08/02/2020
This is a long article, but there is a lot of worthwhile, thought provoking items in it. I think it will be worth your time.
REPOSITIONING
Are the Doors Open
This week I received an email from
Pastor Jim Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle sent to various church leaders around the country.
Pastor Cymbala shared his heart with the current crisis in America and asked if we felt led we could share his thoughts from this communique.
I have shared it with our ministers in NGA and simply asked that they allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts through it’s message.
I pray you will also..........
it is a time of REPOSITIONING!
Bishop Tom Madden
Pastor Jim Cymbala:
“While our nation experiences turmoil from heightened racial tension, followers of Jesus Christ would be wise to reacquaint themselves with our country's unfortunate historical record of racism and injustice.
Although Christians are, spiritually speaking, citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20), and are directed by God to live as foreigners here on earth (1 Peter 2:11), it is our responsibility as "salt" and "light" to advocate for justice and equality for all Americans.
But far more important than our political involvement in these matters is a critical question I believe the Lord is asking as we navigate through this stressful season. The Christian church can no longer evade it if we want to impact our culture for Jesus Christ.
The question is simple: "Are the doors open?"
In other words, how many of our Christian churches have their doors open in love to every single person for whom Christ died?
Do our congregations, with their leadership, really want to welcome every human being in their town or city so they can embrace them, as Jesus would, and share the gospel?
That would mean every person: White, Black, Hispanic, or Asian; rich or poor, living in luxury or in a homeless shelter; well-dressed or soiled by life’s hard times – you know, all those included in "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16). If the Lord so desperately loves them, how can we not embrace them with open arms?
Do we really agree with Christ's invitation: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28), or is our actual target only some of those He invited?
I wonder how God feels when we teach our Calvinistic, Arminian, Evangelical or Charismatic doctrinal positions, but those He cherishes are unwanted in our church services. It's very easy for some to applaud apologetic arguments for creationism while at the same time excluding the very people God created because they are "other." Or we can easily fall into the trap of politicizing the pulpit in a way that only produces more
un-Christlike rancor and division among believers. By the way, there was no greater gap of "otherness" than between Holy God and us sinners, yet God's love still sent Jesus Christ as our sacrifice.
Many have grown accustomed to this kind of hypocrisy because they grew up in a church permeated by it.
Why don’t we feel keenly embarrassed by the fact that pro-sports teams, auto factories, and even crack houses, are more welcoming to minorities than many of our houses of worship?
We're experts at splitting doctrinal hairs but not so adept at showing mercy and love.
I'm wondering lately if much of what we call the "evangelical church" is mostly a charade; a kind of "pretend" or nominal Christianity that purposely majors in the minors and minors in the majors. Although there are numerous exceptions, too many of us, I'm afraid, have ceased seeking after the New Testament model of a love-filled church open to every person.
Instead, we've developed a kind of "club" based on race and socioeconomic factors. And these "clubs" welcome members only. In this atmosphere, "God is love" (1 John 4:8) is a verse we quote but not something that describes the way we live.
Although the question, "Are the doors open?," seems simplistic, I think it reveals where we are spiritually with God.
It applies to every pastor and every church of every race across the nation. I love studying the Scriptures and learning more about God as much as anyone, but how much harder it is to let Christ love people through us!
Consider the horrible practice of racial prejudice against African-Americans when evangelical congregations (including megachurches) reflexively relocate their campus the moment the neighborhood "changes." That's been the established practice for decades.
When I gently point out this fact to pastors around the country, I am met with the familiar refrain: "Listen, if I would actively evangelize and welcome the minority community in my city, some of my biggest donors and most important families would head for the exit doors! Then where would I be?" Think of that! Jesus shed His blood for people we don't want sitting in our church buildings. If Christ wept over Jerusalem with their spiritual blindness and hard hearts, how must He grieve today over those of us who carry His name?
So what if some bigoted folks pull out as a pastor tries his best to follow Jesus? Can't we trust God to meet our needs as we live out the Great Commission? (Matthew 28:19).
It's ludicrous to discuss "the fields ripe for harvest" (John 4:35) across the globe when folks in our own backyard are being politely ignored. Also, what an indictment of pastors who carefully do expository preaching from Genesis to Revelation, only to produce church members unacquainted with our calling to love others radically, just as Christ loved us (John 15:12).
The early New Testament church gloried in the fact that the deeply-rooted hatred between Jew and Gentile (worse than even our racial barriers) had been broken through the power of the gospel. Jewish rabbis regularly referred to those "gentile dogs" who might contaminate God's covenant people. Conversely, anti-Semitism is nearly as old as time itself.
But see what the Cross of Christ accomplished! The wall of separation (Ephesians 2:14) was demolished, and the two became one through the church Christ was building. This was in keeping with God's purpose of "every nation, every tribe" gathered to Him in heaven for eternity.
If God's will in heaven should be done on earth, shouldn't all our churches reflect all the people God loves in our area?
It is difficult to explain 95% white churches in diverse major American cities. Is that by accident?
It’s true that some congregations have strategically planted "inner-city satellites," but I wonder whether, at times, that might simply be another way of preserving the comfort zone of the main congregation. "Don't rock the boat" isn't found in Scripture, but it too often governs decision-making in church circles.
God’s agapē love is always tested by the "other" — by people of other races, different cultures, contrary political positions, etc. If we fail to open our arms to all, we deny the very purpose of Jesus Christ coming to earth.
This sad picture of division and prejudice has its genesis in the closed doors of our individual hearts. We're not seeing people as Jesus sees them, nor feeling what He feels.
We must know by now that America is not really a "Christian nation." Nor is it God's replacement for Israel in the New Testament era.
The United States is an in*******al mission field desperately needing the gospel of Christ, which is the power of God (Romans 1:16) to transform human hearts.
As always, the heart of our problem is the human heart — and sometimes even our own hearts, which have yet to be fully transformed.
Now is a good time to hit pause and humble ourselves before God. Do our preaching and outreach to the community honestly reflect God's tender love? Repentance is in order.
This kind of soul-searching might initially prove painful, but God will minister grace as we wait in His presence with open Bibles and open hearts. The transformation we need will come not through more teaching or preaching, but rather with a fresh infusion of the Spirit of God himself. And He is love.
Perhaps we should concentrate less on increasing attendance and pray instead with the Apostle Paul that our "love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight" (Philippians 1:9) and that "the Lord will make your love increase and overflow for each other and everyone else, just as ours does for you" (1 Thessalonians 3:12).
The last picture we have of Jesus on earth finds Him walking among the seven golden lampstands (churches) of Revelation chapters 2 and 3.
His penetrating gaze probes much deeper than their public image and reputation. Those congregations belonged to Christ, and His first concern was for their spiritual condition. His words brought encouragement or correction as needed.
Today, Jesus still walks among our churches.
If we have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying,
His mercy and love can
fling open our doors to receive all those
He came to save.”
