CHURCHES

There are churches and then there are churches.

Too many start with a set programme and liturgy and then for the next year nothing changes or for the next 10 years or the next 100 years. They do exactly the same thing every week without fail. After 100 years if they are lucky enough to survive that long, they might get more than a handful of adherents and the focus of its life is itself.

Most of these churches spend most of their time staving off decline, some not very well, bearing in mind that only 1% of churches in the USA are growing and in Australia, growth is almost non existent.

The other shocking fact is that 95% of their income is spent on themselves.

Then there are those churches who are not interested making a cosy nest for themselves. They want to be making a difference in society and they want to make the Kingdom of God a reality.

Theirs is not the fancy building, the fancy people paid to run the show or fancy ideas of their importance.

They are consumed by the love of God to be a mirror of the love of God and be a servant in the service of the King so that they can be salt and light in society.

Most of these churches are not seen because they are don’t waste time and money putting up a building to let everyone know they are there. Their church is wherever they are, sharing the love of Jesus with whosoever will in word and deed.

Very often they cater for people the middle class churches don’t want because they might spoil the image.

These people are not interested in their image. They are more interested in the need of those they are anointed to reach.

Have you ever wondered why there are so many Para-church ministries? It is mainly due to the church not being the church. There were no Para church ministries in the New Testament Church, just the church (people) through which everything happened.

If you care to look all is not well with institutionalized religion. People are leaving in droves, mainly mature Christians who are bored with being fed milk and the fact they are given no challenge. I know what that is like. Unless you fit in you are a rebel.

There is a new expression of church that is slowly but surely growing stringer everyday. It is a church that cannot be defined by denominational tags. It is meeting in homes like the New Testament Church did.

Like nearly every move of God, it is being criticised by the institutionalized church, the one that thinks that God cannot work outside of their organisation.

Their criticism is doomed to failure because he doesn’t have to get their permission to do anything. If he decides to abandon the religious church, those that he hasn’t abandoned already, and throw in his lot with those that do want to listen to his voice and do want to make a difference and do want to give up entertainment for the cross, church entertainment that is, then that is what he is going to do.

It is no use crying over spilt milk after the event. The scriptures say that you are either for God or against him. If you don’t embrace what God wants to do, you are against him, so don’t expect him to show up anytime soon. If you want to do things your way he will let you, but please don’t cry foul when you have come to your senses and realised that he has already passed by to visit those who are not into power and position, just into plain old death to self.

A VICTORIOUS CHURCH

Satan tried to crush Christianity with communism and failed. He tried to crush Christianity with Islam and he failed. Now he is trying to crush Christianity with Christian democracy and he is succeeding.

Slowly but surely, democratically elected governments are putting the heat on Christianity. Their main weapon is unelected human rights(sic) commissions. These fundamentalist bodies are bending over backward to restrict all expressions of Christianity if it conflicts with the rights of Muslims, homosexuals, atheists and Satanists.

One church leader in Canada was hauled before their commission because he has said and written certain things about homosexuality. A homosexual claimed he was vilified and very hurt by what was said and written.

The church leader was explaining what the bible said about the subject, so was within his right to do so in terms of freedom of belief. No matter, the commission deemed that the leader was wrong, even though the homosexual had not proved or was required to prove how he had been offended or vilified.

Their finding was the church leader should not talk or write about homosexuality again…ever.

What is even stranger is the fact that a lot of homosexuals claim that the bible does not say anything negative about homosexuality. So how can one of their number be vilified by a bible that is not negative towards them?

The USA courts are clamping down on all forms of public expression of Christianity on the basis of separation of church and state. The atheists have convinced them that allowing anything religious in the public domain is violating this doctrine.

The fact that the separation of church and state does not disallow the public expression of Christianity hasn’t been raised shows how blinded governments are.

In Australia, two Christian leaders were hauled over the coals by the Victorian Human Rights Commission because they read parts of the Koran at a seminar that three Muslims didn’t want them to read because it exposed their barbarity.

After being found guilty and several years of appeals and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees they were found not guilty. That is not good enough for the State Labor government who has sanctioned a witchunt to weed out all aspects of what they determine is not acceptable. You can bet your bottom dollar most of it will be directed at Christianity.

Slowly, Christianity is being squeezed by democratically elected governments, rather than totalitarian dictators committed to the wiping out of Christian belief.

This last stand is much more dangerous than any that went before as we have a classic frog in the kettle scenario where the water will gradually get hotter and hotter and one day we will discover too late that we have been strangled to death.

In one respect I welcome what is happening. the sooner we get rid of institutionalised religion, the sooner we will see a revival of faith as I fear this more than civil institutions, even benign democratic ones for the simple reason that God has said that the gates of hell will not prevail over the church (the true one that is).

This slow death that civic society is perpetrating against institutionalised religion will choke the life out of it and leave a remnant that is prepared to stand up and be counted, not worrying about the cost. These people, regardless of how much governments and human rights fundamentalists try, will not be crushed or beaten into submission.

Those that try to achieve this end be warned. You are playing with fire and you will be burnt by it.