Front and Center

It hit me the other day, while shopping, how difficult it was to ignore the bucket. Virtually impossible. They are stationed at the most conspicuous place possible, painted bright red and accompanied by the universal sound of importance . . . a ringing bell.

Is it possible for anyone to enter a local business at Christmas time and miss Salvation Army's invitation to participate in their mission? Has anything changed over the decades? Have any accessories been added to the bucket or its surroundings? It is refreshingly the same. The kettle is still red.

Perhaps General William Booth and his successors realized the danger of distractions. Perhaps Booth realized the danger of losing our object of attention when we get too caught up in methods and imaging and programs and structures. Perhaps that is why one of the six dangers he warned against was Christianity without Christ.

IANITY

Years ago a new church was being constructed in Connecticut. The leadership was concerned that somehow the cross of Christ was slowly being removed as the focal point of Christianity.

Intentionally, they designed and constructed the sanctuary with a huge cross embedded in concrete . . . dead center in front of the pulpit. No matter what happened in the facility, the cross was in the way. You had to look around it to see the pastor. Christmas programs had to somehow work around the cross . . . or work in conjunction with it. Even weddings and funerals had to deal with the cross. The cross was always front and center, with no chance to escape it. It could not be ignored.

IMO, General Booth's prediction was right. The day has come where Christ is no longer the chief object of worship in Christianity, and in some cases forgotten altogether. Form-ianity. Style-ianity. Music-ianity. Popul-ianity. Status-ianity. Or just plain IANITY, whereby we really are not worshiping anything, but we feel good about being associated with something that appears to be religious, has taken the place of Christ.

The Real Crisis Is Within the Church

How easy it is during these days of crisis to focus on Wall Street or Washington, when God is still focusing on the church, to determine whether or not to pour out His Spirit in a fresh and powerful way. Earlier this week, David Bryant, a good friend of mine, sent me the following list which depicts the crisis within the church and the need to restore Christ as supreme:

• 80% of U.S. congregations are stagnant or dying in terms of membership.
• 80% of youth from evangelical families leave the church after high school.
• 80% of pastors are burdened with a spirit of isolation and hopelessness.
• 40% of evangelical men wrestle with addiction to pornography.
• High profile scandals among leaders discredit us, such as multiple lawsuits for pedophilia.
• Millions sitting in our pews on Sunday remain unconverted (50% by one major survey).
• Less than 3% of Christians' annual incomes are given to the work of Christ.
• Some 96% of Christians discovered to be biblically illiterate (cf. Barna Research).
• Nearly 67% of evangelicals surveyed believe that Jesus is not the only way to heaven.
• Although 84% believe in absolute standards, 40% mostly rely on their own common sense.
• Research indicates most Christians rarely talk to each other about the wonders of Christ.
• Significant numbers of believers fear growing in intimacy with Christ (80% by one survey).

Above all, multitudes of Christians remain captive to the greatest crisis of all. It is a crisis of Christology. It is the significant shortfall in how we see, seek, savor, serve, share, and speak about God's Son for ALL that He is.

Increasing numbers of spiritual leaders identify this as the seminal crisis for the Church at this hour. But it also comprises the greatest crisis the world is facing, whether the world realizes it or not. Every crisis of Christology inside the Church hinders unbelievers outside the Church from discovering their one God-given hope found in the supremacy of Christ and the blessings of His redeeming reign.

I often tell pastors prior to our team coming for a summit or conference at their church, "When our team leaves, if people are talking about Life Action, we have miserably failed. BUT, if  they are talking about Jesus Christ, we have been a whopping success!"

Perhaps a better measurement of the centrality of Christ in our churches would not be to count the times He is mentioned in the sermon, but to stand in the lobby after church is dismissed this Sunday and count the number of times you hear Jesus or Christ mentioned. Better yet, how about in our family room at home? Or at our place of employment?

Six Dangers Facing America as noted by General William Booth in 1867

Religion without the Holy Ghost
Christianity without Christ
Forgiveness without repentance
Salvation without regeneration
Politics without God
Heaven without hell

TAKE PART IN A SURVEY! 

This weekend, count the number of times the proper noun Jesus or Christ is mentioned in your Sunday morning service. Then come back to this blog and tell us the number of times Christ is mentioned in the sermon. (Using the name Christ in the word Christmas does not count.) Let's see how front-and-center Christ is in our churches.