Thom and Sam Rainer have written a book entitled Essential Church?: Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts. The book will be the subject of an upcoming discussion that, Lord willing, I hope to attend. Although I am just glancing through the book right now, I noticed an interesting section - “Top Ten Reasons Church Dropouts Stopped Attending Church.” The list is compiled from 18-22 year old former church-goers:
- Simply wanted a break from church.
- Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical.
- Moved to college and stopped attending church.
- Work responsibilities prevented me from attending.
- Moved too far away from the church to continue attending.
- Became too busy though still wanted to attend.
- Didn’t feel connected to the people in my church.
- Disagreed with the church’s stance on political or social issues.
- Chose to spend more time with friends outside the church.
- Was only going to church to please others. (ec?, pp. 3-4)
Admittingly, I’m only looking at this list and not the main arguments of the book. But what is really going on behind these survey-like answers? I remember hearing Erwin Lutzer say one time that if you love Christ, you’ll love His church. Is it possible that one of the biggest reason why people stop going to church is a lack of love for Christ and His body?
Much has happened in the past year. I cannot go into detail now, trying to recap the entire year. But I will say that the ups and downs of life can leave us longing for something better. In John 2:1-11, we see that the new wine is better than the old. Jesus is better than the old way of doing things. May we take this time to remember the last year but always look forward to Christ.
“Signs and wonders should never be the ground of your faith or the criterion of truth.” - John Piper
Pastor John Piper spoke these words in 1987. This warning is still valid today. If you are a part of Edgewater Baptist Church, you probably remember Jesus’ warning against false prophets in the Sermon on the Mount, which he studied a little over a week ago.
It says in God’s Word: “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9
Let us not be deceived, even by things that look cool.
Over the week of Christmas, I was able to listen to the audio book Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. Although I had read the work before, I was amazed at how relevant his material was, even though the book came out of Lewis’ radio talks in the 1940s. Lewis’ aim is to get at the basic, or “mere” form of Christianity, without specializing in intricate theology. Nevertheless, his book has a lot of depth to it.
In his argument for Theology, Lewis writes, “Theology is practical: especially now….if you do not listen to Theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones - bad, muddled, out-of-date ideas.” (MC, pp. 136-137)
The picture above is where Lewis would get together on Tuesday nights with J. R. R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield, and others in 1939 (Oxford, England). Their group was known as the “Inklings.”
In 1999, near Ypres, Belgium, a cross was set up to commemorate the 1914 Christmas Truce during World War I. It must have been quite a scene when warring factions placed down their arms to celebrate the birth of Christ. The space between the trenches, known as “No Man’s Land,” became the site of a Christmas Eve to remember. It is not too surprising that it was Christ who enabled and established this ceasefire. This truce is but a shadow of Christ’s power to bring peace in the “No Man’s Land” of a sinful world (John 3:16). Will you lay down your arms and come to know Christ this Christmas?
“Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!” - words from a rebellious people recorded in Isaiah 30:10b-11
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns against false prophets. He uses the metaphor of a wolf in sheep’s clothing (common to any ancient Greeks who might be listening, because of Aesop’s fables). Christ teaches that there are those who look like sheep, but are ferocious wolves inside. One key characteristic of such a false prophet is that they deny the narrow road. It is our responsibility to be on guard against false teaching in the church. We must always discern what is being taught with what Jesus teaches. If Jesus teaches that there is a hell, we cannot deny it. If Jesus teaches that the broad road leads to destruction, then we cannot accept the idea that all roads are equally valid ways to God. Beware of false prophets.
I was at a public library today and there was a book sitting on an empty desk which advertised itself as a ”how to” book. Interestingly, it’s subtitle read something like “living in sin without getting burned.” What struck me about the book was the apparent lack of concern over the seriousness of sin - as well as the belief that there actually is a way to sin without having negative consequences. Jesus teaches us something quite different. In John 8:34, He says, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Sin may look exciting and may even be exciting for a season, but in the end, there is bondage.
A couple of years ago, Christianity Today ran an article entitled “No Substitute for The Substitute.” “Substitutionary Atonement” is a theological term that is central to the Gospel. In other words - Jesus paid the penalty for those who truly believe upon Him - He becomes their substitute. The article mentioned alternative theories regarding the cross of Christ. The author, Mark Dever, argues that these other theories have truth to them, but fit in as complimentary truths to substitutionary atonement. Christ’s death on the cross, at its heart, is a substitutionary penalty for sin. There are other truths that can be said about Christ’s death, but this foundation must never be minimized. If it is, then we begin to think that sin is a small thing. This Christmas, let’s remember why Jesus came to earth - “to save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
I recently attended a Whitefield Luncheon at the Moody Church in Chicago. The topic was the Holy Spirit and the teacher was Graham Cole. Dr. Cole emphasized the “floodlight” ministry of the Holy Spirit, as articulated by J. I. Packer. Roughly, this means that the Holy Spirit draws our attention to Christ. In the wisdom of the Trinity, our eyes are to look to the one who was historically visible on earth, which we are reminded of this season as well as each communion service. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…”
