There is no doubt that the church
has been marginalised as secularisation has advanced in society. A major reason
for this has been its own silence on the very issues which affect the lives of
people at a local level. Thus the perception of the man in the street is that
the church lives in its own ‘spiritual bubble’, has nothing to say because it does
not care.
Currently in Scotland the
only exceptions to this ‘head in the sand’ apathy would seem to be same sex
marriage where the national church is now hopelessly divided, world poverty,
which everyone is agreed should be ended, and of course the need to raise money
for the replacement of the church roof !
When I talk to individual
Christians, only a tiny minority would appear to have any views about anything
other than the weather and their own personal wealth, health and wellbeing.
Do our local churches, their
leaders and followers care about the very real issues which affect ordinary
people like unemployment, the paralysis of our local government and the effects
of austerity?
Are the local newspapers being
flooded weekly with letters from local Christians speaking up for Jesus on local
issues? Are our local church leaders using the power of the web, Facebook and
Twitter to engage with society on key contemporary issues or to simply promote
themselves? Sadly it appears that
Christians are too busy, too lazy, too self-absorbed or too scared to speak up
for the values of Christ these days.
Who needs strident secularists
when the church is doing an excellent job marginalising itself. Unfortunately
things will continue unchanged in our local communities unless and until individual
Christians and their leaders wake up and smell the coffee!
The Bible has a very
different message from this present reality. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus
said, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how
can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be
thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built
on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do
people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand,
and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light
shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father
in heaven.”
Followers of Jesus are
commanded to be salt and light in their communities. Jesus has not called his 21st
century disciples to live disconnected lives inside the ‘spiritual bubble’. Thus
for Christians, silence on the day to day issues which affect the lives of
ordinary people is not an option.
Finally, ordinary people do want
Christians to speak up about issues affecting their locality. Ministers, Pastors,
elders and deacons are still recognised as individuals who in the distant past
held and publically expressed distinctive views which were welcomed and which
counted.
It’s time for Christians to
stand up and become the salt which savours, and the light which truly
illuminates before it is too late.
2 comments:
How I agree with you, especially Christians in this country! Of course, in countries where Christians are increasingly being marginalised, like Malaysia for example, which is becoming more and more Islamic, the Christian communities are standing up for their faith, their church leaders are vocal and they are raising their concerns politically. In this country most churches are just social clubs! We have stopped believing that we have an amazing Lord.
Could not agree more. Someone has to hold the 'social clubbers' to account. That's part of the mission of the 'By The Way' team and guest contributors.
Here's a challenge for Christians in the west Highlands..... who will be the first Minister, Pastor, Elder or Deacon to write to their local newspaper giving a Christian perspective on any local issue affecting the man in the street. We are waiting in anticipation...........
Post a Comment