Often time mega-churches, house churches, African churches,
American churches, and churches all over the world miss the point. It’s not a
number game. Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations is not a
call to convert drones in numbers. Even the most liberal estimates put
Christians at roughly one third of the population worldwide.
The church is
filled with people who choose what verses to follow, recite motto’s of faith,
and use bullhorns to preach rhetoric of abundance and comfort without every
having an actual faith to back it up.
When I talk about doing door to doors I’m not talking about
giving the “sinner’s prayer” to everyone I see. I would actually challenge
anyone to find that prayer in the Bible. “Ask Jesus into your heart. Invite
Jesus to come into your life. Pray this prayer, sign this card, walk down this
aisle, and accept Jesus as your personal Savior. Our attempt to reduce the
gospel to a shrink-wrapped presentation that persuades someone to say or pray
the right things back to us no longer seems appropriate.” You won’t find ‘with
every eye closed, with every head bowed,’ repeat these magic words after me in
the Bible.
“Admit, believe, confess, and pray a prayer after me is a
lot different than give up everything you have, carry a cross, and leave your
family. I mean…do we really believe Jesus is worth abandoning everything for?
We have been told all that is needed is a one time decision, but after that we
need not worry about his commands, his standard, or his glory. Jesus is no
longer one to be accepted or invited in, but one who is infinitely worthy of
our immediate and total surrender.”
Should we only accept him? Do we really think as believers
that Jesus needs our acceptance. Sounds kind silly doesn’t it? Should sound
more like we desperately need him. Do I think that everyone who has answered an
alter call at church or made that prayer isn’t a believer? No. But I do think
we have boiled down Sundays to a formula or coffee, worship, shake your
neighbors hand, take your seat, do announcements, maybe more prayer, sermon,
ending song, doughnuts. We are missing the point.
Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord,’ will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of the Father who is
in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name, and in your name cast out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I
will plainly tell them, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.”
Harsh.
I didn’t say it. Matthew said it. Don’t get mad at me.
“We can easily deceive ourselves, mistaking the presence of physical bodies in a crowd for the existence of spiritual life in a community.”
Let’s see. Prophesy, cast out demons, perform miracles in
Christ’s name. Sounds like stuff my teams are a part of with the World Race.
And even in that demographic people can miss the point! Kinda scary right? It’s
not about casting out demons, adding a check mark to your church attendance, or
prescribing to a certain denomination’s creed. But it is meant to be radical.
If its not radial, we need to take a step back and look at where our life has
lead us.
Quotes from “Radical” by David Platt
