A very insightful article at "Gospel Driven Church". Of course, this is not just about American Christianity, or even suburban church but you can see it at work in down-town Narrabri, perhaps even as close as our own church?
We are in a weird -- but frequently exhilarating -- position where the gospel is scandalous even to Christians. So many of our brothers and sisters want the compartmentalized spirituality (putting in their religious time on Sunday mornings), the six steps to such-and-such messages, and the superficiality of apathy towards real community, that missional thinking and living, gospel-saturated and Jesus-centered messages, and the demands of relational intimacy freak them out. This stuff is a foreign language to them, and I see it constantly here in Nash Vegas, where "everyone" is a Christian, "everyone" goes to church. A couple of weeks ago, reading on a Nashville church shopper's blog, I noticed a commenter urging her to look for a church that focuses on Jesus. Her reply was, "I've already found Jesus." This is the default mode of Bible Belt Christianity. I've got my ticket punched, just give me the show now. I need a dynamic speaker on Sunday mornings, a rockin' band on the stage, a full service childcare facility, a big youth group, a coffee bar near the sanctuary, etc. I've got Jesus already; give me something that matters to me now, something "relevant," something applicable.
Read the full article at
The Gospel-Driven Church: Converting the Churched to Gospel-Centrism
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