Recently I asked a young pastor how things are going at the church he serves. He indicated things were okay and then said, “We keep trying different things.” Unfortunately this describes too many churches in America in our generation. Somehow, someway we have convinced ourselves that our ideas are better than God’s.
It is often said that the ways taught in the Bible are old and stale and what we need is something new to appeal to the world. Really? Do we want to “appeal” to the world or faithfully obey God? Is worship meant to entertain man or glorify God? Are Christ’s words, “Follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men” inferior to man’s ideas?
The Scripture declares, 1 Corinthians 1:18-ff For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God . . . For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men . . . But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
Is it not ironic that so many churches find the simple Gospel message deficient, antiquated, stale, and unappealing? It reminds me of Israel’s complaint concerning the manna. Numbers 21:5 (ESV) — 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”
Can you imagine calling angel food worthless? But is that not what the church does when it rejects the Gospel as boring and replaces it with exciting programs. More and more preaching is supplanted by other things like singing and drama. And more often than not what is called preaching is little more story-telling and moralizing.
Have sinners under gone some sort of genetic change not anticipated by God? Are the methods of Christ and the Apostles inferior to our innovations? I might be so bold to suggest the problem is not with the Biblically established methods of missions, evangelism and worship but with the church who thinks innovation is better that obedience - programs than prayers and productions than preaching.
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