Almost everyone admits that much of “the church” today is a shadow of its former self… but what do we do?
What woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?
Luke 15
Jesus paints the picture of going after those who are lost. This is really talking about folks who were on the “inside” and have fallen off, not necessarily those who never had a relationship with God. So don’t write off these people in the church who are “lost.” We do this on both sides of the “style preference” debate.
“Progressive” types write off the more “traditional” types as lost. “They don’t know what it is to really worship in freedom.”
In the same way stodgy Independent “fundamentalist” types write off more “modern” types as “fluff.”
Don’t do this! Forget the style wars, focus on what is biblical and go after those who are lost. Traditional types need to do whatever they can to reach progressives, and progressives need to love the more crusty types. Will it work? Well, if there’s a place it can work, it’s in a New Testament church.
Don’t focus on the rules or making people live or do and not do specific things, focus on holding fast to the head of the church, Jesus Christ! (cf. Col 2).
Go after the ones who have strayed from what it means to follow Jesus. Go after the ones who think worship SHOULD be one specific style or another, they are wrong, they are lost, go after them, love them, show them!!!
