The "Nonessential" church

One of the most devastating things about the Coronavirus is that the church of today has been declared "nonessential."  While all religious services around the world were closed, the biggest shock was how the Christian church, the church supposedly serving the Living God, was shut down and told they could not meet together.  The church, which declares they are full of the same power that raised Christ from the dead, was pushed into the corner with all the other religions and told to stay home.  Even more shocking than this was how almost every pastor and church leader blindly accepted this sentence without question.  They said, "It is only for a short time, we will be back together soon."  I even heard a pastor say, "The government is not telling us we can't serve God, they just want us to meet online for a few weeks."  So, the church calmly closed its doors and quietly accepted the label of "nonessential"

Sadly, the church has earned this classification!

There was a time many years ago when the church of Jesus Christ was the center of society.  People had respect for the church because the church offered hope to a dying world.  The church was a place broken people could run to for healing.  The church was a place where confused people could find answers.  It was a place that stood out from the world and offered them something different.  It offered Jesus.

The reason the church was declared nonessential is because the church no longer stands out from the world as being different.  For several years now the church has been morphing into a social club and coffee house.  The absolutes of God have been replaced with the essentials of the world.  The world now looks into the church and sees the same attributes they see in their local social group.

Not only has the church allowed the ways of the world to infiltrate the church, but now, the church works hard to make sure the world feels comfortable inside the walls of the church.  They have resorted to using pagan rituals, secular music, and highly questionable methods to make sure people feel at home in the church.  50 years ago people would run to the church in order to get away from the sinful life they had at home.  Now, the world just brings their sinful lives into the church and fits right in with the person sitting next to them in the pew.

The church has become lifeless and powerless.  Pastors teach non-threatening life lessons while the congregation sips their gourmet coffee which they picked up in the lobby.

(I am quite sure Jesus would have turned this table over too!)

The church of today offers nothing to a dying world who is running full tilt toward Hell!  The church has prostituted itself to the world for the sake of tolerance and self-gain.  The church has lost its way.

If the church was truly following Christ and living out the Word of God, the government would have kept the doors of the church open.  If the church truly offered the hope and healing of the Lord like they are supposed to, there would have been a great need for the church to be open during this catastrophe.  Unfortunately, this was not the case.  Unfortunately, the church's doors were shut and services were relegated to the internet just like every other ineffective and non-hope giving religion.

What could be worse than the U.S. government and governments around the world declaring the church as nonessential?  The only thing worse would be God himself declaring the church to be nonessential!!

Wake Up Church!

"Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place - unless you repent."
                                                                                                        Revelation 2:5