In the latter months of the previous year, I was greatly challenged by reading the latest book by Francis Chan, entitled, Letters to the Church (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook Publishing, 2018). I have been a fan of Chan and his ministry for quite a while, especially when he spoke so passionately to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention a number of years ago. He “wears his heart” for God and His Church “on his sleeve” so to speak so that it is very apparent to all just how much loves both. So, it is no wonder that this book is convicting in its addressing the greatest issues facing the Church today and how we must fundamentally retune our hearts and minds to God’s voice and heart if we are to recapture His purpose for His people as His instrument of grace to an unbelieving world.
How then do we “retune”? What are the areas that we need to reconsider if we are to get back to place where God truly wants us as His Church? How are we to “rethink Church” and apply these truths so that they are not merely concepts but are put forth into actions that really make a difference?
Here then is a synopsis of what I have gleaned from Chan. This is what I believe God would have of us as His people to restore His Church to the place of rightful service and worship:
1.Because God is holy (rf. Lev. 11:45) and desires both His worship (rf. Ex. 39; 40:9; I Cor. 3:17; Eph. 2:21;5:27) and His people to be holy (rf. I Pet. 1:16) as well, we should commit purposefully to approach the worship of God in an attitude of sacredness and holiness and to treat the place of worship as a holy place. We do this by preparing our hearts and attitudes beforehand by focusing on what we are about to do in coming (i.e. worshiping the Living God in splendor and majesty), immersing each service in Scriptural praise, God-centered, contemplative music (i.e. psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs—rf. Eph. 5:19), and liturgy that centers us on our place before Almighty God as His servants in Christ. This does not necessarily follow that we have to be stoic in our responses in God’s House; indeed, He desires for us to rejoice, be glad and praise while having a sense of respect, awe, decorum and order, possessing a balance of quiet and adoration in the Presence of our King and Savior.
2. Because God is love (rf. I Jn. 4:16) and Jesus throughout His ministry loved others unconditionally (rf. I Jn. 4:10) and taught His followers that such love would be what distinguished them from the rest of the world (rf. Jn. 13:35), we should commit ourselves to proactively seek ways to serve and love others. We should participate in or host various ministries designed to encourage and strengthen our lives and walk in Christ (i.e. Couples/ Parents classes, Grief support, Divorce recovery, etc.). We should look into outreach approaches into our community to meet actual physical, emotional and spiritual needs while sharing with them, not only the love of Christ in that process, but, especially, the truth of His Gospel as well (ex: Alpha classes, networking with existing food and cloth banks in the area, helping to provide affordable housing through organizations like Habitat for Humanity).
(This article will continue in February 2019)
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