WHAT WOULD JESUS SAY?
Reading the letters to the seven churches in Revelation, I continue to reflect on this question of what Jesus would say to the churches of America, or to the church in Price Hill, or to me (if I could be applied as the "messenger" of this church). Would He have some encouraging words? Would He have something against us?
Perhaps these seven letters reflect a common history of the life cycle of many churches. The history of every church and every movement is found in these seven letters. First they are small but with open doors ahead of them. They are poor and persecution is still ahead. But after the persecution, they may work hard, but perhaps begin to leave their first love. They could begin to tolerate wrong spirits in their midst. And eventually, though they may have a reputation for life, and are large and wealthy, they become luke warm, neither hot nor cold, and their lampstand is unceremoniously removed by Jesus Himself.
Perhaps we can also see this cycle of life in the life of American Christianity over the last century. In the first couple of decades, many Christian scholars were determined to "de-mythologize" the Bible. In their pride and intellectual scholarship, they emphasized the human side of Jesus' ministry and accepted intellect over faith. They lost their spiritual power, and many of those churches died over the next generation. Perhaps that spirit of humanism has again entered many evangelical churches today to leave heavenly Truth in sight of earthly relevance.
In the next couple of decades, many large downtown churches latched onto the idea of "the social gospel." They launched large programs of health care and fitness and housing and financial help. But such churches did not withstand the economic changes of the middle of the century, and within a generation, virtually all of these churches and programs were run by the secular government, and the large downtown churches were not able to keep their doors open anymore. They had been alive, with reputations for compassion, found their candlesticks removed.
The next couple of decades saw a new wave of conservative evangelicalism, with large music programs giving life support to traditional formalism. They still spoke to God in King James English and used organs and choirs, and found success in showing God to be conservative and mainline. But over the next generation or two, again these churches found that they had become increasingly out of step, and they were busy answering questions that no one was asking. Many of those churches are hanging on today, a mere shadow of their former selves.
By the time we got to the generation of my childhood, evangelicals had filled hymnals with shallow evangelistic songs of "invitation." Altar calls and crusade formats were put into the cultural language of the people, and the Jesus Movement was underway, baptizing in swimming pools and ocean beaches and handing out tracts and underground newspapers for Jesus. An entire music industry was born. And driving it all was the simple Gospel message that called people to "invite Jesus into your heart" in order to be saved. It was a zealous but shallow generation, and discipleship was comparatively rare.
Within the last two decades, the evangelism generation has given way to the worship generation. It was the era of "church growth," with mega churches and Bible studies and lots of staffed programs. Jesus was relevant and churches were growing, with a reputation for life that made the smaller churches imitate the big boys and try to make Jesus cool.
Perhaps now we stand in the second generation of the me-centered worship generation. We sing songs about Jesus as my boyfriend and sing about American spirituality, seeking a common ground with the unchurched. We don't read our Bibles anymore, and don't say the name Jesus too often. But we are helping people. Other churches today are rediscovering tradition and social programming and the whole myriad of where we have been.
In the midst of it all, what would Jesus say to us? Let me get more specific. What would my Lord say to me about CCiPH? He might have said that we are small, but we have an open door in front of us. He might tell us that the despair around us is but a door of desperation that He has opened, and that we should not be afraid to go through it. (Philadelphia)
Or, He might say that we have a reputation for being alive, and we pride ourselves on our zeal. But He might tell us we are, in fact, dead, trying to live on emotional fluff of novelty and creative experiments on Sundays from week to week while we walk in the flesh during the weak days. He might say that a few of us are walking with Him in white, and encourage us to keep on. (Sardis)
He might warn us that dark times of persecution are ahead for us. We will suffer economic hardship, and it will stretch us so far that we will all suffer severely. There will be some controversial issue, and we will take a stand on it as a body, and it will cost us dearly. We might lose our tax-exempt status, or our incorporation status, or even be thrown in prison, but He would tell us to stay strong in faith to the end. (Smyrna)
He might tell us that we have been working hard and doing great work for Him. We are doctrinally pure and have resisted that foul practice of heavy-handed rule over people that has infiltrated so many churches. And yet, the Lord might say that while pursuing doctrinal purity and hard work we have somehow lost our first love for Him. He would call us to remember how it was in the early days and return to that earnest passion for Him. (Ephesus)
Perhaps He would say that Price Hill is a spiritual stronghold, and it will test us to the breaking point. He might say that when we are faced with spiritual warfare, we need purity, not compromise. We are not to allow prophets to speak who call for sensual fulfillment, we are not to wink at evil practices or those who have compromised with humanism or idolatry. We are not to be controlling and exercising power over people. (Pergamum)
Jesus may commend us for our love, our faith, our service and our endurance. But He may tell us that we have a spirit in our midst that is eating the spiritual life out of this body. We tolerate this prophetic spirit that calls for people to place someone other than God to be at the center of our decisions. In subtle ways, we are controlled by a fear of what people want, and we give them self-centered meals of spiritual pablum, letting them live in sensuality and sexual sin, and we are afraid to expose such sinful idolatry. (Thyatira)
Worst of all, perhaps Jesus would tell us that we fool ourselves into thinking that we have no great needs. We are rich and clothed and comfortable; after all, this is Christian America. But into this self-sufficient satisfaction Jesus would say that He would rather see us choose a different religion than to continue to use His name. He would say that we absolutely must immediately repent, because He is waiting to fellowship with us on a level we could never imagine, but He can only live like that with broken, humble people. (Laodicea)
As I prayed about myself and this church, I think there are a few of us in every category. And I wonder what I am to do about it. I see churches that are far down the wrong road. And I wonder what I am to do about it. I see tendencies in my own life, and wonder how seriously I have gone astray and whether Jesus would lovingly call me back.
Part of me thinks that I would like to just hear His words clearly, so I would know how I am doing. But then I realize that His words are already clear; that's why they were written down 19 centuries ago.
"LORD, I want to hear you clearly. I want to see foulness in some parts of Your church so that I can see the end result of the heart disease that brought it about. But I want to be a pure vessel within, and I want to be bold to protect our flock from spiritual deadness. Show me my sinfulness. Show me in love. And then use me for Your glory, great God, Father, Son and Spirit, one God without end. Amen."
-ker
