Look again at this....
If you are wondering why I keep referencing this chart...it's because it still blows me away. It says so much. It makes me pray. It makes me weep...
The post below this one will seem extreme to some. It essentially adovcates for a reformation in church life, family life, and yes...even the Big Black Gate of educational life. Surely, many will say something along the lines of....
- "I get what he's trying to do...but it doesn't take all that."
- "Yes there are problems, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water."
- "Oh yeah, that all looks great in his neat, perfect little world, but out here in the real world....."
And so forth. The truth is nothing here is neat, easy, quick, popular, or flows nicely with cultural norms. Everything I'm saying and will say about how to reverse the trends in the above chart is excruciatingly difficult. It will cost time and money. If you are a pastor, it will cost you members too.
Listening to the discourse in media and social media today...I've come to the conclusion that most (if not perilously close to all!) of it is counter-productive. All sides are dug in, fighting based on their worldview...which took them a lifetime to frame. Therefore, a trajectory has been set. I believe we need to begin to think generationally...working to preach the Gospel to culture now, but also raising up fully trained children in preparation for the "then."
The question is...again, given the nightmarish chart above....is our moderation helping? Is keeping the status quo helping? Is playing with the world helping? Is the needle actually moving doing Kingdom business the way we are?
Extreme? In my mind...not extreme enough....
- Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. (Mat 12:30 ESV)
- "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. (Rev 3:15-16 ESV)
Out.
