Churching 032812

James 4:4  You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

I’ve just finished reading, The Churching of America 1776-2005 1776-2005 by Finke and Stark and am greatly stunned by what they found in their studies.  The clarity and focus of this work makes it a must read for anyone concerned with the direction the Church is taking and the reasons for it.

They uncover a process the church, at least in the USA, seems to follow.  To put it in my own words you have a small group who reject the status quo of the established “church” and forms a sect.  The sect is marked by an “other-worldly” perspective, a high cost or commitment and a high degree of tension with the culture in which it exists.  However, over time as the sect grows more affluent and larger it seems it begins to seek accommodation with the culture and an institution (as opposed to a Body) is formed.  As this takes place the cost/commitment of membership decreases and the institution begins to suffer in numbers and effectiveness.  Then, a small group of members, dissatisfied with the status quo ------- and over and over.

The whole process revolves, in my view, around a desire to have the acceptance of and credibility in the culture in which it exists.  Unfortunately the shift is also one from serving the Lord in individual and corporate growth in holiness to serving the “world” in the manner the world dictates.  I would hazard to suggest that at the point at which the institution makes a definitive switch in servant hood the Holy Spirit is left little recourse but to influence those still sensitive to His influence to resist the switch and ultimately move on.

One place the authors do not delve into, although they do touch on it and its consequences, is the area of the education of Pastors.  It seems that the higher the education of the Pastors the greater the susceptibility of accommodation with the culture.  Early on one acquired a Bachelors of Theology in order to be considered for ordination.  Today, since the 70s, one is typically required to have a Masters of Divinity for ordination.  The M. Div. is considered a “professional” degree (actually it’s a B. Div./B. Th. on steroids).

But here’s my quandary.  In the early days of our nation the Gospel was spread (usually) by well-trained but poorly educated intenerate preachers.  They were as well educated as those they served; more poorly paid than their “professional” counterparts and almost always died young.  It was these men who moved the church into the frontier, who tilled the soul-soil and planted the seeds and with great success.  However, the established “church” saw them as a disfigurement on the Body of Christ mostly due to their lack of formal education, their rough and ready attitudes and their lack of social graces.

The issue, for me, breaks down into “professional” verses “vocational.”  Now the two are not mutually exclusive but of the two it is the vocational that has consistently fueled the health and growth of the Body of Christ.  In the 1700 and 1800’s a man who had a sense of “calling” usually had demonstrated some skill in ministry through teaching and otherwise serving the Body.  Determined competent by his peers he would be ordained of commissioned to preach and perform the duties of a Pastor.  Where these men may not have been theologically, philosophically or socially astute as their seminary trained counterparts they were much more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission.

When we lower the minister to the level of the Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer, etc. we rob him of the true nature of his authority and limit the breadth of his work.  It is not the role off the ministry to engage the culture or science or cults.  It is the role of the ministry to:

Eph. 4:12 -  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes

It is the duty of the pastor to shepherd the flock – and the flock is solely composed of the redeemed.

Back to my issue.  It seems that the more “successful” the “church” or “denomination” the greater the propensity for friendship with the world.  The greater the desire to be accepted and lauded by the community.  The greater the pull to be relevant to the unredeemed.  We want to be liked and valued – even as a “church.”

Accommodation is the only step to compromise which is the only step to apostasy.

Friendship – phileos – love for the world is as much (if not more) a corporate (church) issue as it is an individual issue.  It is adultery,  it is idolatry.  It begins with a desire for what the world tells you you need (church or individual) and then a lust grows and – well ------

James 1: 14 But each person ( and I would say “church”) is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

The question individual bodies of believers need to be asking is NOT are we growing numerically.  That is not our job (see Acts 2:47b).  Our job – our and in the church’s and especially the leaders is to:

Eph. 4:12 -  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

So that the church can resist:

James 1: 14 But each person ( and I would say “church”) is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

What, “things of the world,” does the Bride of Christ seem to be enamored with?  Where does the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life assail her?  What wrongly directed desires doe she hold in her heart?

She’s not a victim – except of her own desires.