"I think one reason is a lot of Christian leaders have the wrong idea about Jesus," Jeffress replied when asked the question. "They see Jesus as this little, wimpy guy who walked around plucking daisies and eating birdseed and saying nice things, but never doing anything controversial. The fact is, Jesus did confront his culture with truth -- and he ended up being crucified because of it."
The Dallas pastor chastised pastors who shy away from controversy. "Wimpy pastors produce wimpy Christians -- and that is why we are losing this culture war," he emphasized. "I believe it's time for pastors to say, You know, I don't care about controversy, I don't care whether I'm going to lose church members, I don't care about building a big church. I'm going to stand for truth regardless of what happens."
Jeffress -- who also reprimanded school districts and elected officials for caving in -- contends secularists are going to take over if pastors and Christians continue to refuse to stand up and wage the necessary battle to secure their constitutional rights. -OneNewsNow.com, December 13, 2012 , Charlie Butts
What is secularism? Simply put, secularism is replacing God as the center of all things with man. The secular has replaced the sacred at the center of our lives. It has been noted that Christians are right back where they started — as a minority in a culture hostile to what we believe and the way in which we live.
Canaries were the early warning sign of coal mining 100 years ago. Today, our canary in the coal mine for churches is church attendance. During the post-WWII baby boom generation, churches all over America flourished. David T. Olson, in his book, The American Church in Crisis, cites current church attendance for all churches in the US at about 17%. But this figure is on a steady decline that will result in church attendance of a little more than 14% by 2020.
Church attendance is falling at a rate of about 1% every 5 years, but seems to be accelerating as population growth outpaces the growth in number of churches. At the present rate, it is safe to say that by the year 2050, church attendance in the US will be no better than that in England — less than 7% of the population.
So,why don’t people go to church, at least in the numbers they used to? Simply put, our society no longer sees church attendance as necessary to live a good life, or be a good citizen. Add to that fact, the increasing pluralism of our nation and you have recipe for “choose your own spirituality.”
The answer to the challenge of secularism is a living community that acts, believes, and practices the presence of God at its center. Rather than serving ourselves in church, we must serve others. Rather than endless debates among ourselves about arcane theological points, the church must turn its attention to the vast world of people outside our doors who do not believe God can or will do anything for them, and who have never seen a community of faith live out its commitment to love God and love others.
More importantly, churches will need to rethink their entire mission and reason for being. We cannot continue to serve ourselves, build buildings exclusively for our own use, and keep most of our resources to ourselves.
God’s answer to secularism was to send Jesus. If man sought to displace God from the center of society, the center of God’s creation, then God would step into that creation as a man to demonstrate how mankind was intended to live; to give his life in love for mankind; to defeat mankind’s greatest enemies — sin, death, and the grave; and, to rise victorious proving that God both can and will save us physically and spiritually.
Secularism is nothing new. It has been with us since Adam and Eve decided to replace God with their own judgment. But, Jesus’ life puts the lie to this “I am the center of the universe” thinking. Only as we live Jesus’ life before others will they see any reason to join our churches, sing our songs, or follow our Savior. The challenge of secularism is met by the body of Christ, resolved to live with Christ as its head, with the Spirit giving it life, laying down its own life for the sake of the world.
Scripture: Colossians 1:16-17; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:1-3; Romans 6:23; Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10
Prayer: Lord, give us each day the wisdom to recognize which things are important, and which things are not. Show us how best to use the time and talents you have given us. Help us to use all opportunities wisely that we may give in service to others the good gifts we have received from you. Amen.
-Thanks to Chuck Warnock
May God bless you,
Lydia
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