First Baptist Church

The rate of change in every area of life has accelerated beyond our ability to comprehend over the last several decades. The world, since it’s beginning, has always been changing, however prior to the 20^th century, people by and large, saw the world only change modestly over the course of their entire lifetimes. Partly that was due to life spans being significantly shorter than what they are today and partly because change happened at a much slower pace. In the modern era, change is happening so rapidly that products are obsolete shortly after they hit the market and are quickly replaced by something else. The rate at which we receive information is enormous. The internet, in particular, has magnified exponentially what we can know and how fast we can know it.

Conveniences which were rare a generation or two ago are now standard fare. It is no longer the wealthy who drive luxury cars, eat at nice restaurants, carry cell phones, take nice vacations, etc. That which was once only for the elite is now mainstream.

Church is no longer the majority of people’s primary place of social gathering anymore. Weddings were once day long events/celebrations. Also picnics, socials, and other events were significant to the entire community, and not just the church. In reality the “church” was the “community.” Each community formed and adhered to their own standard but those standards were quite similar form place to place. Family values were strong, decency was expected, and God and His church were central to virtually everything.

Consider the television watched these days which is driven by “reality” shows, intense dramas, rude sitcoms, adult cartoons, incessant cable news programming, and info-mercials. Even educational programming is presented in a manner which garners mass appeal. It is far from dry and boring. These shows are often hosted by someone who appears to have had way too much caffeine and whose wardrobe looks like that of the average 17 year old. Television is “taste” driven. If there is a demand for something then the supply follows. It is not about what people “need” but, almost exclusively about what they “want.” The question is rarely “do I need this?” but instead, “do I like or want this?”

People today watch the late night comedians, listen to pop music, pay 4 dollars for a cup of coffee, go skiing, and if it were not for fast food and microwavable meals they would seemingly starve.

We can set around and lament how things have changed and talk about the “good old days” however that does nothing to solve any problems – in fact it just makes things harder on us!

Along with the other societal drifts, there has been a drift away from Biblical preaching. We serve a changeless God, so it seems reasonable that preaching (which He gave us) would not change either. Many have turned to the world’s methods and substance and tried to “Christianize” it. When I was growing up, I was taught that it was the mission of Christianity and Christians to be salt and light in this world – to influence it for the cause of Christ. But over the last several years it seems there is a wave of popular thought which says we must be like the world in order to draw people in. The thinking is that we must have the world’s music, the world’s programs, the world’s visuals, the world’s structure, all presented with a tenor of the world’s wisdom in order to get people to buy it. Well first of all, even all these techniques have not been very successful, all things considered. Secondly, we might ask what type of success are they bringing. Sure they may bring a few more people in the doors, but we are not McDonalds here introducing our latest “McSomething” but the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ! I believe it is time we start acting like it again! We are called to Preach/Proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a world that is “dead in trespasses and sins.”

John MacArthur writes in the foreword to Albert Mohler’s book He is not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World,

It is remarkable, then that over the past half century (or longer) evangelicals have devoted vast quantities of energy and resources to the invention of novel church-growth strategies that tend to discount biblical preaching. Such schemes sometimes even deliberately avoid any reference to the Bible altogether – especially when unbelievers are present. They aim instead at attracting people through marketing campaigns, entertainments, social activities, and other similar techniques. Many of today’s evangelical church leaders have borrowed their management philosophies from the corporate world; they have taken their fashion cues from the entertainment industry; they have imitated the communications styles of secular mass media (favoring sound-bites over substance); and they have employed various bells and whistles from modern technology designed mainly to amaze and impress rather than to teach and edify. The visible church now mirrors the worldly to a disturbing degree. A major portion of Christendom is spiritually starved – and sound, biblical preaching has become an extremely rare commodity.

Instead of being the single priority and aim of the church, preaching has fallen way down the list. Man-made ventures have replaced it’s primacy in the church. It is my belief the church will continue to weaken in it’s influence on society as long as this trend continues. We need to stick to what we can do and do well. We always look silly when we try to copy the world. The world will always be a master at what it does. We need not try and master anything except what the church does and what God commands us to do. Too many have been dissatisfied with the results of doing things God’s way and have struck out on their own in an attempt to be “successful.” One must be clear on how they define success. The way God defines it and the way we define it may well be much different! Something to think about.

In Christ,

Pastor Allen Raynor