The New Exodus
These are certainly interesting and uncertain times we are facing. All over the world, people are on the move in search of a more stable and peaceful country in which to settle, make a living and raise a family.
This global exodus is fraught with many challenges and dangers. The evangelical church is facing a similar exodus - scores of people are on the move out of the instituional church.
- An over emphases on content at the expense of connection
- An obsession with consumption not equipping
- Meanness and intolerance rather than love, acceptance, and grace
- Making politics more important than allegiance to Christ
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it well: “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.”
- Silence in the face of injustice
- “If the church does not participate actively in the struggle for peace and for economic and racial justice, it will forfeit the loyalty of millions and cause men everywhere to say that it has atrophied its will.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- Failure to encourage the expression of honest doubt
- An antagonistic attitude toward science