Why Christianity is falling
By all accounts, Christianity is experiencing a downturn in the nations it has dominated. I say the reason for this is Christians in these places have become carnal. They have become carnal because they consume carnal entertainment. Is it reasonable to expect Christians not to desire entertainment? Here in lies the failure of the bible believing church it has failed to foster and encourage godly entertainment so Christians turn to the world and become worldly.
I have seen this first hand in my 35 years of being a Christian in the midst of fundamentalism. Nearly everything new or fun must be wrong or carnal unless it fits the pastor’s pleasures. I believe Jesus has the same words for these leaders as He did for those in His day.
“But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.”
Matthew 11:16-19
The leaders of that day would not dance when the children were happy. They would not mourn when the children were sad. They complained of John not fitting into their standard of dress and pleasure. Then, they complained of Jesus doing just the opposite. Their actions and thoughts were not of the Holy Spirit but of what other fundamentalists might think. Their decisions are based on the wisdom of the children of the fundamentalist.
I am a fundamentalist and hope I never am anything else. As a fundamentalist though, I must stick to the Word of God even if other fundamentalists metaphorically stone me.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Psalms 19:1
Please meditate on this. Look at the world around you. See all that God has created. God is infinitely creative, from the fish deep in the ocean to the birds that fly high in the sky! Have you ever seen an animal that seems ugly or strange? If you had created it, would it look like that? Of course not!
I hope I am making sense to you. I want you to see that we often condemn something because it is not according to our taste or our way of thinking. We condemn on the basis of personal opinion and not on the clear scriptural foundation. Doing so hinders what the Holy Spirit can do in the Church. We force Christians to seek entertainment outside the church.
If you envision me suggesting entertainment during the Sunday services, you are still in the box and need to expand your mind. The church is the church 24/7. We need the church to gather together during the times between the worship services.
I am not trying to tell anyone how to run their church; what I am trying to do is challenge Christian leaders to see the need to let their people be creative and expressive within the body of Christ.
Here is a list of suggestions that a church could do:
- Song Night
- Concert: College groups, Touring singers, Local talent, and church talent
- Talent Show
- Plays
- Sewing, quilting, etc.
- Cooking classes and taste testing
- Photography Club
- Star Gazing
- Hiking/walks
- Video Studio
- Painting class
- Poetry reading