Church - The Agent of Change
The contemporary church is terribly lacking in dialogue. God said to Isaiah, “…come let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18). If God calls us to reason with Him, why, then, don’t we dialogue among ourselves? There are some serious issues that are facing this sick and dying world and “church as usual” isn’t helping!
We have Christ-averse religions growing and seeking to expand their reach into the fabric of our nation and we simply say, “Can we all just get along?” No, we cannot. We must preach the Gospel! Jesus drew the line in the sand in John 14:6, when He said “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” Christianity is not just another religion; it is a way of life. Better yet, it is THE WAY TO LIFE! We must be loving and civil but we must preach the truth nonetheless. Instead of allowing religion to make inroads into our communities, we need to push back gently – explaining that Jesus is not a way, He is THE WAY!
We have young black men killing each other at an alarming rate. More and more young people are incarcerated and, thus, indoctrinated into a life of recidivism. Black women have the highest rate of HIV-AIDS in the country. Teenage pregnancy is an epidemic. Depression runs rampant. All the while we wring our collective hands, quoting scripture and doing nothing. There should be living examples of how the church is mentoring young men into leadership, counseling of young men and women on how to maintain sexual purity, and how the joy of the Lord can break the stronghold of depression. These are the things that require our immediate attention and resources.
Religious rhetoric will no longer cut it. The full Gospel of the Kingdom of God must be preached; that Gospel is the Gospel of wholeness and completion in the earth; not lack today and deferred reward in the “sweet-by-and-by.”
Change requires action. We can no longer afford to stand on the sidelines and hope that either things will simply change themselves or government will somehow stop the societal train-wreck. Change will not be instantaneous; initially the impact of the Kingdom will be incremental and unseen. However, if we are faithful about prosecuting the Kingdom agenda, incremental changes will swell into significant, seen changes that will impact and influence the world.
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