In 1897, Mark Twain is said to have read his own obituary, and then remarked, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
Have you read the obituary of the church recently? With a level of confident opinion, it is heralded from blog articles, social media posts, and plenty of opinion pieces. They have good evidence of the death certificate, pointing to declining attendance numbers, social/cultural shifts, and flailing denominations.
The proverbial sky is falling! Well, not really.
The truth is that every generation laments the state of the church. There are always a host of people ready to diagnosis what they view as the problem. Internet experts have a plethora of "evidence" that substantiates their claims of the death of the church in their generation.
The only problem is that the church continues to move forward. The truth is that the universal, historic church of Jesus Christ has endured much more than the shifting cultural winds of North America. So while we navigate difficult days ahead, may we be reminded that the head of the church, Jesus, continues to lead His people.
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The real question is for the critics. What are you doing? What kinds of things are you actively doing to make things better? Who has joined you in following Jesus? Who has experienced transformation from your invitation to encounter Jesus? In what ways are you a conduit of church health rather than a "chicken little" insisting that the sky is falling?
The body of Christ is alive and well. "Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, [26] that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, [27] so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." (Ephesians 5:25b-27)
So, could you please stop speaking about the bride of Christ as if she is a harlot?
Check out these other articles:
Why I Am Part of a Denomination
Why I Love the Church of the Nazarene
Amen brother, preach it
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