Sunday, April 22, 2012

Has the church reached a turning point?


Young ‘Millennials’ losing faith in record numbers

Can the seminaries change their teaching from pastoring and teaching to evangelism and apostleship? The Western church has been in a bubble for thousand years we have been preaching and teaching the young and old what it is to stay a Christian. Denominations have been reinforcing their doctrine as the only one keeping in Christ. Churches and families have generation all membership fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers, uncles, aunts, sisters and brothers have been married baptized and married in the same faith be it Catholic, Lutheran, or Presbyterian it makes no difference we have been born and raised according to the beliefs of our chosen church. A recent blog posting had a study on how faith is losing in record numbers. It is not that Catholics are going to the Lutheran Church and Lutherans are going to an assembly church it is people not going to church and raising their children away from church.

Where have we been and where are we going?

Old members of church remember what their parents told them what church was what community was who God was, old communities have one or two denominations. Those were Catholic and Protestant and those denominations did not mingle it simply was not done. Today we have churches that claim no denomination, but have the basis they are simply choosing a denomination that is not one of the others. As people try to build churches to comfort people we are forgetting what we have been taught. And as time goes by. What we have forgotten cannot be taught. The teachers will be able to say that was a time when the hand of God was needed or it used to be like that. But it doesn't anymore. We don't need to be radicals the time for hard teaching is over. As more and more of these small denominations or congregations start the thinner and thinner religion becomes and because for the past thousand years. Religion has been in the family. We have not seen the change we simply say that's not how grandpa did it. What is that saying about this generation? Books, movie and television have watered-down Christianity but in the same breath risen up man and his flesh. Slowly, over time the television has crept into the house slowly exposing people to newsreels of war then shows of war. We remember the war numbers and news anchors reading casualty and fatality reports as if it was whether movies about war and the great battles romanticizing death and destruction. Television shows about war veterans easing back into life or flashing back to the comedy side shows like M*A*S*H and Magnum PI these were good lighthearted fun. John Wayne and his Green Berets all slowly chipping away at the heart of Christian values. Then comes television sitcoms like bewitched dark shadows and reality television like ghost hunters. They are not mentioning Christ your Christian values. They are bringing sorcery and spiritism slowly chipping away other Christian values. Ask any young person. The definition of a zombie they would say a person who is dead but is still walking the earth one of the shows on television said if we follow that definition. Jesus himself was a zombie. Logic like that is changing man's outlook on the spiritual side of life. It is, I think preparing civilization for an outpouring of spiritual happenings both blessed and cursed. In time the things that happen on television it movies and books become so common the mind of man accepts them as real, allowing Satan to bring his spirit to man.

Well the church as we know it be ready?

If evil continues at the rate it is there is no hope for the church as we know it now. What is needed is for the church to realize that members are not finding other pews to sit in. They simply have lost faith and today the church has no way of winning a soul back, let alone finding a truly lost soul our evangelism simply does not know how to bring the gospel to the unchurched. The church today starts out that the people they are speaking to heaven understanding of Christ and his workings. This is partially true today but tomorrow or next year. Our neighbor could be the generation that has not been taught about Christ or church. Two days pastor must become tomorrow's evangelist today's evangelist must become tomorrow's apostle men and women ready to face the evil coming to explain to people who have not heard the first step of faith they have no idea who Jesus is except the curse word. When the pool cue slips. Men, women, anchored in their faith able to say you want to see Jesus. You see me do what I do not to condemn them as sinners or even lower ourselves to be sinners like them, we are not. We are saved. We have been taught the glorious treasures of God. They will see that to equate ourselves with them, cannot be done.
The apostles in the old church did not broadcast look at me the chief sinner humbly preaching the word of God no, they boldly preach and taught. Men as a whole wants to be a champion of powerful man would not look at a weaker one and say I want to be like him but a strong man would look at one stronger and say I want to be like him. What does a humble apologetic man have to offer humanity?

No comments:

Post a Comment