wake up call

today i took my first theology test......and unfortunately didnt do to well. but that is besides the point of this blog. but in preparation to taking this test i picked up the required text and started reading. it was only about 15 pages, so i got lucky since i waited till right before i took the test!(see the otter in me?)

anyway, the book is called "Our Legacy: The History Of Christian Doctrine" by John Hannah. i thought to myself, ok, just a few pages and an easy read (for real) according to my prof. so i opened up the book ready to engage my mind full force. but within reading the first page of the introduction i was ready to cry.

why you ask?

one main reason..........truth.

much of what Hannah says in these first few pages has been my heart for some time now regarding the Church today (and yes i mean big c Church). one thing Hannah says bluntly that i strongly agree with, is that "...the church has lost its soul."

see, the church has become this place you go to feel good. its all about making people feel good (aka Jesus loves you). and while i agree that Jesus loves people and we need to stress that, we stop there! as Hannah puts it "The evangelical church is on the brink of becoming another of the many social, do-good agencies whose purpose has to do with helping people to more fully enjoy this life while neglecting the implications of eternity."

you see it? its probly happening in your church this day. the church has jumped on board with the culture in becoming secular more and more as time goes on.


in this introduction Hannah states the reason for the writing of this book. he points out that the church does not put enough emphasis on the work of Christ and the implications of it, and rejecting it in favor of making everyone feel good. i would agree when he says "It is time for us to listen to the Scriptures for our message, not to the beckoning cry of a pleasure-inebriated culture." its like letting people who dont believe the Bible tell us what it says!

so here it is church.....lets get it together. there is more to the message of the Bible than feeling good. iv said it before, and i say it again. i see a time coming very soon, a time needed for some time now. i see a reformation on the doorsteps of the Church, and it is banging on the door. i pray that it will break down the door, and seek the fundamental elements of the Christian faith we have lost in our embrace of the culture. we need to "...rediscover the gospel, its glory, and its power."

may this become a reality one day very soon.