In your article you mentioned <<Who’s stopping pastors from speaking freely from the pulpit? I’m not talking about endorsing political candidates. I’m talking about addressing abortion and LGBT activism and racial division and more. Who’s stopping us from being socially and culturally relevant?>>
We stopped being socially and culturally relevant since at least the turn of the 20th century probably decades before. Why did we check out of the culture?? Many possibilities. Some thought we should only focus on wining souls and not worry about politics and government and culture as the world is not our home we are citizens of heaven and so we should be focused on spiritual things not temporal things.We shouldn't dirty our hands with the things of this world.Some believe that we can‘hasten the Lord's return’(2Peter 3:12) by letting society go to pot.The sooner society crashes the soon Jesus returns to set up his kingdom.(I have actually had someone write me about this when I was encouraging the christians I knew years back to write the boys scouts and tell them not to allow gay scouts in. The person thought I shouldn't bother because gay scouts getting in would 'hasten the Lord's return' and that we are told in scripture to 'hasten the Lord's return' and so we shouldn't fight the downward spiral of society. He even said in his email "Go Homos Go!”).Perhaps it was because we wanted to be loved by people we decided that if we compromise they will love us and if the love us they will become christian. Whatever the reason we disengaged and society plummeted.
The 60s were a major problemwe decided the only way to reach the young people was to imitate the world and should how 'hip and cool' we were and that they could still be 'hip and cool' and be christian they just had to add Jesus to their lives. We coopted the devils music and 'claimed it for Christ' so they could still rock out just to use Jesus in their lyrics to just add vitamin J to your daily routine and you can stay the same. Jesus loves you right now so he doesn't need you to change just add him to your lives. It reminds me of the old packaging"just add water" we wanted them to "just add Jesus". Wedidn’t do, and aren'tdoing, them any favors acting like the worldbecausethey didn't change, and aren’t changing, to conform to Christ they stay the same because we have conformed, and are conforming, Christ to them.
We are supposed tobe set apart from the worldin our actions and in or mannerisms but looking around all I see is a churchtrying desperately to look and act as much like the worldas possible.Many churches have programs they offer that are just worldly programs but offered in the church building.We try to compete with the world buton IT'S terms not ours.We don't show thatChrist has a better waybut thathis way is the worlds way but with a few christian words and phrases added in.Like 'can I get a Hallelujah???' and 'Praise the Lord'.Wetalk the talkbut we do it whilewalking like the world.We(the church as a whole) take pride in the number of people we convert to the Lord but when we teach them they can stay like the worldly people they are just add Jesus to their worldly lives and say some prayers now and then how can we truly say they are converted.2 and 1/3 Billion CALL themselves christianI venturethe true number isat most 850 millionand I thinkTHAT is being generous! I wouldn't be at all surprised if thereal number is between250 and 500 Million!
Who is stoping pastors from speaking out??Themselves that is who.Ifthey start speaking out and TRULY preaching the bible they will lose a lot of their flock.That mean the offering plates get as empty as the pews.Mammonis importantto many a preacher and evenmore important is EGO. Having a large flock is a big ego boost. (kind of like a carnal man and the size of his penis [you should see the size of my flock]).Butwhat goodis having alarge flock if most or all are unsaved????I am sure the Lord would be more thrilled with the preacher whose church only has10 parishionersbutall 10 are savedthen with the preacher ofa 1000+ parishioner mega churchwhoonly has 10 people saved.Imagine how many people would leave if the churchthrew out all worldly influences?? Especially the rock and heavy metal???Talk about an Exodus! One person I talked to about how rock etc was the devils music and we shouldn't be using it and just use our hymns and gospel and spirituals and existing religious music said it that was all there was he would kill himself. I don't think he literally would but obviously the rock and stuff mean so much that without it christianity wasn't worth anything to him.THAT is what is keeping them in church!!NOT the gospel NOT the love of Christ it isthe LOVE of worldly music, albeit with christian words and phrases, that they come for. It isthe worldly atmosphere they come forand theyjust accept the sprinkling of Jesusthat is added to it.Remember Jesus saidnarrow is the wayand straight the gate that leads to salvation andFEWwould find it. Well 2 and one third billion is not few.That is many. And what did he say about the path with many??? That the path with many would bewide and lead to destruction.How many pastors have marched people down the wide path for the sake of a few dollars???30 pieces of silverseems to be quite attractive these days!
How many how call themselves christian refuse to get involved because they are afraid?? Being liked has become so important to christians they go with the flow even when they know the flow is in the wrong direction so the world will see how kind and loving and nice they are.We are afraid to get involved in someone else's life when we see them headed to hell but how many seeing a person they don't even know drowning would just walk away????It is the same thing. While yes hell is not the physical death like drowning it is death.Do we can more about a persons physical life than we do about their very soul???
Another problem is we love our family so much that when oneannounces they are part of a en vouge sinwe decide to change our minds about that sin rather than help change them to be what Christ wants them to be. We would ratherrewrite the bible and put words in God's mouththan risk the lost of a family relationship.How many a christian has had the biblical belief on homosexualityonly to "evolve" their beliefonce a son or daughter or other closebelovedfamily member comes out as gay???Or how many of us decideGod made our precious son a girl in a boys bodysimply because he is our son and I want to show him I love him and I don't want to hurt his feelings. Transgendered people are essentially saying'God made a mistake'because they have a boys soul in a girls body or vice versasince God puts us together in our mothers wombs he puts the soul with the body so if the wrong soul is in the wrong body the only conclusion is 'God made a mistake'.They try to deny they mean this but it is the only conclusion that would fit the facts.
Christians need toclean house. We must remove ALL worldly influences from the church.That means CCM, that means the endless programs (sex gods way and all the programs having nothing to do with God or the christian perspective on life), the paganism (YoGod yoga etc), That means the interfaith breakfasts that include non-christian faiths, the prosperity Gospel, all worldly things must be jettisoned and we must return to the bible. We can look at some ofthe best of the old preachers to help.Whitfield, Spurgeon, Edwards,Finney, and others.
While I agree the gifts of the spirit are for today tooI think there is too big a emphasis in some circles on tongues and that is can turn people away from knowing Christ. Not all have the gift of tongues not all who are filled with the Holy Spirit will speak in tongues so we should not be so adamant that someone speak in tongues before using the gifts God has given them to help the church.(As a asideon pentecost the disciples did talk in tongues but they were languages that existed on earth as seen by the fact people knew what was being said.Nowhere do it suggest that there is some kind of heavenly language or language of God or language of angels out there that only with the help of the Holy Spirit can you speak.It is this belief that allows people to fake tongues by speaking gibberish. Tongues exist but are real languages.) Plus how many who insist on tongues follow the biblical protocol that if speaking in public in tongues, i.e. not alone, one must have a interpreter or be silent??? How many are prideful about their speaking in tongues??? Or even believe you aren't saved if you don't speak tongues??
Once we get back to theTRUE faith based on the BIBLE not based on MANthen we will be bold and speak out when we are to speak and be willing to accept the consequences of that speech. Only then we we be willingto take up our cross and go to our deathsrather than cave in a please man. I feartoo few today would be willing to die for the bibleand all too many would be willing todrop Christ like a stone to save their miserable hides.
Maybe the one thing the church in the westneeds more than anything is REAL persecution.Not being banned on twitter. Not being 'unfriended' on facebook. Not being shamed in a class at college or high school or even middle or elementary school. Maybewhat we need is to be facing torture and death for our beliefs. Maybe then we will see who is one of Christ's flock and who is just a wolf in sheeps clothing.Maybe then we will be able to stand tall and fearless and go forth and preach to all he world.We might then havetrue 'fearless girls'and fearless boys and fearless men and fearless women. We might finally as the world puts it 'grow a pair'.
I think the one thing that willwake up the American churchis agood dose of JUDGMENT!A Good EMP followed with a Chemical, Biological, or Nuclear attack would set us back 150 years or more and mean we would have to rely on each other. It would also many many deaths(Upwards of90% of the populationin thefirst year for a EMPalone)(Maybe more if a Chemical or Biological attack were involved or the fallout from a Nuclear attack). Quite a judgment.Yet it would give the church a chanceto walk boldly and rely on Godand peach to the dying and get many souls into heaven.
As for Europe and Australiait is time tostand with God or stand with allah. They must realize that you can not do bothbecause Yahweh is NOT allah!It will mean dying for Christ in many casesbut if we aren't willing to do that then we are not truly christian.THATis truly totake up ones cross and follow himsince the cross was a means of death thenand unfortunately also is now in several islamic countries. Though I think if I found myself facing death in a islam country I would prefer to be crucified and know what the Lord went through than to get a simple beheading.
Paul Wilson
Protestant (only to show I don’t follow the pope)
Independence MO USA
"If man will not be governed from within, he must be governed from without."
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