2-18-19<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nI\naddress Christians as a group \u2013 a fellowship that frequently is as\nhard to corral as a litter of frisky cats. \u201cWe\u201d are children of\nthe Living God, or anyway should consider ourselves so. We read the\nsame Bible and worship the Trinitarian God. As we know, since the\nChurch\u2019s earliest days, there have been disagreements, splinters,\ndeep schisms, and heresies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes\nthese are caused by cultural traditions that die hard; and sometimes\nfierce scholarly differences bring division. In the first century\nthese debates were rife\u2026 and resulted in councils that promulgated\nCreeds \u2013 to remind believers what they believed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThen\nwe get to the questions I asked, Are we winning, and what constitutes\nwinning?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This\ncan sound crass\u2026 or be<\/em>\ncrass. I always wince when I hear pastors talking about how many\npeople they \u201crun\u201d every Sunday in their churches. I know they\ncare about attendance, but the term connotes fannies-in-the-seats,\nand inappropriate priorities. Yes, churches need to pay utility bills\ntoo, but can we hear Luke 15:10 amid the shouting? \u2013 \u201cThere\nis joy in the presence of God\u2019s angels when even one sinner\nrepents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\nare statistics aplenty about church growth; denominations that expand\nor merge; \u201creaching\u201d the lost; \u201cattracting\u201d the many;\n\u201ckeeping\u201d the kids; satellite churches and retreats;\nconversations about relevance\u2026 until the statistics suggest\nir<\/em>relevance.\nGod forbid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUpon\nthis rock I will build my…\u201d weekend retreat? Pot-luck dinner?\nChristian Jazzercise? God forbid. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus\ndied on the cross, and rose from the dead, for churches that define\nidentity by these activities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nAre\nAmerican Christians helping to evangelize, convert, transform the\nworld\u2026 or are we being transformed to the image of the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nWinning.\nListen, we win in the end \u2013 I mean God wins. He already has won. I\npeeked ahead to the last pages of His book. You can look too. Take\ncomfort\u2026 as long as you can be counted with the \u201cwe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But\nwhether our nation is lost, whether we and our children are spared or\ncaught up in tribulation, is a question for you to answer. As\nindividuals, not denominations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWinning\u201d?\nLet me share one more statistic that fixes the term in solid if\nshifting focus. It is reported that Christianity is on the RISE in\n170 countries around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nnumber of Christians is declining, however, in 20 countries. The\nUnited States is one of them. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe\nlast, great hope of mankind\u201d? Peek ahead to those final pages…<\/p>\n\n\n\n +\n+ +<\/p>\n\n\n\n