Presbyterian Blogs: Church - Country Club or Culture Club?

2 Timothy 2:13    If we are faithless, Christ will remain faithful, for He cannot disown himself.

Over the years, I have heard some people criticize churches by calling them “country clubs.” What the critics mean by that is that only those with the right background, faith structure, and set of beliefs are allowed into these congregations. Those churches are criticized for looking after themselves and trying to make everyone else fit their expectations. Much of the current ordination debate that we’re having and the different camps that are emerging seem to fit this type of mentality – on both sides.

Some churches are country clubs, sticking to the established rules, the old money, and traditional values. Other churches are becoming culture clubs, driven by what’s fashionable in society, seeking to be loved by everyone, and yearning to be relevant. Both types are being faithful to themselves. Both are also being faithless to Christ.

At times I worry about the future of the Church. Because of the faithlessness that’s being espoused by both sides, the Western Church is losing its voice in the world. We’re so busy contemplating our theological navels that we’re missing the point: Christ needs followers of His way, not borrowers of His Name. Our acts of self-righteousness and point-scoring agendas do not glorify Christ in any shape or form. We may win battles against each other, but at the same time we belittle Christ’s mission to the world.

Thank goodness then, that when we are at our most faithless, Christ remains faithful and will not disown Himself. He can do without the Western church and our centuries-old denominations getting in His way. Without us, Christ will still get His mission accomplished, but without Him, our country clubs and culture clubs have no future at all.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we are so out of step with You because we are marching to our own tunes. We are fickle and faithless, self-righteous and self-centered. We are allowing our agendas to destroy ourselves. We even foolishly think that without us, Your Work will never be completed.

Forgive us, Lord, for focusing on ourselves instead of Your mission. Pardon us for protecting our own rights and beliefs, instead of spreading Your teaching. Help to recover our senses and realign our hearts and minds, churches and congregations with Your Holy Spirit. In Your Sacred Name, we earnestly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is currently the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask questions of today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is from one of John’s vacation drawings of last year. It depicts the Scots Kirk in Savannah, Georgia. If you would like to view a larger version of the drawing, please click on the following link: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4817326616_ef7ff6f6bf_b.jpg

Presbyterian devotions: Christ's Chosen One - Ephesians 4 v 19

Ephesians 4:19           Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. 

The trouble with Paul is that he knows humanity so well and bluntly speaks the truth. He could have written today’s verse a couple of seconds ago because it’s highly relevant to the issues that the Church and our society are currently facing. We seem to have lost our sensitivity to God and instead we indulge in our sensuality. Instead of being fully devoted to Him, we are desirous of fulfilling our own pleasure.

Let’s be honest with ourselves: we are all contaminated by the brazenness of our culture. We view things we should never see. We act out scenarios we should never do. We tolerate sexual idolatry and excuse it as artistic, sophisticated, and modern. In short, we fall far short of what God expects and end up expecting Him to accept our sinful lifestyles and embrace our selfish whims.

The older I get, the odder the world seems. Traditional values are treated disrespectfully and the Word of God is woefully described as being outdated, hypocritical, and irrelevant. Even so called church people, who hardly ever open or read their Bibles, seem to believe that their own opinions, ideas, and tolerances trump God’s advice, guidance, and truth. Paul is berated as being hostile, homophobic, and hypocritical by Christians who could not walk two paces in his shoes. They honestly and arrogantly believe that they know better than Christ’s Chosen Apostle simply because they live in the here and now as opposed to living in the way back then.

I shudder to think about God’s wrath which will come as a complete shock to this present generation of ungodly people. They will not know what hit them and will never understand why they are so completely wrong. Unless they make time to repent, they will never be released from the cultural weeds that are choking their spiritual sensitivity and replacing it with ungodly sensuality.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, how dare we diminish the writings of Paul; after all, he was Your Chosen Apostle. Forgive our Biblical ignorance and spiritual arrogance. Reclaim our souls and restore our minds to Your ways, Your works, and Your words. In Your Holy Name, we fervently pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest winter drawings. It’s called “Edinburgh Blizzard” and depicts the world-famous castle and Princes Street during the 2010 snowstorm. If you would like to view a larger version, please go to the following link: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5049/5282150038_e7aeb19b56_b.jpg