Christianity vs. convenience
A post at Cerulean Sanctum on “Spiritainment” brings up an interesting topic. A topic that puts me in Martin Luther mode. I’m sorry this is going to be a long post. But this is actually a sore spot for me after weathering a church split a few years ago. I am now of the opinion that the majority of American Christians, though sincere, have very little depth to their roots. Sure, we’re all smiles and hugs and love when the winds are fair. But when adversity comes, we wither, flee, give up, stop attending church, go away, fail to make a stand, and give in to satanic pressure like a wet paper bag.
We live in a modern culture where our god is no longer the God who created the universe. Instead, our god is our own convenience. And the enemy of our souls is no longer the devil and his worldly systems. Instead, the enemy is offending someone. The unpardonable sin of the 21st century is to offend a church-goer in any way. And I’m not talking about the kind of offense that Paul mentioned when he said, “If eating meat offends my brother, I will eat no meat while the world still stands.” (Paul was referring to doing something that conflicted a brother’s conscience.) No, the offense I speak of is the offense of inconvenience - anything that places an imposition upon a person’s fleshly comforts.
I think many churches adopt “seeker-friendly” tactics to try to win people in our culture who are disenchanted with the church. Supposedly these people have all been used and abused by big, bad, evil churches of yesteryear that beat them upside the head with heavenly clubs. So we now need to tread lightly, gently open our hands, and bandage their wounds to win them back. RUBBISH! I’ll tell you what the real problem is: People’s hearts are hard, and they don’t want to listen to God’s instruction. Consider this: If someone is truly dedicated to the God who created them, a little snub or offense at a church won’t keep them from pursuing God or obeying God’s commands. If someone is open to the gospel of Jesus Christ, they won’t ignore Paul’s exhortation to keep meeting together with other believers. You see, we live in a society that is not willing to give God the benefit of the doubt. When it comes to living for God, we live in a culture that is looking for an excuse to throw in the towel, because they’d really rather be doing their own thing than sacrificing for their maker. No, God must now scientifically prove himself before we will believe in him and get down on his knees and woo us before we will follow him. The problem with modern Western culture is not so much the condition of the church, but the closed hearts of men who have been lulled into complacency by a society with a “don’t inconvenience me” mindset. There have always been problems with the church! It’s made up of imperfect people, and always has been! That hasn’t changed! Just think about how Paul had to rebuke Peter when Peter stopped eating with uncircumcised Gentiles. Jesus himself offended people with the truth, and lost half his followers on a single day because of his hard teachings. (Modern mega-church business planners would probably respond, “Hey, Jesus, you're limiting your growth!”) Inconveniences and issues have been present in Christianity from day one!
But modern men are now empowered. They have cars and can drive to another church if their current church demands too much of them. “Woe to the church that dares have service during the Super Bowl!” So we’ll just have our Super Bowl party at church so we can accommodate them. “Woe to the church that dares to preach too much about tithing!” Watch them hop to the church down the street if we as a church don’t avoid such taboo topics. “Woe to the pastor who reproves me for my internet porn addiction or for talking behind the Sunday School teacher’s back!” The deacon board has discovered that this family is now withholding their giving - we need to find a new people-friendly pastor who won’t dig into people’s lives, or this church is sunk!
Most people in today's Christian culture think that Christianity is some sort of club where members are to be wooed and catered to. But even a glance at Jesus’ teachings reveals a different story. Jesus said "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, but do not do what I say?" He also said, "Unless you deny yourself, you cannot be my disciple." Obviously, these sayings do not cater to Western culture's concept of microwave convenience. But let’s think about this... Could it be possible that these commands do not really "slam the door" in people's face, but instead raise the bar to which followers of Christ must strive to attain? Aren't you tired of all the religious hypocrites out there who claim adherence to Jesus, but who live unprincipled lives? Aren't you tired of hearing about priests molesting children, or a pastor's wife shooting and killing her husband? Isn’t it time to end the era of deacons embezzling church funds, and the driver with a Jesus fish on their car who ignores traffic laws? (How many of us regularly exceed the speed limit in the name of our new god, Convenience?) The only answer to these problems in the church is to return to the standards set by the teachings of Jesus. If we don't hold up the standards that Jesus set, how can we call ourselves Christians?
Today’s church is so afraid of offending people. There is a legitimate side to this, as described by 1 Corinthians 6:3 – “giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited.” But this passage speaks of legitimate offenses, not the inconvenience of the believer. Legitimate offenses might be, for example, living in a fashion inconsistent with Christ’s teachings. This could cause Christ to be blasphemed among unbelievers. But today we have extended the concept of “offense” to include when we cross people’s fickle, fleshly feelings. And so we end up accommodating impatience and Palmolive hands rather than encouraging fruits of the Spirit like patience, longsuffering, and self-control.
I have often wondered if the entertainment culture that the church uses to attract people to Christianity is the very thing that limits their development as disciples of Jesus Christ. We wean them on entertaining drama skits, humor-packed preaching, and rock-n-roll worship bands. We never teach them to endure hardship. What happens when such Christians encounter difficulty in their spiritual walk? How will they react when the road gets rough (as it inevitably will)? What will they do when the gospel of Christ becomes an offense? What will they do when the coffee and donuts run out? Or when WWJD bracelets become passé?
When we infuse our services with entertainment, we are sending an unspoken message that “it’s all about you and your comfort and convenience” instead of “it’s all about Jesus.” We are subconsciously stating, “Christianity exists for your entertainment and benefit”. This masks the true nature of Christianity, which ultimately exists for God’s benefit and purposes, not our own. Though it is true that Christians benefit from Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, it is also true that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” [2 Timothy 3:12] Whoa. Suddenly Christianity isn’t all cotton candy and carnival rides. As Jesus taught by his example, “Not my will, but your [God’s] will be done.” In other words, Christianity at its core is not about what you and I want. It’s about what God wants. Maturity in Christianity means denying ourselves, not pampering ourselves with endless entertainment. Maturity in Christianity means at some point we grow up and turn off the MP3 player for two seconds in order to focus on some of the more difficult things that Jesus asks of us. Maturity in Christianity means we don’t have to host a “Fear Factor” event in our youth group in order to boost attendance. Are we disciples of Christ, or disciples of entertainment?? I once heard it said, “What you win them with is what you win them to.” Wise words indeed.
I remember back in the day when the small church I attended at the time would occasionally have a singing night, allowing people from the congregation who couldn’t really hold a note to go on stage and sing a spiritual song. The anointed joy on their faces and zeal in their voices more than made up for the lack of sonic perfection. And God’s presence would touch us in a way we no longer experience now that supermodels with sultry voices lead our worship. But then, times have changed. God forbid if the congregation has to endure an entire song sung out of key, or experiences the discomfort of staring at a Leah leading our worship! No, we live in a world where only Rachels with rock star voices are acceptable. And if your church doesn’t have a Rachel leading worship, you’ll probably lose members of your congregation to a church that does.
This self-focused “please yourself” mindset of modern Christianity has plastered itself all over today’s Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), which often focuses more on aural appeal than scriptural substance. Such ear candy adds very little fiber to the Christian diet, and spiritual colon cancer will be the inevitable result. Yeah, we’re be-bopping down the road listening to HD Christian radio on our new Lincoln Navigator’s tricked-out sound system - while driving past houses whose inhabitants have literally never heard of what Jesus did for them. But hey! Don’t inconvenience me! That’s modern Christianity for ya.
If someone is offended by the Christian church, let it be because we are truly putting into practice what Jesus taught, and following the example he set. So let's look at the example Jesus set: Did Jesus never "slam the door" in people's faces? Did he just welcome everyone no matter what? Hardly! Consider these examples: A man came to him and said, "I will follow you anywhere." Jesus replied, "Birds have nests, and foxes have dens, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." In other words, Jesus told the man he'd have to give up the comforts of home for the life of a homeless man. Another man came to Jesus, and this man was very wealthy. He asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus eventually replied that this man needed to sell all he had and give it to the poor. The Bible records that the man went away sad, and Jesus said nothing to try to woo him back. Another man came up to Jesus and said he would follow Jesus, but only after his father was dead and buried. Jesus replied, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you come and follow me." This sounds rude to our Burger King "have it your way" society. The fact of the matter is, if we are true to Jesus' teachings, none of us can have Jesus or Christianity "our way." From the examples you see above, Jesus always challenged potential followers with the things that would need to change in their lives. Try that in the 21st century! Do you still think the problem today is the 21st century church? Or is the greater problem that nobody in 21st century society wants to inconvenience themselves? Like Jesus, we must not compromise the truth of God's message in order to gain a following. Sure, folks can go down the street and find a church that will cater to their convenience. But then that would make them followers of convenience, not followers of Christ.
I started off this post by apologizing that this post was going to be long, because a long post inconveniences the reader’s time. You know what? I take that back. I’m not sorry at all. If you want to grow in God’s wisdom, it’s going to take a little time to wrestle through the issues…including perhaps spending a little more time reading a blog post than you’d like to. Suck it up. No pain, no gain.
We live in a modern culture where our god is no longer the God who created the universe. Instead, our god is our own convenience. And the enemy of our souls is no longer the devil and his worldly systems. Instead, the enemy is offending someone. The unpardonable sin of the 21st century is to offend a church-goer in any way. And I’m not talking about the kind of offense that Paul mentioned when he said, “If eating meat offends my brother, I will eat no meat while the world still stands.” (Paul was referring to doing something that conflicted a brother’s conscience.) No, the offense I speak of is the offense of inconvenience - anything that places an imposition upon a person’s fleshly comforts.
I think many churches adopt “seeker-friendly” tactics to try to win people in our culture who are disenchanted with the church. Supposedly these people have all been used and abused by big, bad, evil churches of yesteryear that beat them upside the head with heavenly clubs. So we now need to tread lightly, gently open our hands, and bandage their wounds to win them back. RUBBISH! I’ll tell you what the real problem is: People’s hearts are hard, and they don’t want to listen to God’s instruction. Consider this: If someone is truly dedicated to the God who created them, a little snub or offense at a church won’t keep them from pursuing God or obeying God’s commands. If someone is open to the gospel of Jesus Christ, they won’t ignore Paul’s exhortation to keep meeting together with other believers. You see, we live in a society that is not willing to give God the benefit of the doubt. When it comes to living for God, we live in a culture that is looking for an excuse to throw in the towel, because they’d really rather be doing their own thing than sacrificing for their maker. No, God must now scientifically prove himself before we will believe in him and get down on his knees and woo us before we will follow him. The problem with modern Western culture is not so much the condition of the church, but the closed hearts of men who have been lulled into complacency by a society with a “don’t inconvenience me” mindset. There have always been problems with the church! It’s made up of imperfect people, and always has been! That hasn’t changed! Just think about how Paul had to rebuke Peter when Peter stopped eating with uncircumcised Gentiles. Jesus himself offended people with the truth, and lost half his followers on a single day because of his hard teachings. (Modern mega-church business planners would probably respond, “Hey, Jesus, you're limiting your growth!”) Inconveniences and issues have been present in Christianity from day one!
But modern men are now empowered. They have cars and can drive to another church if their current church demands too much of them. “Woe to the church that dares have service during the Super Bowl!” So we’ll just have our Super Bowl party at church so we can accommodate them. “Woe to the church that dares to preach too much about tithing!” Watch them hop to the church down the street if we as a church don’t avoid such taboo topics. “Woe to the pastor who reproves me for my internet porn addiction or for talking behind the Sunday School teacher’s back!” The deacon board has discovered that this family is now withholding their giving - we need to find a new people-friendly pastor who won’t dig into people’s lives, or this church is sunk!
Most people in today's Christian culture think that Christianity is some sort of club where members are to be wooed and catered to. But even a glance at Jesus’ teachings reveals a different story. Jesus said "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, but do not do what I say?" He also said, "Unless you deny yourself, you cannot be my disciple." Obviously, these sayings do not cater to Western culture's concept of microwave convenience. But let’s think about this... Could it be possible that these commands do not really "slam the door" in people's face, but instead raise the bar to which followers of Christ must strive to attain? Aren't you tired of all the religious hypocrites out there who claim adherence to Jesus, but who live unprincipled lives? Aren't you tired of hearing about priests molesting children, or a pastor's wife shooting and killing her husband? Isn’t it time to end the era of deacons embezzling church funds, and the driver with a Jesus fish on their car who ignores traffic laws? (How many of us regularly exceed the speed limit in the name of our new god, Convenience?) The only answer to these problems in the church is to return to the standards set by the teachings of Jesus. If we don't hold up the standards that Jesus set, how can we call ourselves Christians?
Today’s church is so afraid of offending people. There is a legitimate side to this, as described by 1 Corinthians 6:3 – “giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited.” But this passage speaks of legitimate offenses, not the inconvenience of the believer. Legitimate offenses might be, for example, living in a fashion inconsistent with Christ’s teachings. This could cause Christ to be blasphemed among unbelievers. But today we have extended the concept of “offense” to include when we cross people’s fickle, fleshly feelings. And so we end up accommodating impatience and Palmolive hands rather than encouraging fruits of the Spirit like patience, longsuffering, and self-control.
When we infuse our services with entertainment, we are sending an unspoken message that “it’s all about you and your comfort and convenience” instead of “it’s all about Jesus.” We are subconsciously stating, “Christianity exists for your entertainment and benefit”. This masks the true nature of Christianity, which ultimately exists for God’s benefit and purposes, not our own. Though it is true that Christians benefit from Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, it is also true that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” [2 Timothy 3:12] Whoa. Suddenly Christianity isn’t all cotton candy and carnival rides. As Jesus taught by his example, “Not my will, but your [God’s] will be done.” In other words, Christianity at its core is not about what you and I want. It’s about what God wants. Maturity in Christianity means denying ourselves, not pampering ourselves with endless entertainment. Maturity in Christianity means at some point we grow up and turn off the MP3 player for two seconds in order to focus on some of the more difficult things that Jesus asks of us. Maturity in Christianity means we don’t have to host a “Fear Factor” event in our youth group in order to boost attendance. Are we disciples of Christ, or disciples of entertainment?? I once heard it said, “What you win them with is what you win them to.” Wise words indeed.
I remember back in the day when the small church I attended at the time would occasionally have a singing night, allowing people from the congregation who couldn’t really hold a note to go on stage and sing a spiritual song. The anointed joy on their faces and zeal in their voices more than made up for the lack of sonic perfection. And God’s presence would touch us in a way we no longer experience now that supermodels with sultry voices lead our worship. But then, times have changed. God forbid if the congregation has to endure an entire song sung out of key, or experiences the discomfort of staring at a Leah leading our worship! No, we live in a world where only Rachels with rock star voices are acceptable. And if your church doesn’t have a Rachel leading worship, you’ll probably lose members of your congregation to a church that does.
This self-focused “please yourself” mindset of modern Christianity has plastered itself all over today’s Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), which often focuses more on aural appeal than scriptural substance. Such ear candy adds very little fiber to the Christian diet, and spiritual colon cancer will be the inevitable result. Yeah, we’re be-bopping down the road listening to HD Christian radio on our new Lincoln Navigator’s tricked-out sound system - while driving past houses whose inhabitants have literally never heard of what Jesus did for them. But hey! Don’t inconvenience me! That’s modern Christianity for ya.
If someone is offended by the Christian church, let it be because we are truly putting into practice what Jesus taught, and following the example he set. So let's look at the example Jesus set: Did Jesus never "slam the door" in people's faces? Did he just welcome everyone no matter what? Hardly! Consider these examples: A man came to him and said, "I will follow you anywhere." Jesus replied, "Birds have nests, and foxes have dens, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." In other words, Jesus told the man he'd have to give up the comforts of home for the life of a homeless man. Another man came to Jesus, and this man was very wealthy. He asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus eventually replied that this man needed to sell all he had and give it to the poor. The Bible records that the man went away sad, and Jesus said nothing to try to woo him back. Another man came up to Jesus and said he would follow Jesus, but only after his father was dead and buried. Jesus replied, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you come and follow me." This sounds rude to our Burger King "have it your way" society. The fact of the matter is, if we are true to Jesus' teachings, none of us can have Jesus or Christianity "our way." From the examples you see above, Jesus always challenged potential followers with the things that would need to change in their lives. Try that in the 21st century! Do you still think the problem today is the 21st century church? Or is the greater problem that nobody in 21st century society wants to inconvenience themselves? Like Jesus, we must not compromise the truth of God's message in order to gain a following. Sure, folks can go down the street and find a church that will cater to their convenience. But then that would make them followers of convenience, not followers of Christ.
I started off this post by apologizing that this post was going to be long, because a long post inconveniences the reader’s time. You know what? I take that back. I’m not sorry at all. If you want to grow in God’s wisdom, it’s going to take a little time to wrestle through the issues…including perhaps spending a little more time reading a blog post than you’d like to. Suck it up. No pain, no gain.
