A Church brought to its knees

image courtesy of google images and is owned by ☻☺’s photostream

How many times do we have to hear from Christians, non Christians, and news sources alike that the death of evangelical Christianity is imminent before we do something? Outside of an ad nauseam debate on whether such an imminent death is true, or staying on the current course and current message of evangelism, can or should anything be done?

In a remarkable book  positing a Christlike ‘new’ (read: original) message of evangelism, one Christian evangelist offers, in typical humble fashion, a radical solution to one problem facing the Church, the accusation that so many ‘Christians’ behave hypocritically, failing to live in the manner of Christ’s teachings: repentance.

Observing that history is filled “with movements of people who cry out to God that they are unholy, who identify and confess their sins” radical Christian Shane Claiborne suggests that the Church do so.  With his trademark humility the young radical suggests we “confess our sins to the world, to humbly get on our knees and repent for the terrible things we have done in the name of God”.

Imagine if you will a sincere Church who acknowledges that indeed ‘mistakes were made’ in our evangelism and in our lives. imagine a Church that proceeds to admit she ‘doesn’t pretend to be perfect or have all the answers”?

Few Christians could argue that the past several decades of messaging – decades filled with ‘God hates fags’, ‘cut aid to the poor’, ‘single mothers are destroying the country’ – have been anything but an unmitigated disaster for the Body of Christ. Whether or not all Christians believe such hateful nonsense is not relevant. What is relevant is that too many people believe that this is what Christians are all about. What does matter is that that message was and is being spread in the name of Christians everywhere. It is that message, more than anything else, which has led to the current declines in the Church.

A Church who comes before people and apologizes, a Church who begs for forgiveness, is a Church everyone needs to hear, including those of us within that Church.

A repentant Body of Christ who acknowledges the truth of Luke 11:42 – 11:45 would be a powerful and watershed moment – if you will a ‘teachable moment’ – in the history of the Church.