The Church in America Intro

The Church in America
Intro

For quite some time I have been a worker in the church. For quite some time I have been interested in church movements across our country. I have watched the rise and fall of the Vineyard Renewal, the Promise Keepers Movement and a few other things. In recent years I have watched the emergence of the emergent church, the religious left, and the new reformation. It has been through these events and movements that I developed a desire to take a look and see what I can learn from it all.

Over the years I have developed several things that I really se about the church in America that I think we miss or lack. Please note now that I am not writing an indictment against the American church. My tendencies are to be harsh and black and white, and this might come off as such. Let’s just say that I am a sinner saved by grace, and understand that we all only see in part and prophesy in part (1 Corinthians 13:9-12). I say that to help you understand that these are my observations after looking at the church in America, other countries, and seeking Father to be who He wants me to be as a pastor and a leader.

With that said, I could sit here with my trusty laptop and write away about a billion and one things that I see about the church. Let’s face it, the American church is pretty silly and is often looked at as a joke by the world we are supposed to be ministering to. I could type about things like:
• Sin in the church
• In-fighting
• Errors in preaching
• Errors in teaching
• Errors in Bible study
• Our attempts to be culturally relevant
• Our lack of “need” of God and a Savior (which I will get to soon)
• Our tolerance of fallen Christian leaders, but our intolerance of those who have not heard or understood His grace
• Teaching Jesus as a principle or a concept as opposed to teaching Him as a person, the flesh part of the triune Godhead with whom there is relationship
• The subconscious thinking that you can serve God and politics simultaneously

I could go on and on like a Journey song at this point. There are so many things out of line with the church that we need to address. Over the next few posts I will be working on explaining some of the things that I think are extremely out of line. I will be starting with some of the lessons taught in the Promise Keepers Movement. As I go on, feel free to let me know your thoughts because, as I said before, I do not claim to have the whole answer.