Adrian Warnock posted an excerpt of John Piper writing on Feed Them Bible Truth: Modern Preaching Critiqued. In it Piper criticizes the modern church with all the atmosphere and programs in place so that the church grows in number, but without feeding the people on the Word of God. All show. No doctrine.
I love theology. When the pieces of a doctrinal puzzle fall into place and the things of God begin to make sense, we catch a glimpse of the glory of God. Just a glimpse. (For if we were yet in our sinful flesh and saw the full glory of God, we would be undone.) We study theology because we love God and want to know Him more. When we know Him more He changes us.
While I agree with everything John Piper says in this piece about the sorrow of so many churches that are, as the expression goes, a mile wide and an inch deep, it reminds me that there is sometimes another problem in churches that do have their doctrine right. They have their good doctrine, but without joy.
Some churches that have their doctrine right are hard and bitter places to be. Rather than bearing with one another and building one another up, folks in such churches pressure one another to conform. When doctrine is taught in this way it is taught to differentiate between "us," and "them," between the "right ones," and the "wrong ones." The doctrine that should be feeding our souls is instead feeding our pride.
John Piper bemoans joy without substance, and I join him in that. I also bemoan substance without joy. As a Reformed Christian myself, I think I can say without prejudice that this is a prevailing sin among my own. They don't call us the "frozen chosen" for no reason. That being said, however, I know we're not the only ones.
I was reading Martha Peace's The Excellent Wife, in which she writes about the atmosphere in a home and a wife's role in setting a nurturing, joyful tone. It is so easy to be bitter, critical and condescending, even when we don't realize it. A friend of mine was saying the other day that she overheard her teenage daughter speaking to her younger brother and the words sounded so harsh that she was taken aback. Then she realized, "She sounds like me! I talk like that!"
Probably most parents have had the painful experience of hearing their own words and attitudes in the mouths of their children. I know I have. Then we need to stand back and ask ourselves what we are trying to accomplish. Are we trying to mold our children in such a way that they please us, make our lives easier, and give us bragging rights for our "parenting skills," or are we trying to mold them in such a way that their hearts are tender towards God and they desire to obey and glorify Him?
The same thing that can happen to the atmosphere in a home can happen to the atmosphere of a church if we forget our purposes. Are we trying to shape lives in such a way that we can brag about the success of our church's "ministry," or are we trying to edify one another and point one another toward God? Do those who fall short or show weakness become an embarrassment? Must they be either cleaned up, hushed up, or shipped out? If so, the church family becomes an idol and God's purposes are abandoned.
Just like parents, church members--especially church leaders--need to listen for their own words and attitudes in the voices of the congregation. And when we hear an attitude of pride, condescension, bitterness, or conformity, we need to reevaluate and remember the reason we are here. Paraphrasing the Westminster Shorter Catechism, we are here to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
The churches John Piper describes often have a show of joy. They are happy, happy, happy, all the time, time, time. I am not suggesting that this appearance of joy should be painted onto a joyless church as whitewash is painted onto a tomb. Rather, we need to turn away from our own purposes, turn toward God, and find our joy in Him. We need to remember those days that may be fading in our memories when we first loved Christ and delighted in His theology. When every new discovery of doctrine filled us with awe at the grace and the glory of God, rather than gave us another dividing line between us and them.
Then we can walk together, a band of imperfect brothers and sisters, washed by the grace of God, each with our own sets of strengths and weaknesses, and head toward the God we love, sometimes stopping so one can rest, sometimes helping another to carry his or her load, sharing our joys and sharing our sorrows, but always moving closer to home.
Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
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