The Church Must Assert Itself

There was a time when the church in England flourished. In fact, the Baptists in the United Kingdom grew significantly in the 19th Century. That was the age of pulpit giants – Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Joseph Parker, Alexander McClaren and John Clifford – who drew congregations of many thousands.

But like every other denomination in England and Wales, Baptists went through a period of decline at the beginning of the 20th Century. Nick Page has written a book entitled The Church Invisible in which he makes an observation about the church in the United Kingdom.

As Page sat in a meeting in Oxford to consider the topic: “The Future for the Church: It’s Not as Bad as It Seems,” he began to wonder if the church really had a future at all. In reflecting upon the church he concluded that it “was an elderly, frail, terminally ill patient, hemorrhaging people at a frightening rate. Children were leaving by the thousands. Families were staying away. The elderly were dying and not being replaced.”

As Page listened to various pastors at the meeting he observed, “There were some good things (happening). There were welcome stories of people becoming Christians, of lives being changed. (But) the reality was that the church was bleeding to death. What signs of life there were, were little more than the nervous twitches of a mortally wounded beast.”

What is the future of the church in America? What do you think our nation will be like in 25 years? In 50 years? Do you feel confident that this country will provide a wholesome environment for your children and grandchildren? Is the light of the gospel shining more brightly each day? Is the church making a significant impact upon our culture?

It has been said that we have a “tongue-tied church in a hell-bent world.” If that has been true in the past it is an even more profound truth in the present. In fact, the silent majority is quickly becoming the silent minority.

I am not trying to be an alarmist, but if the church continues to be characterized by silence and apathy the future doesn’t look particularly bright. If there is not a revival or a spiritual awakening, we may well travel the same path of the church in England.

While the church is often silent, the world is extremely vocal. June is Gay Pride Month in Atlanta and more than 300,000 people from across the Southeast and beyond are expected to attend the Atlanta Pride festival June 25-27. The theme this year is “Equality –Justice” and the Web site says, “With this being an election year, and the marriage amendment on the ballot in Georgia, this theme packs a powerful punch.” The homosexual community is becoming a visible, vocal and viable force in our society.

On April 25 organizers of the abortion rights gathering in Washington claimed to have pulled off the largest march in history with more than one million pro-choice activists having converged upon the nation’s capitol. Whoopi Goldberg had no qualms about holding up a coat hanger and shouting, “This was the choice. And I’m here to tell you, never again. We are not going backwards child, never again.”

Television networks keep pushing the envelope to see just how tolerant Americans really are. Thus far we have proven that we tolerate sex, violence, drugs, profanity, obscenity, perversion and the demeaning and belittling of Christianity. Watch a rerun of an old Andy Griffith Show or an I Love Lucy program and you will discover just how far television has come or perhaps just how low it has sunk.

But while the homosexuals exhibit their pride and the abortionists boldly promote their agenda and the television producers peddle their debauchery, Christians sit in silence. Someone has wisely said: “Silence is not golden; it is just plain yellow.”

Abraham Lincoln said, “To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.” We have a standard to bear, a message to proclaim and a Savior to glorify. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so … ” (Psalm 107:2).