This is an excerpt from an article that I enjoyed and thought was well written and very thought provoking, although it flies in the face of the current trend in many Churches today. While I am sure that it will stir up proponents of pragmatism and cultural relevance, especially those who believe that the “end justifies the means” , it deserves a honest read. The article was originally posted at BetterThanSacrifice.org. You can read the whole article here.
…the pragmatic grounds upon which the Church Growth Movement justifies its techniques. In essence they say, ‘Don’t criticise us – look at the lives that are being transformed! The fruit of what we do is proof of God’s blessing.’
Let’s look at three of the faulty assumptions that underly this line of reasoning.
False assumption 1: We can judge what is right by whether it ‘works’
In the business world (the source for many of the ideas in the Church Growth Movement), judging by results is generally reasonable. However, the church is not her own master, but rather is responsible to her Head, even the Lord Jesus Christ who bought her. She has not been given a mandate to innovate, but to ‘stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle’ (2 Thessalonians 2:15).
For the church, what matters is not our own opinion of what works, but what Christ has commanded. She is to hold fast to the Apostle’s doctrine, to the proclamation of repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Christ.
False assumption 2: Growth in church attendance proves God’s blessing
In my previous treatment of this assumption, I observed that Baal worship was at one time the most popular religion in Israel. Was this evidence of God’s blessing?
Islam has over a billion adherents and is currently growing faster than the total world population. Is this proof that God approves of Islam?
Or is the reality that the true Church preaches a message that the world finds unpalatable? Even ‘Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.’ (1 Corinthians 1:23-24)
False assumption 3: A transformed life is proof of salvation
Many religions transform lives. Mormonism has produced zealous clean-living converts who would put most evangelicals to shame in their general moral conduct. And radical Islam certainly transforms the lives of those who decide to become suicide bombers – and those of their victims.
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