slip-slidin’ away…

  teacuppamela.png So, you’re here again today for a visit at the kitchen table.  I’m having a cup of tea… because of some recent health problems, I’m making some radical changes.  Yes… sniffle, sniffle, one of them includes drastically reducing coffee consumption — caffeine, really, and anything that contributes to high blood-pressure and high cholesterol.  I have a little elevation of one and a lot of the latter.   

So, I’m trying not to get too caught up in the going’s on.  But it’s really difficult to ignore blatant apostacy.  I mean, as I have written a number of times in the past, it’s expected that the world will decline, degrade and decay.  And it’s really not unexpected that the most effective way or place for the devil to move is to have a slow and steady, multi-pronged attack against and within the church — either subtly, boldly, directly or indirectly. Watch for it — you’ll see: it’s happening!  It’s really happening.  And I’m not talking about trends of worship style in what most mainstream Christians mean when they refer to church — the meetings that happen on Sunday mornings — or for the very contemporary: Saturday evening.  Because, contrary to common misconceptions — what happens on Sunday mornings (or Saturday evenings) isn’t church — it might be a meeting of the church, but it’s not church.  Church is not a place or event but a body of believers — and people do a lot of things for or against ‘the church’ because of what they think of the event (or location) that happens on Sunday mornings — or what’s happening to the building ‘the church’ meets in.

The Proverbs (27.12 & 22.3)

quotebegin.gif A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

A combination of local and national headlines and news stories, recent ‘church’ news and clips, and recent scripture studies have me just shaking my head again and again.  I’m grieved over the slip ‘n slide of the church in America.  Just read titles of books in the “christian” bookstore or read anything by “progressive” christians and you’ll see the blast of decay.  I’ve been trying to make a point to not be caught up in all the verbiage and mess of politics and global garbage and all the emergent lies — I really have been looking for glimpses of fruit — sweet fruit.  So, truly, it’s with near anguish I consider the pitiful decline of the church... the shameful view or portrayal of God and His Word — the utter lack of wisdom, knowledge and understanding of God’s Word coupled with the arrogance and carelessness of so-called “pastors” and “preachers” of the Word.

So… here at the kitchen table this afternoon I’ve been reviewing some different mails that have come in, newsletters and links that have been suggested.  I think of the different things going on and I marvel at the stunning actions, remarks and positions being made or taken by notorious ‘mega church’ pastors and ‘leaders’ today. People are flocking after many of these illustrious individuals and I would hazard to guess they don’t really even know what these men are actually saying — and truly, it’s a lack of understanding what the Bible really says and their simple acceptance of whatever’s being bandied about.

quotebegin.gifI had no idea that Frank Navasky was so down-to-earth… You read his stuff, you think he’s going to be so obscure and abstruse. He’s always talking about Heidigger and Foucault and I have no idea what any of it’s about, really.”

This is a line from the movie, You’ve Got Mail, and the character was gushing over reporter, Frank Navasky’s work.  It seems to me that that’s how many Christians are behaving toward *many* of the mainstream church ‘leaders’ today — just gushing.  It’s amazing… and what’s so astonishing about it all is that I truly believe a lot of them don’t even know they’re being totally duped by these ‘pastors.’

  • In the “you-just-can’t-make-this-stuff-up” category, consider this: a local church is giving away money to its congregants —or, actually, anyone…

“People who take the money aren’t required to be members, and it doesn’t matter if they’ve never been to the church before, Ehoff said. He’s not worried about losing the odd $100, and expects most families to bring in a profit.”

They say the plan is biblical… a loaves and fishes sort of deal.   I’m trying to be charitable here, I am.  I really am.  But I’ve just gotta say — this. is. unbelievable. and. it’s. sad.  Considering the justification of what really is looking a lot like gambling… justifying their decision because of Jesus’ parable of the talents and also His miracle of feeding thousands with five loaves and two fish.  And to make it applicable to their situation?!?!!?!!?!!  So… in three months the folks will return the money and any profit they miraculously make — hmmmm… it’s like a game — each member needing a $40,000. miracle.   Only… it’s not a game — the church needs a f.o.u.r  m.i.l.l.i.o.n. d.o.l.l.a.r. “miracle” for their expansion bcz their bank loan fell through.  It’s like they might as well just check in with the government and its form of miracle-making… you know: money out of thin air — but it’s really money that’s not even theirs to budget, grab and spend.

  I know I am sounding critical — and believe me, I do not want to be harsh—I so want to be loving here.  I just must say — this seems to me to be sooooo lacking true faith, trust and obedience in, for and to the LORD — our Living LORD God.  It’s just unconscionable.

I keep wondering…  will the church wake up and see?

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2 thoughts on “slip-slidin’ away…

  1. Heather –
    Thank you for writing…
    I sympathize with your concern for the direction of activities in ‘churches’ in the States. It’s sad and disheartening to watch the continual decline and seeming ease with which the trends are adopted or that ‘worship’ services seem to so easily and so quickly adapt to worldly trends.

    See if there’s a home church in your area, maybe? I understand that many of the ‘family integrated churches’ are bible-based… maybe one’s near you?

    praying so.
    with love, pamela

  2. When we were attending a church that switched pastors to the new, young, hip guy who wanted immediate, drastic church growth at any cost, we arrived one Sunday morning to find a tiny potted plant on each chair in the sanctuary. We were instructed to pray over this little plant with much faith and ask God to lead someone our way whom we would be able to invite to attend (and later join) our church … so it would GROW like the plant! When we saw plant growth, we were to remember church growth. He “joked” and said if our plant died then we needed to do some serious soul searching. Oh, and we were not allowed to pray for someone who would not be geographically able to attend our church. We had to pick someone within an easy driving distance so we would have a greater chance of success.
    Hokey?? Insane??
    Yep. We thought so, too. And last we checked, the church was still at about 60 members or so. I kept the plants because they were free, but threw them out after about a year. That was four years ago.

    We recently moved across the country and have been visiting a large church nearby. This past Sunday a teenager fell and had seizures and within minutes he had EMT’s surrounding him for about 1/2 hour. Know what? They got angry when I gently suggested to the usher that the music in the service stop so we could collectively pray for him. I later emailed the pastor at my husband’s encouragement and was sent a curt, put-me-in-my-place email stating that the service (ie: show) would not ever be interrupted for “just anything” that might be going on outside the sanctuary doors ~ thank you ~ but I was told I could pray on my own “if you want to”. What if that was my son surrounded by EMT’s and nobody would stop banging on the drums and wailing at the top of their lungs to pray? Where do I think Jesus would have been in that service? Swooning at the deafening rock music? Or would He have been at my son’s side?

    So, I ask… what is “church” anyway?? We are frustrated that we can’t find one that resembles what it should be.

    sigh.

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