The Secular Church

The church is changing to meet the people. There are positive and negative ways the church is adapting. It is positive to address the modern issues people face with recovery/support groups and small groups. I love that churches are reaching out to help the community with outreaches and food banks. That is what Christians are supposed to do. I also really enjoy Christian concerts in the community, even though some are part worship/part entertainment. Those are all good things. Unfortunately, there are also negative ways the church is changing.

I am talking about church service conforming to stay relevant and cool. We have Domino Pizza church services that deliver church in 60 minutes, or your money back. On top of that we use secular music and cultural themes to pack the pews. When you have 15 minutes allotted for worship, 2 minutes for announcements, a 30 minute sermon, 5 minutes for collection and another 5 minutes for prayer then we see you out the door so we can get the next service started.............Houston, we have a problem.

What if the Holy Spirit leads you to teach, pray or worship longer? We have placed the Holy Spirit in a box, putting time constraints on worship, sermons and even prayer. Church used to be one of the most important things of the week. It is that way no longer. The entire day used to be built upon church and fellowship. Now we have to be in and out quickly so that we can get back home in time for football games, the latest box office smash or to see how our brackets are doing.

Francis Chan said the church now proclaims, "Hi, welcome to church. Here's your bulletin. We'll get you out in an hour. Come back next week." He asks, "What would the church look like today if we really stopped taking control of it and let the Holy Spirit lead? I believe this is exactly what the world needs to see."

We have reached an era where we no longer place importance on spending time with Christ. We appeal to the masses living a fast food life by giving them fast food church. Many in the church now believe that modern culture is needed to bring people in, so they are basing sermons around culturally fun, relevant things. Charles Spurgeon, who died over 120 years ago, could just as well have been speaking about the church today when he said:

"The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the church.  If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ speak of it? The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt that it sets men on fire."

Os Guiness says, "The only place the Church is strong in the West is ordinary people in America, which are largely evangelicals, and if you look at the evangelical community, it’s anti-intellectual. It’s handicapped, populist, and incredibly worldly. In many cases, the Church is shaped more by the world than by the Gospel of Christ."

The world needs a fresh drink of water, not the same Kool Aid they've been gulping down their entire lives. Why do some churches feel the need to give the unchurched what they already know? Is that what the Bible said? "Go out and make disciples of all nations, using the Word of God and providing entertainment they can relate to so they will come to church. Also, tone down the message so as not to offend. Remember, wide is the gate that leads to salvation and many will storm through it as your church grows larger and larger!" I must have missed that part of the Bible.

A.W. Tozer said, "We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum." Christ said that the world would hate us, as it hated Him yet we are trying to appease everyone.

Francis Chan calls the current American church "lukewarm." We are warned of this in Revelation 3:15,16, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." This is what we are doing by trying to create a middle ground between Christ and the world, being lukewarm. We have forgotten there is no middle ground. This is Satan's world. You are either the problem or the solution; not of this world or in it with 2 feet firmly planted. 

The church is doing a great disservice to those searching for hope. The nonbeliever comes to church for something different and supernatural, and is instead given what is common and known. We were told to be salt and light, but we are becoming tasteless and allowing the darkness of the world to enter into our churches. How are people to find hope, salvation or a reason to change how they are living when they hear a primary message that shouts, "Watch, read, speak and live as you want to, Jesus loves you as you are! See, we are just like you."

When the church begins to resemble the world it is in, that goes completely against what Jesus taught. He said that they would hate us, as they had hated him. James 4:4 says, "anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." That means we may lose some friends and alienate some people when they step into our churches. They should hear the salvation message instead of what they are hearing.

Christianity Today said, "The current state of our preaching is driven by an admirable desire to show our age the relevance of the gospel. But our recent attempts have inadvertently turned that gospel into mere good advice-about sex, about social ethics, about how to live successfully. This either offends or bores our culture. A renewed focus on the Cross is the only way forward."

 We rely on being culturally relevant and preaching a "feel good" message as opposed to focusing on discipline and discipleship. It is no wonder we are losing our youth to the secular world. They do not have the Biblical knowledge to defend their faith, let alone live it while teaching and discipling others. Since this is the culture of the church, we are setting our youth up for failure. The Berean Call recognized this, and said:

 “During the last three decades, many have experienced Christianity in church settings that major in entertainment rather than in teaching the Scriptures and disciplining those who attend. Thus, they are the products of years of church-growth marketing schemes that have attempted to fill pews with the "unchurched" and keep them coming back by using consumer-oriented tactics. It's a "keep the customer happy," seeker-friendly approach that has critically diluted biblical content as churches compete with the world in order to interest their youth. The outcome has resulted in a shallow Christianity for millions of young professing Christians.”

G. Campbell Morgan, who died almost 70 years ago saw this and said, "When amusement is necessary to get people to listen to the gospel there will be failure.  This is not the method of Christ. To form an organization and provide all kinds of entertainment for young people, in order that they may come to the Bible classes, is to be foredoomed to failure."

We don't need entertainment and a "feel good" gospel; we need the message of salvation through Christ. There is no need to water down the gospel, for ALL scripture is inspired by God and beneficial! Instead of telling sinners how to be saved and live differently, we are teaching them they can continue in their sinful ways. I share recovery, not sobriety with people. It is not enough for someone to simply be sober, for there is so much more to it than not that. Same with being saved, there is so much more to it than simply accepting Christ.

In recovery we have dry drunks, in the church we have plastic Christians. Their foundation is unstable and likely to fall at any moment because they have only started the change and never moved forward with it. They are coming to church not because they want to make a sacrifice and put Christ first and foremost. They come because of what they feel Christ can do for them, or because they are afraid of what may happen if they don't accept Christ and go to church. This is merely accepting.

Ask anyone who works the 12 steps; acceptance is only step 1! There are still 11 steps remaining. Acceptance of Christ with no changes in character or behavior is a scary way to live. We are encouraging the dead faith James talked. He said that you can't have faith without works. Once you have truly accepted Christ, your life will begin to change. You will begin to live differently for all the right reasons. I did not start believing in God and stop drinking, drugging, cussing, smoking cigarettes, having premarital sex and fighting out of fear or because I was entertained.

My life didn't change because the worship team played Mustang Sally or Dave Matthews. It happened because I heard Christian music address my issues in the Third Day song, "Cry Out to Jesus" Brandon Heath's song, "I'm Not Who I Was" and "Forgiven" by Sanctus Real. It didn't change because someone told me how to relate a Harry Potter book to a lesson in the Bible. Instead the associate pastor met with me and introduced me to Lee Strobel's book, The Case for Christ, which examined the historical evidence for Christ.

My life didn't change because the church directed me to a Narcotic's Anonymous group like the one I was used to going to. Instead I was introduced to a faith-based recovery/support group called Celebrate Recovery. It helped me see some things differently. First, it let me see that a lot of people have struggles they cope with in unhealthy ways besides drugs and alcohol. I also realized I am no better or worse than everyone else, because everyone struggles. Finally, it showed me Christians aren't the judgemental hypocrites I had always known them to be.

My life didn't change because the first sermon I heard talked about a movie I had just seen and how it related to the Bible in one way or another. My life changed because I heard  a message of forgiveness and salvation. I was told that "all have sinned." I heard that Paul struggled with doing the right thing, because it was his nature to sin. In fact, Paul said he was the worst of sinners yet was still saved by grace. Then I was told to make my body a living sacrifice and not  to conform to the world. That changed me, not on the surface but at my very core. It gave me hope!

After over 2 decades of debauchery and Agnosticism I was changed because the Holy Spirit gave me hope in the knowledge of Christ's unconditional love and redeeming grace. I did not want to let Him down. The Holy Spirit led me to begin changing my life. I wanted to be like Christ and make him as proud of me as I possibly could. I still do. I know I will never be perfect, but my program has taught me it is progress not perfection. If there is no progress there is something wrong! I don't make progress because I get anything for it, but because I love God and have put Him first.

I think of the love my son  has for me. He does everything he can to emulate what I do and to make me proud of him. He knows what pleases me and he tries to do it. When he can't do what I do or he fails in impressing me, he continues practicing and tries again. He does this simply because he loves me. He loves to see me smile at him and know that I am proud of him. Same reason I strive to do better in my life. I want to know that how I live is pleasing to God.

My life is a gift from God, and how I live my life shows God my gratitude. The problem today is that some churches are not preaching that message. They are using seeker-friendly, "feel good" sermons filled with fluff and acceptance of sins. In using almost doctrine, the unchurched are almost introduced to Christ and are taught how to almost live Christ-like. Because of that many find themselves almost putting Christ first and are almost not of this world. The problem I see today is many will almost get to heaven because they almost got saved.

Does Anybody Even Know That You Are a Christian??

I ask this question in all seriousness, DOES ANYBODY EVEN KNOW THAT YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN? I do not mean the people that see you at church. I am sure that when they see you at church, they "know" that you are a Christian. Why, because you attend twice a week, you sit in the front row, you raise your hand in worhip or you stand at the door and say God bless you to everyone that walks in. That is an issue, to me. There are a lot of people out there that do not like Christians because they do not see people who represent Christ. They think that because you go go church that makes you one. You may even think that yourself. I would tell you both that appearances can be deceiving.

For example, I have seen Joaquin Phoenix portray Johnny Cash and Jamie Foxx play the part of Ray Charles. I saw James Cagney play George M. Cohan and Val Kilmer acts as if he were Doc Holiday. All 4 of these men did superb jobs, but that was merely acting! At the end of the day, Jamie Foxx is still Jamie Foxx. At the end of the day, who are you really? Do you act as if you are a part of this world or are you simply living in it! Do you merely observe at church or do you listen and apply what you learn to your life?

I know that I attend church, but does that make me a Christian? I have been to a lot of weddings in the past. Does that mean I was getting married? Is everyone there getting married? Obviously being at a wedding does not mean that you are doing more than just observing. I have been to 5 baseball games in the past year, but none of them made me a better baseball player. In fact, I couldn't hit a 95 mile per hour fastball if my life depended on it.

So based on that, it obviously takes more than just attendance to make someone a Christian or a bride or a professional baseball player. All that attendance means is that I am present! If sitting in your church made you a Christian, then based on the amount of time I have spent in garages and shops I should be a car by now! Instead, all of that time in garages and shops made me a methamphetamine manufacturer and drug dealer in my past.

There are lots of butts planted in the pews and chairs in churches that are present in body only. The minds of those in attendance are not focused on the message. Even those who are focused on the message will stop thinking about the sermon the minute they get to their car and the first person cuts them off in traffic or they do not get their food right away when they go out to eat. My complaint is this - THERE ARE MANY CHRISTIANS OUT THERE YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW ARE CHRISTIANS IF YOU DID NOT SEE THEM IN CHURCH!!

That is why I need you to be honest with yourself. If it was not for your church attendance and bumper stickers/T-Shirts proclaiming your faith would anyone know that you were a Christian? Does the music you listen to or the movies you watch proclaim your faith. Does the way you treat your wife/husband and kids portray how Christ loved and treated people? How about the language that comes out of our mouths when we are angry, or the looks we give to people we do not like?

I am in a relationship with Christ, and people should know it. There should not be a doubt in anyones mind that I am in a relationship with Christ. Take for example my marriage. I wear a wedding ring and am often seen with my wife. That gives an appearance. Now what if I ogle every female who walks by and am constantly hitting on women daily. Does it look like I am really in a true relationship with my wife? You can tell that I am in a good relationship with my wife not only by how I treat her, but how I act when she is not around.

In the same way, how you act when not in church tells a lot about where you are in your relationship with God. You can be married and beat your wife and cheat on her constantly while consistently running her down to everyone around you and making her out to be the bad person. All too often, I see people who use God as a scapegoat and his lack of "answering" their prayers as a reason to not believe. I would have you ask yourself a question first.......were you ever in a true relationship with God?

What is a true relationship? It is wanting to make the other person happy and giving to them, not just trying to make yourself happy and constantly taking. Sadly, all many of us do is take, but we do not want to give of ourselves. The Lord's Prayer should be changed to, "Our father, who art in heaven  gimme gimme gimme!!" That simply cannot be right.

What do you give up for Christ, other than one or two hours a week? He said that the world would hate us, just as they hated Him! So why do you strive so hard to fit in that people cannot tell the difference between you and everybody else that lives in this world. We should be leaders, not followers; teachers, not students. If church is the locker room where we get the pep talk, outside of church is game time! We need to redefine our relationship with Christ so that others know that it is real. We need to live our lives differently so that Christ knows it is real!! Don't talk about it, be about it!!

 Here is a poem by P4CM poet Karness Turner that addresses this issue.

When Was the Last TIme You TRULY Relied on God?

I ran into a friend at the gym last night on my way to play racquetball. She and I talked for a few minutes about her trip next month. She is going to Georgia for 9 months. Not the state, which would still be a big step for a young adult. For most of us, moving several states away from all of our family and friends with no one that we know living there would be a huge move. She is going to the country of Georgia for almost a year. 


Her mother had a one word question for her, "Why?"


She could have given many answers, but the one that she gave put another question in her mom's mouth. "I feel led by God to do this." 


"Then why not go on a mission trip for a couple of weeks or a month, why do this for 9 months by yourself?"


"Because I want to know what it feels like to rely on God."


With that answer, there were no more questions from her mother. Why? Because it is true, if you go to another country with a group of people you know for several weeks you are doing a great thing. If you are building schools, digging wells, bringing food/water or teaching children it is a good thing that you do. But you are surrounded by people that you know, and you get to come right back home. If you go there by yourself to teach for 9 months, there is a lot more reliance on God than if you go with a group for a short while.


It brought to mind a question that I would ask you. When was the last time that you TRULY relied on God. I do not mean relying on him as in, "I have a test at the doctors tomorrow and I want you to pray for it to turn out well" or "I got laid off and I am trusting that God will help me find a job." I mean TRULY relied on him. When did you tithe when it meant that you might not be able to go to the movies and out to eat with your friends/family? When did you volunteer when it meant that you would have to miss your favorite television show?


It is easy to say that we rely on God in America, where even our poor are rich by the standards of most Third world countries. Our hungry here still generally have options, but sometimes there pride gets in the way of going to the pantry at church or applying for food stamps. When most Americans say that they have no money it does not mean that they do not have a penny. In some countries, no money means no money.  Most countries do not have unemployment, food stamps and Medicaid! When there are no jobs, it does not mean that their pride won't let them apply at McDonald's because they are too good to work there. It means that there are no jobs, period!! 


Just so you know, being prideful and following God do not belong in the same sentence. Let alone in the same life! God did not call us to be comfortable. To quote the poem at the end, He calls us to be "righteous, not right-ish" I had a friend who went to work for a state agency and in training she was told that if she was not stressed out, that she was not doing her job right. I would argue that if you are not uncomfortable, you may not be following Christ right:


John 16:33 - "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."


1 John 3:13 - "Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you."


Acts 14:22 - "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God"


We shall not be comfortable in this sinful world, if we are following Christ. How many of us watch movies and listen to music that glorify the same conduct that God flooded the world for in Genesis? How many of us watch shows on television that glorify the lifestyles and attitudes that God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah over? How many of us make excuses to continue committing the same sins that Christ died on the cross to forgive us for? When have you had to make a choice in your faith that would make you uncomfortable? 


Global University has a student who tells a story of unimaginable faith. She lived in Iran at the time this story occurred. She was marrying a man who lied to her and told her that he was going to convert to Christianity with her. After their marriage, she got pregnant. When she had the baby, the government stepped in and gave her a choice. She could either keep her baby and renounce Christ or remain a Christian and they would take her baby. Long story short, she no longer lives in Iran but her baby still does. 


This is the faith that we are called to have. Many of us would instead renounce Christ in public to keep our baby but would justify it by worshipping Christ in private. That does not follow with the examples in the Bible. Daniel 3:13-18 tells a story about 3 men who refused to worship in private:



Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

There are also stories of Daniel himself, who was cast to the lions. Or the deaths of 10 of the 12 disciples by martyrdom! We are to follow in Jesus footsteps, and he was crucified. So I ask you, when has someone belittled Christianity in front of you and you remained silent? When has someone expressed doubt in God and you did not testify? When has a brother in Christ that you have known for years sinned and you did not hold him accountable but were instead silent? When have you excused little sins because they are in your nature? To quote the poet at the end, "You don't almost go to hell when you almost get saved!"

And these are the little things I am asking about, I hope you understand. If you cannot do the least of these, how can you follow Christ when the going gets tough. In the end we will be hated and persecuted, but you cannot even take a stand when you can worship freely! I challenge you to stop being what Francis Chan calls "Lukewarm Christians." 

You cannot be "almost" saved and you cannot pick and choose how you "almost" follow Christ. Christ led us to not be seen as part of this world. The Bible instructs us:

Mark 4:19 - "but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful."

Romans 12:2 - "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."

1 John 2:15 - "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."


We are called by Christ to live as he lived. We have been reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). We are made new in the attitudes of our minds (Ehpesians 4:23) which gives us the ability to find out what is pleasing to the Lord (Ephesians 5:10) and then follow His example in both true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). What does this mean? It means that we will not almost appear to be Christians. They will know us by OUR WORKS!!!

Everything else is lip service. Do you know what I am talking about. Here is a great example in the form of a  poem by the Passion for Christ Movement (P4CM) poet Ezekiel Azonwu that tells us what can happen to us if we live as though we "Almost" have faith:

Songs of Recovery - How the Devil Used Music to Control Me

There is something about music that really affects us. It has the ability to impact our lives, it can make life seem more worth living. Even Friedrich Nietzsche had to admit that. He said that, "Without music, life would be a mistake." Music is a great escape. It can save us from our feelings, or it can intensify them. Maya Angelou said, "Music was my refuge.  I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness." 

Music has always affected me in immeasurable ways. Like food is for our physical body, I believe that music is food for our soul. It will nourish us, sustain us, we are what we eat. Junk food is seen through our physical bodies when we have too much of it. That said, if we listen to junk music it can be seen in our actions and how we live our lives. Just like food, music has a manifestation.

I can remember listening to mostly gangster rap and heavy metal when I was in my addiction. I was angry, so I listened to angry music. I was violent, and I listened to music about violence. I was an addict and a drunk, so I listened to music about drug dealing and partying. I reveled in my sin, so I listened to songs about debauchery. I had extreme road rage, and have punched people at red lights and stop signs for cutting me off in traffic. The music encouraged my rage, and discouraged restraint.

Don't get me wrong, I take responsibility for my actions. That said, the music helped. Kind of like smoking cigarettes and cancer. You may not want to get cancer, yet you smoke. You are still responsible for the choice that you made, but the cigarettes led to lung cancer having a higher probability of occurance in you. Music is the same way. I probably would have continued making negative choices in my life without the music, but the music increased the probability of my making the choices that I did.

Even after the addiction, I still kept the music. And I wondered why I stayed angry. I wondered why I still felt such a strong pull to always do the wrong thing, to make the worst possible choice in any given scenario. I feel that music is just another way that the Devil can control us. I heard songs about drugs, money, threesomes and other sins. I sang these songs, and I liked them. Tell me that is not reinforcing the behaviors.

Why would you go to church and hear about Jesus dying to forgive us of our sins, then sing songs that praise the sins that Jesus died to forgive us of when we are not in church. I thank Jesus in church for dying to forgive the very same sins that I praise by singing about outside of church? That is nonsensical at best, and pure sin at its' worst. I believe that it sends mixed messages to those who know that we are Christian, to our family members and especially to our children. This goes back to a past blog that asked if you are a stop or a go Christian that you can find here:  http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/05/stop-or-go.html

If we truly believe in the Bible and are trying to represent Christ, we would not sing songs that glorify sin! If you want to change your life, why would you only change one aspect of it and not change it completely? My listening and singing the songs that I did was just one more way for the Devil to control what went into my mind and came out of my mouth. It was also influencing my moods, emotions, how I appeared to those around me and how people look at Christians if I am one that they have close contact with.

 As a dad, I cannot imagine hearing my son sing the lyrics that permeated my life as an addict. Why would I want my son to hear music that is diametrically opposed to how I want him to grow up. He soaks up everything, and I know that what I listened to would have a detrimental effect on him if I still listened to it.........so I do not. I have made the switch to worship music. I no longer listen to secular music except on rare occasions. I no longer go to secular concerts, I only attend worship concerts. This is my choice, and I will get into the reasons for that in another blog. 

The bottom line is, we need to change what we ingest mentally. There is an acronym, GIGO, that come to mind. It stands for garbage in garbage out. If I continue to soak my soul with music that is garbage, then that will encourage me to act in ways that garbage, metaphorically speaking. The blogs that are entitled Songs of Recovery will be blogs that discuss how different songs have positively affected my recovery and strengthened my belief in Christ and will end with a video of the song. They will also discuss how that song can be used by you to encourage and strengthen your walk with Christ, or help you build a stronger recovery.

To end this blog, I do not have a song. Instead, I have a poem from the Passion for Christ Movement, or P4CM. It discusses how the devil loses us when we give up our secular interests and begin focusing on Christ and being Christ-like. How Dynamic Living and being a Lukewarm Christian are the exact opposite. It discusses how we have to make unpopular decisions and separate ourselves from worldly things. Christ did not call us to be comfortable...........