The Post-Christian Era
Did you know that many observers of all things Christian have labelled the age we live in the post-Christian era? They make a compelling case that we have lost our consensus about what it means to be Christian. We have lost the language of faith that we once thought we had in common. Every major denomination in our country today is in a fight of some sort or other that proves that we have lost this thing called consensus.
In response to all this deconstruction, the modern day church has turned to business techniques like market studies, mass mailing and telemarketing to increase church membership. It works too! There are plenty of examples of mega churches who do fill those pews and the coffers to the brim. They host Easter egg hunt using air drops to spread the good news - a modern day tradition I am totally fascinated by! And let's get real here - don't we have the same concerns at Northstar Community? How will we fund our mission we ask? Isn't that question awfully close to the one about getting lots of butts in the pews? These are legitimate questions that people in charge of such things must ask. But at what cost?
Barbara Brown Taylor says this about such things:
"All of these developments have given me reason to think hard about all the things we do to get people into church. Does the end justify the means, or are we playing a dangerous game with the gospel, by substituting our own expertise for the power of God?"
p.132, Teaching Sermons on Suffering
Paul's response? Preach him as crucified. Now, is that guy crazy or what? Here's more about Paul. The guy had limitations! He had a mysterious thorn in the flesh that served as a big limiter. He was not considered a great preacher, although people did not criticize his writing too much. A second-century source "The Apocryphal Acts of Paul and Tecla" described him as "a man of small stature, with bald head and crooked legs...with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked." And yet, with all these limitations the guys still managed to start at least 7 churches, write 13 letters quoted even today and several speeches found in the book of Acts that were impressive by any standards.
So why preach him crucified? Maybe it was because Paul also assessed himself like this:
"I stood in front of you with weakness, fear, and a lot of shaking. My message and my preaching weren't presented with convincing wise words but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. I did this so that your faith might not depend on the wisdom of people but on the power of God."
1 Corinthians 2:3-5 CEB
What, I wonder, is so terrible about acknowledging our own weakness, fear and shaking? What have we misunderstood, or forgotten about the Easter message that holds us back from expressing our own vulnerability and limitations?
