There are others who think that theology needs to change to keep pace with a changing world. Not too long ago someone phrased this way of thinking as "generous orthodoxy." This is the new way for many denominations as they hope to reach out to a larger percentage of the population. Unfortunately for them, this isn't working any better than the "blinder" approach. Not many people want to be involved in something that looks more like a social service agency than the church. Isn't there a better way?
Last Sunday I talked about the more excellent way. You see, I believe that the change in society is being engineered by God himself. It's not an accident that the church has become marginalized. God's hand is all over this. He is calling us to reclaim who He created us to be. I've mentioned that we may have more in common with the First Century than the Twentieth Century. If this is true, we need to examine what those faithful men and women did and how God used them to change the world.
It doesn't take more than a quick read of the Acts of the Apostles to see that the church changed the world. Starting with 12 men and growing to about 120 people on the day of Pentecost, the church grew to 3000 in one day. That didn't happen because they found 3000 "smart" people, or they decided to lower the bar to fit culture. No, that happened because they were totally, completely "sold-out." These people not only put God in first place in their life, they had completely surrendered to Jesus.
What would happen if we were to do the same thing? I will reflect on this over the next few weeks but let me say one thing about this: if God is truly calling us to live like an Acts 2:42 church, are we willing to do that? Can we trust Him with everything- our calendar, our money, our family, our lives? Is Jesus worth it?
I want to live this way. I want to know Jesus more completely. I want to follow him by completely surrendering. The bar is pretty high but it is definitely worth living ones life this way. I'll close today by asking you: will you do the same? Can we be the kind of church that God wants us to be? Not the kind of people who wear blinders; not the kind of church that waters down the Gospel. But the kind of Church that is full of people who have sold out to Jesus. Totally surrendered to Him!