A buddy wrote me and was concerned that I would alienate churches and pastors by publishing the Honey Lake Church and Worldwide Ministries Vision which is:
- To reach those who are un-churched and/or have been turned off by traditional conventional church services in both the local community and worldwide
- Lead others into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ that begins with obtaining salvation.
He went on to say this was an “indictment and demeaning” to churches, and we should not set ourselves up as a “moral judge of others”. He wrote, “Regardless of the faults and short comings of the Church, Christ called the Church to represent and be a witness unto Him.”
Hmmm…
I don’t think anyone is “indicting”, “demeaning”, or “setting themselves up as a moral judge of others” with the above statement. It seems to me that we are simply stating the obvious; namely that huge numbers of people have become disillusioned with churches all over the world, and are leaving them in alarming numbers.
It is an enigma and a paradox, because the world is unstable and filled with fear and anxiety as never before. Worldwide 24/7 media coverage instantly reports every bad/sad thing that happens anywhere on the planet and dominates the airwaves to include coverage of horrific wars, economic turmoil, extreme poverty, terrorism, starvation of millions of people, nuclear and biological threats, riots, mindless violence, earthquakes and devastating storms, racism, hatred, disasters, genocide, perversion, disease, and so forth.
If at any time in history people worldwide should be flocking to churches and trying to find God’s hope, love, and peace to calm their anxiety and fears, it is now. However instead, they are running away from churches in record numbers.
One has to wonder why?
With all due respect, much of organized religion today is not the church that “Christ called to represent and be a witness unto Him” and I think that is a major problem. For example, many denominations have endorsed openly homosexual priests to lead their congregations in spite of the fact that the Bible expressly condemns this behavior. Do you think Jesus has ordained this church to represent Him in such a manner?
I don’t, because to do so would mean that the Bible would have to be a lie. The apostle Paul clearly defined the qualifications for leadership in Christ’s church and some churches/denominations have chosen to ignore it altogether.
Our ministry believes that the Bible has stood the test of time. Nearly 800 years before Christ was born, Isaiah wrote in chapter 40:8, God assures us, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of God stands forever.”
Jesus stated in Matthew 24:3, “Heaven and earth will pass away but My words shall not pass away.”
We believe that these words of wisdom found in Scriptures of old still hold true today. Society may change its mores, but God is unchangeable. That is one thing that I love most about Him; He doesn’t take a poll in order to determine His course of action. Sin remains sin in spite of a society demanding that it be declared morally acceptable, lawful, and politically correct.
To call some of these churches, (and indeed entire denominations), that have strayed far away from His Holy word, “His church”, is not accurate and I firmly believe an abomination and insulting to Him and everything He stands for.
Jesus railed against the organized religion of the day and was its harshest critic, and as you are well aware that is the primary reason they worked so hard to have Him crucified. He did not belong to a denomination, nor recommend one. His church was and is a body of believers who love, follow, and obey Him as best they know how.
The Bible warns us to “test” the message emanating from pulpits and not follow every false prophet who comes along claiming to represent Jesus like dumb sheep going to slaughter. The Bible clearly tells us that in the latter days, (which we are in right now), many of these false prophets will deceive the world because they will preach from a pulpit inside what looks like a church, feels like a church, acts like a church, but the all-important message being emanated from the church will not be Christ’s message to His church; it will be perverted.
Folks it can look like a duck, walk like a duck, fly like a duck, smell like a duck, and have feathers like a duck, but if it don’t quack like a duck, it ain’t a duck.
While our ministry does not intend to name, indict, or set ourselves up as a “denomination or, church judge” that condemns churches for bending their liturgy to accommodate the demands of a rapidly deteriorating immoral society’s “itching ears” in any manner, we do plan to distinguish our ministry in general terms as being fundamentally grounded in God’s Holy Bible and one that is trying, as best we know how, to get back to emulating a compassionate Jesus who offers love and grace to His weak creatures.
Personally I don’t know how else we can reach people who are utterly lost and disillusioned with church without letting them know that our church is returning to the basic tenants of our forgiving Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in taking people whoever they are, wherever they are, as they are, and letting them know that God loves us all in spite of our many sins and flaws. And that He offers eternal hope and salvation to one and all through His blood sacrifice as a free gift for no other reason than He loves us with an incomprehensible love.
Jesus spent the majority of His time preaching the good news of salvation. That is our intent. We do not plan on spending any of our precious time in the pulpit railing against organized religion. Folks can read the Bible and listen to Jesus to catch that message.
There are many excellent churches throughout the land and more cropping up all of the time that espouse identical beliefs as mentioned in this letter. In my humble opinion, that is the true body of Christ, (His beloved church), and I love every one of them. I hope that allays my buddy’s fears and, should you have any, allay yours too.
If not then I suppose we must just agree to disagree…
BTW – I’ve heard from many people who have told me that they NEVER go to church, but they are coming to ours this Sunday to give it a try in the hopes it will be different. Seems like our message is effective in at least getting some of them there for this first service -That is an important first step in the right direction as I see it.
Matthew 21:13
He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”