I came across this article You Need a Pastor and a Church, Not Just a Podcast and Speakers. The author draws a contrast between those who participate in the life of a local assembly and those who suppose that streaming in a message is good enough for spiritual food. He rightly states that Christian growth requires more than a good message in individualistic practice, but a gathering together with God’s people;

Church is more than a sermon. It is singing with the saints, speaking and hearing words of encouragement, praying together, serving one another, opening your life and home, giving of your time, treasures and talents, taking communion and celebrating baptism. The preaching of the Word is a fundamental aspect of the local church but not the sole activity in which we engage.

Such reductionism is dangerous to our souls because it removes us from the very mediums through which God sanctifies His saints.

Consider a few of the more obvious costs if your primary church experience is vicarious and virtual:

1. Deep community is sacrificed, and thus there are limited opportunities to be sanctified through mutual encouragement and exhortation.
2. The sacraments are sacrificed, and thus there are limited opportunities to be sanctified through regular participation in communion and baptism.
3. Church discipline is sacrificed, and thus there are limited opportunities to be sanctified through loving correction.
4. Service and mission are sacrificed, and thus there are limited opportunities to be sanctified through selflessly giving yourself for the sake of others.

Those who seek sanctification primarily through radio, television or podcast ironically reject the very means provided by God to cultivate holiness. They, instead, foster individualism and isolationism, which begets self-centered, new age spirituality, not deep authentic Christianity. Continue reading →

Ed Stetzer recently published this article Three Things Churches Love that Kill Outreach. No surprise, he takes a swing at tradition citing #3 – Too many churches love their traditions more than their children.

Here’s what he wrote;

How can you tell? They persist in using methods that are not relevant to their own children and grandchildren. Far too often, church leaders, in an effort to protect the traditions of their congregations, draw lines in the sand on nonessential issues.

This is not to say that “tradition” is wrong. It depends on how you define it, but I think most will know what I mean. Christian scholar Jaroslav Pelikan said, “Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” Churches that love tradition that way will choose their traditions over their children every time.

Too often, churches allow traditions to hinder their ability to humbly assess their missional effectiveness. Moreover, they allow traditions to trump the future trajectory of their demographic. I know of several young pastors who have been exiled from their local congregations because they didn’t fit the mold of what had always been the ethos of the leadership. Sometimes this is because impatient pastors try and force change too quickly. Other times it’s because settled churches resist change so forcefully.

Undoubtedly, there are always times to defend the traditional stances of essential doctrines in the local church. But we should not have a cultural elitism that hinders passing the torch to a new generation of leaders. If your church loves the way you do church more than your children, it loves the wrong thing. Continue reading →