I want to be perfectly clear on this point, as in all my posts, this is strictly my opinion. This particular post is to express my views and generate some discussion.
In my lifetime I have witnessed the marginalization of the church. Believers have been labeled, more and more as haters. Opinions of the church and its members are routinely dismissed as unimportant or irrelevant. The church’s impact on the moral values of our society is almost nonexistent. Why has the church been pushed into the far corner of our culture? Why is the church so marginalized? We have allowed it. Granted we are not the only ones to blame, but Christians have to accept responsibility for our actions.
We have allowed it, in my opinion, in two different ways. Both have contributed to the diminished position of the church. In the last sixty plus years we have witnessed the dumbing down of Christianity. Many ministers have stopped preaching the gospel: the role of sin in our life, the fact that Jesus is the only way to the Father, that there is a Hell and the unsaved will go there. In other words we have stopped teaching the Bible. Where do our moral values come from? What is the difference between right and wrong? The Bible guides us, this means we have to preach it, more importantly read it, and in fact study it. Many churches have given up doctrinal pursuit; they have lost the higher ground to speak from.
The other thing that has contributed to the marginalization of the church, especially the evangelical church, is politics. Here is where I am going to ask you to read carefully. I am not going to promote or support any candidate or issue. I just want to describe what I believe is happening. Saying that, why do I believe politics has marginalized the church? Evangelical Christians often are labeled, rightly or wrongly, as right wing bigots. Why? Because some Christian leaders attempted to influence decision makers by promising votes. What has happened? Many candidates pay lip service to the "Christian political agenda" to get votes. We have to ask ourselves “has the pursuit in the political area delivered?” Have we helped our culture become more Christian? Has there been real change? Politicians believe the Christian vote has no alternative but to stick with them. The perception becomes that evangelical Christianity is tied to one party and is not going to change, so why should anyone listen? The pursuit of political power means the loss of influence in our society. Jesus said we cannot serve two masters. If we serve the pursuit of political power can we also be disciples of Jesus? I believe we are trying to serve two masters. Guess who gets marginalized?
I am not saying Christians should not be politically active. When Jesus said “give unto Caesar what is Caesar's” I believe he is saying be active citizens. But He is not saying to go chase political power and let the church be pushed into a corner. Granted Jesus did not say much if anything about political activity, so we have to prayerfully decide what is a way to advance the Kingdom.
My belief is the two things, loss of doctrinal purity and pursuit of political power, have resulted in the church being marginalized. The church has been labeled extremist, for the wrong reasons. We should be extremists for Jesus yes, for political power no.
If we want the church to be a factor in our society we have to preach and live the Bible, God's word to us. We are charged with making disciples, that is followers of Jesus. Yes, we are citizens and are expected to be active in our country. But if we want the moral high ground we have to live as Jesus instructed us. In our Ambassadors Sunday school class we are studying the Sermon on the Mount. This is a great place to learn Jesus’ plan for us. We cannot be salt, which can prevent decay, or a light, which can show the way, if we allow ourselves to be placed in an insignificant corner with anemic influence. We have to shine for Jesus.
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