It is a tragedy that when America desperately needs the authority of the preached Word of God, the influence of preachers and churches on our culture is not what it should be.
Every one of us recognizes God’s command to be salt and light in our world. And yet, it seems that our influence is declining rather than growing as moral perversion and doctrinal compromise abound.
What specifics undermine a church’s ability to influence its community and culture? In this podcast, I share three trends that have poisonously taken root in churches across America.
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These trends, first articulated in an article published by the National Review Online, are more fully summarized in Revelation 3. Here Christ instructs John to write to “the church of the Laodiceans” (Revelation 3:14). This church was not only located in Laodicea; it had become the church of the Laodiceans. The members of this church had usurped ownership from Christ and were now operating the church based on their preferences and perceived rights, rather than operating under the authority of Christ.
The article mentioned above, written by a secular author, is a reminder of the importance of clearly proclaiming the Gospel of Christ—serving not just material needs, but primarily the spiritual needs of people. It is a reminder to allow God’s grace to conform us to the likeness of Christ. And it is a reminder to invest ourselves in serving the Lord by serving others through the church.
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