need a message
of hope, not hope in this world, but hope in that place Jesus talked about.
Is
walking with God all about feeling good?
What ever happens to fear and trembling?
Is serving God all about giving and getting? Did we really need to reinvent God, or should
we have searched for a deeper understanding of the God that we had? Maybe we could have found a level of
understanding that would have allowed God to survive intact as we marched into
the twenty first century.
I
challenge you to take a trip with me. Walk
with me thru God’s word. First, I ask
you to lay aside your prejudices, your preconceived ideas, and notions. Step out from behind your reinforced walls of
denominational quagmire. Come as a
student (a little child) and ask God to teach you? Do you believe in God?
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