Neoformation Manifesto: Act 8

Act 8

I know we’ve wussified the church.

We’ve become just a bunch of nice people. Ugh! Are you kidding me? Is this what Jesus had in mind for us? A bunch of namby-pamby, Casper Q. Milquetoast, kum-by-yah singing wussies who’s only boldness is occasionally throwing an extra $20 bill into the offering plate without saying who it’s from or maybe getting really crazy and anonymously paying for the coffee of the person behind us in line at St. Carabuck’s Bros coffee? Passionate worship for us is an occasional half-hearted “amen, Pastor!” or maybe raising one hand to just above waist-level in church while singing “Shout To The Lord.”

Now, not that any of these things is bad. They’re not. They’re all fine. But when you think of the reality of the entire forces of wickedness, darkness and Hell—Satan and all of his fallen angels—arrayed against us with all their evil might to tear us down and bring us all to eternal damnation to attack the heart of our Father in Heaven, don’t you think we’re kinda missing the point?

We’re a bunch of wusses. Now, let me tell you what I really think.

The church as it was just after Jesus left the planet kicked ass. These folks were walking around healing people. And I’m not just talking about getting rid of the hiccoughs. No, they were making lame people walk. They were making blind people see. They were healing leprosy. I mean holy crap, they were raising the dead! And I’m not talking about dime-store illusions where people thought these things were going on. I’m not talking about faith-healers coming through town with their dog-and-pony shows and people planted in the audience who would throw down their crutches and “miraculously” walk for the first time in years “Hallelujah!” I’m talking about the genuine article. People were getting healed by being in the shadow of these early church members! And they were going after demons! Not just sort of maybe kinda suggesting that God bless people. No! They were actually driving demons out of people and freeing them up to live the abundant life which God intended.

And what do we do in church now? We have bake sales. Since when is the Kingdom of God getting advanced by baked goods? Not that I’ve got any axes to grind against Aunt Mabel’s bars because God knows they’re good. But what on God’s green earth do her bars have to do with fighting against the forces of Hell which have an organized plan to steal, kill and destroy all of God’s children?

And at the denominational level what do we do? We draft political statements against global warming. “We, the people of the Holy Catholic-Luther-Presby-Methobaptistical Assemblies of Christ Church say that global warming is bad and all who drive S.U.V.s are going to “H. E. Double-hockey sticks!”

I know we’ve done our best to make the church safe, welcoming, inviting, appealing, comfortable, aroma-therapeutic, politically correct, environmentally friendly, smoke-free, user-friendly, drug-free, anti-war, pet-friendly, with messages (not sermons, mind you) which do their gosh-darned hidey-ho-neighbor best to not offend anyone don’t cha know.

Didn’t Jesus offend just about everyone? He offended their sensibilities, their practicalities, and their traditions. And in fact, still does today, which is evidenced by the fact that our governments (local, state, and federal) are doing their best to erase His presence from every aspect of our lives. Almost everywhere we go in public, everything is now smoke-free. And if we continue down this path, it’ll soon be Jesus-free as well. And who is behind the attempt to completely erase Jesus’ presence? The devil himself, whose greatest ploy is to convince us he doesn’t exist.

Friends, the church has become a sanctuary of, for, and by wussies. I mean it. When I look around at most of the people with which we’ve packed our church buildings on most Sunday mornings, I see a bunch of very well-meaning, yet spiritually naïve people who have no concept of the spiritual warfare waging battle for their souls.

I know that we spiritual leaders, for the most part, stopped making disciples of Jesus a long time ago, and created pew-packers who write out tax-deductible checks, attend Bible studies, and try not to swear.

We took that which was never meant to be tamed and put a bridle on it and called it good.

And about that time, God took its temperature, called it lukewarm, and spit it out.