Have you ever had one of those days where too many things happen for them just to be a coincidence? The other day I had one of those days, which seems to happen more often than not. A quote from an author, a Bible verse and an email all converged at once to make a reoccurring point.
When I finished all the thoughts it was too long, so I had to split it into two parts. Here is the quote and the Bible verse.
The Quote:
"Western Christianity went to sleep in a modern world
governed by the gods of reason and observation. It is awakening to a
postmodern world open to revelation and hungry for experience. Unless
churches can transition their cultures they stand the real risk of
becoming museum churches, nostalgic testimonies to a culture that is no
more." (Leonard Sweet, Postmodern Pilgrims)
I heard Dr. Sweet make a similar statement, or prediction at a conference last year. The point he was trying to make was that the American church needs to wake up or it run's the risk of becoming like the great churches in Europe. The church there has become so irrelevant to the culture, that the great cathedrals are empty, or in many cases only museums.
The Bible Verse:
The Bible reading schedule I have been using was compiled over 100 years ago and the reading the day of coincidence was Jeremiah 22:
" 3 Thus
says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand
of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence
to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent
blood in this place.4 For
if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of
this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and
on horses, they and their servants and their people.5 But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation."
The Hebrew word translated here for desolation could also be translated as ruins, or waste.
Do you hear the familiar ring? The church that fails to be obedient to what God commands, runs the risk of becoming a desolation, ruins or waste. "A culture that is no more."
Are there any examples like this in America? In your neighborhood?
Check out Part 2 for the email and the point.
