Epilogue:
Why are our
churches ineffective at reaching the lost?
Could it be that we are not
growing because we have such poor eschatology?
I am not suggesting that we should begin to schedule prophecy
conferences. I am not a big fan of prophecy
conferences, some of which are little more than commercials to sell books that
sensationalize current affairs and take Scripture out of context. Our poor eschatology is of a more profound
nature than the simple folly of setting dates for the second coming. It tends to be selfishly focused. It is about how you can have some sort of
advantage in the last days, inside knowledge, first in line in the Rapture, or
stock pile food for the Tribulation all depending on your convictions or
audience.
In the movie Twelve Strong the Afghani General Dostrium
(Dostum) is quoted as saying to the American Army officer:
“Your anger comes from your
fear. Because you live in a place where
life looks better than the after life.
That is not this place…. You will fail because you fear death. Taliban welcome it.”
In the west, and in the
American church in particular, our lives are so good we can’t fathom any
radical improvement to life. We would
all agree that our lives need some minor adjustments. A small alteration here, a little modification
there would make things a little better, but by and large, life is pretty
good. We have luxury unmatched in human
history, medical care that is accessible and effective, we have entertainments
and distractions and wealth and pleasure.
We have begun to think of heaven as an improvement on all that we
have. We joke that Heaven is where ice
cream will not make us fat. It is a joke
but it reflects a deeper and more fundamental understanding, or
misunderstanding, of the afterlife. We
have begun to see Heaven as better rather than different. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the
authors of scripture were stretched to find symbols and metaphors for
Heaven. These symbols and metaphors were
highly cultural and contextual so without that culture and context it is easy
for us to lack understanding of Heaven.
We all want a little
improvement in our lives, but we are incapable of imagining the fundamental
changes that heaven will bring. So the church has made the mistake of preaching
a gospel of improved life and self help rather that quantum change. “How to” sermons have replaced the “Kingdom
of God is at hand” as our theme. Our
appeal is having a better marriage, family, financial standing, community,
physical condition and the list can be endless.
Our failure in eschatology
is the same failure we face in our worship, evangelism, community service,
prayers, again the list could be endless.
So, how do we preach good eschatology (and everything else)? By focusing on Christ. In my role I have the privilege and sometimes
the distress of worshiping with a great many different churches. The pattern I see too often is that church
and all of our theologies have begun to orbit around us. From the description of the incarnation as,
“It is like God became a dude and hung out with us,” to, “What God wants is for
you to receive what you want.” Jesus is presented as someone whose role is to
solve our problems, answer our requests and make life here and now better for
us. We have mistaken God’s love for us
with a narcissistic expectation that God will spoil us.
As long as Jesus is
presented as a means to an end we cannot expect God’s blessings on our
ministry, His power at work in our lives or His Spirit calling fallen humanity
to repentance. In terms of therapy,
Jesus may not be the best option. In
terms of feeling good about myself, Jesus is not the first choice. In terms of better, economic performance,
family relationships, sex, political power and social stability Jesus is likely
never going to be the top ranked option.
As long as these among others are our teaching and preaching themes we
can expect the church to grow more and more inconsequential.
When we turn the
conversation to the greatness and glory of the second person of the Trinity and
the Biblical and apostolic preaching of the cross we will see people drawn to
Christ, not the temporary trinkets they think they want. When we want Jesus so much we do not care if
anyone else wants Him, then we will be compelled to tell the world what a great
Savior He is. Then if He wills, our
churches may grow!
