I dream of a Reformed 'Black' Church...
In response to a post that I posted by Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile titled 'Can the African American Church be Reformed? ' A brother made the following comment:
"I agree, however what is the alternative while we wait for the reformation. I'm reminded of the question, If we evolved from apes and monkeys then why do we still have apes and monkeys? My point is if broke and busted saints have been faithfully tithing for years, why do we still have broke and busted saints?"
Here was my response:
My brother, I think that the answer is as profound and complicated as it is simple: Scrap it. Get rid of the entire diseased system, and start again. Will this happen? Probably not, because it is too lucrative for too many cats, but imagine the following scenario: My source scriptures are: Mark 4:3-9, Ephesians 1, and Acts 17:16-34
Here's how it goes down...
We preachers begin to teach Reformed, Orthodox Theology from the pulpits, we begin to tell the truth about the Sovereignty/Holiness/Dominion/Purpose of God, the truth about sin, about the nature of man, and...
The people get offended, some/many/most leave, offended in part because for too many years, we have preached 'easy believism', and have made no demands on the people other than a tithe, regular attendance, occasional Bible reading and a vague sense of 'Love' for a God that remains distant, misunderstood, and only seen through the lens of the denomination or the leader.
But they are offended primarily because they are challenged, and come to the realization that they are in fact probably not saved, and do not like the God of the Bible all that much, because they find out that it's HIS world, not theirs, and they exist for HIS Glory and pleasure, not the other way around. This is a God that they abhor, and will not serve. (These are the goats, aka the tares...)
Then there are those who get past the initial affront, and continue to come, drawn perhaps by the newness, perhaps by tradition and the rut of practice, some perhaps because of something deeper. Some of these will stay for a while then go, others will remain...
What's left are the sheep, the ones who long for God, and to know Him better. It is this group that Jesus calls, who hear HIS voice and follow, leaving/forsaking all. THIS is the church, the Ekklesia, the ones for whom Jesus came in the first place. Those whom the Bible calls 'The Elect', those who know that it was neither their choice, nor their goodness, merely God's Sovereign Grace that allowed them to hear and respond to the Gospel, and be born again...
THEN we'll see The real Church.
Not black, white, yellow, or anything else, just Redeemed.
Wouldn't that be Great?
"I agree, however what is the alternative while we wait for the reformation. I'm reminded of the question, If we evolved from apes and monkeys then why do we still have apes and monkeys? My point is if broke and busted saints have been faithfully tithing for years, why do we still have broke and busted saints?"
Here was my response:
My brother, I think that the answer is as profound and complicated as it is simple: Scrap it. Get rid of the entire diseased system, and start again. Will this happen? Probably not, because it is too lucrative for too many cats, but imagine the following scenario: My source scriptures are: Mark 4:3-9, Ephesians 1, and Acts 17:16-34
Here's how it goes down...
We preachers begin to teach Reformed, Orthodox Theology from the pulpits, we begin to tell the truth about the Sovereignty/Holiness/Dominion/Purpose of God, the truth about sin, about the nature of man, and...
The people get offended, some/many/most leave, offended in part because for too many years, we have preached 'easy believism', and have made no demands on the people other than a tithe, regular attendance, occasional Bible reading and a vague sense of 'Love' for a God that remains distant, misunderstood, and only seen through the lens of the denomination or the leader.
But they are offended primarily because they are challenged, and come to the realization that they are in fact probably not saved, and do not like the God of the Bible all that much, because they find out that it's HIS world, not theirs, and they exist for HIS Glory and pleasure, not the other way around. This is a God that they abhor, and will not serve. (These are the goats, aka the tares...)
Then there are those who get past the initial affront, and continue to come, drawn perhaps by the newness, perhaps by tradition and the rut of practice, some perhaps because of something deeper. Some of these will stay for a while then go, others will remain...
What's left are the sheep, the ones who long for God, and to know Him better. It is this group that Jesus calls, who hear HIS voice and follow, leaving/forsaking all. THIS is the church, the Ekklesia, the ones for whom Jesus came in the first place. Those whom the Bible calls 'The Elect', those who know that it was neither their choice, nor their goodness, merely God's Sovereign Grace that allowed them to hear and respond to the Gospel, and be born again...
THEN we'll see The real Church.
Not black, white, yellow, or anything else, just Redeemed.
Wouldn't that be Great?
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