Entertainment Or Discipleship?

Shift Your Focus… I’ve got to tell you, I am more than a little bothered by the way we are doing Christianity these days! It seems a far cry from what Jesus had in mind. I think we are far more concerned with doing whatever it takes to attract people into our churches than in calling for the radical transformation of their lives, which among other things, requires total surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Just think of how the typical church in America today makes its appeal to the community: You’ll love our music—the band sounds just like Coldplay. Our pastor is great—he’ll remind you of Jimmy Kimmel, only funnier. We’ve got some great programs, too—your kids will think they’ve died and gone to Disneyland; your teenager may win an iPad—we have a drawing for one every week; and we will help you improve you marriage, make you more successful in business, show you how to make money, and help you to feel really good about yourself…oh, and we’ll treat you to a latte from our Starbucks’ franchise in the lobby.

No kidding, I was sent an advertisement recently for a start up church on the East Coast that promoted itself as a church for the really busy. The outstanding feature of their advertisement was the half-hour service—10 minutes of worship, 12 minutes of the word, 3 minutes of application, and 5 minutes of fellowship.

Nothing like rearranging your life around the priorities of the kingdom, wouldn’t you say? Maybe their mission statement could be, “If you’re too busy for Jesus, just come to us—we’ll fix that!”

That is a far cry from the plan Jesus gave the disciples for building his kingdom:

Then Jesus called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. (Luke 9:1-6)

Building the kingdom is not a matter of entertaining people into your church. The more we do that, by the way, the more the world finds the church irrelevant. Rather, building God’s kingdom is about invading your neighborhood, workplace, school or social circle—“whatever house you enter”—in the power and authority of Jesus Christ, casting out demons, healing diseases, and declaring to those who have been under Satan’s dominion that there is a new Sheriff in town.

Maybe I sound a little grumpy today, but come on, don’t you think it’s time we start depending on the power and authority of Jesus rather than being hip to build the kingdom of God?

“[Jesus] was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three results—Hatred—Terror—Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild admiration.”  ~C.S. Lewis 

Prayer… Lord, forgive me for entertaining people into the church. Empower and embolden me to call people to the radically transformed life that you offer through the preaching of the cross. Rather than being funny and likable, authenticate my witness with signs, wonders and miracles. Make me a true kingdom agent—for your glory I pray.