4 Things That Scare Me About the Church Today

Is this a good time or a bad time for the Christian church? Is Christianity thriving or is it struggling? There are those who see the church as being threatened from the outside. I see the threat as being from the inside.

In my late twenties, it was recognized that there were dangers to the church. What I bought into was the danger of not being conservative enough, not being strict enough. There was a slippery slope to compromise and only by becoming more conservative could we prevent the fall. Liberalism was the threat.

Thirty years later, I see some different dangers. Here are four that I will share here:

Mistaking the Culture War for the Gospel

Probably one of my biggest concerns is about attitudes toward the culture war. There are Christians who believe that the most important thing for us is to fight those on the other side, even if (or especially if?) they are Christians.

I want to make it clear that I see this on the left and the right, liberals and conservatives.

There are Christians who see it not just as tolerable, but as virtuous, to act in ways contrary to the teachings of Jesus, as long as it results in damaging “the other side.”

Many do not even know that there is a difference between the culture war and the gospel.

See my post What Rush Limbaugh Taught Me About Christianity.

Making Strength an Idol

One of the things that I have noticed is that there has been a slip from trying to be faithful to Jesus to trying to position the church in a position of strength. It seems logical, if the church is God’s plan, the more strength the better.

And yet the New Testament gives us a different picture. It reveals a church that overcomes empires from a place of weakness. It follows a crucified Saviour and invites, or rather demands, that we redefine strength.

By turning strength into an idol, Christians read the new Testament and reject the model of Jesus embrace the model of Empire.

See my post I Figured Out What the Real Problem is With the Church.

Ignoring the Teachings of Jesus

I have already alluded to this, but this is part of a bigger trend. When describing the meaning of Jesus, people will lift up a particular view of the atonement as all there is. All that matters is that we are saved by what Jesus did on the cross.

I do not want to diminish the importance of the cross. Obviously it is key. But when we read the Gospels, they are only one part of the story. What about all those teachings of Jesus?

I have actually heard Christians claim that the teachings, such as the Sermon on the Mount, are not for us to follow but simply for us to realize we are sinful and thus in full reliance on the cross.

And yet reading the Gospels, we would never get that idea. Jesus seemed to expect we would follow his teachings. He even gave strong warning about those who do not follow, comparing it to a great house that falls because of an unstable foundation.

Minimizing or Redefining Love

After thirty years of intense study of the Bible, I have come to the conclusion that the Bible, especially the New Testament, points us to a foundation of love. Love is not just offered as a nice virture if interested but the defining marker of Christians.

One of the worst things that happened to the church was 1 Corinthians 13 being adopted as a wedding text. It is meant to be a challenge for the daily life of a Christian.

When I hear Christians arguing for us to get back to the basics, rarely do I hear them include love in that. And yet Jesus summarized the commandments as love for God and love for neighbour.

Of course no Christian can actually deny that love is taught in the Bible. So many redefine it. What I see is that people will go out of their way to be cruel toward people. Why? Because they say that is the only loving thing to do. Only by being as nasty as possible can you show how wrong people are and that is the “greatest act of love.”

Again, you will not find that in the Bible. The Bible makes it pretty clear what love is supposed to look like. Read the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 24 if you are not sure.

Concluding Thoughts

All of these things are interconnected. For example, the problem with following Jesus’ teachings too closely is that some of them seem a bit “liberal.” And if you see everything through the culture war lense, you already know that what is most important is serving your side of the culture war.

And the problem with being loving is that can be seen as a form of weakness unless it is redefined as being consistent with worldly understandings of strength. If we take those love commands too seriously, that might weaken the position of the church.

My only solution to all of this is to get back to Jesus. Go through the Gospels and read them all very carefully. Notice what Jesus says and does. Take note if what you read makes you uncomfortable or if it goes against your tradition or understanding.

Get back to Jesus.