God's Heroes in the Church

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003399" TEXT="#080000" background="040c8c00erkjxk.jpg"> <div> <B><U>Timothy King</U></B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC0033" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <div> <B>is an elder and teacher for Restoration Ministries.  He lives in Grand Junction with his wife, Debbie, and their three daughters, Hannah, Sarah and Bekah.</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="7" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Brush Script MT" ><B>Restoration Ministries</B></FONT>  |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Restoration Ministries"><U>home</U></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="0bbf8900.jpg" border=0 width="504" height="144" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>by Timothy King</B></div> <div> _________________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> The events of September 11, 2001 revived the concept of heroism and caused us turn our attention from heroes that had to be concocted on page or screen to those that were real flesh and blood people. Even in the toy stores, it was reported that action figures of firemen and policemen were outselling other trendy super-toys.</div> <bR> <div> Who hasn't imagined what he or she would do in the face of a crisis? Would we have run into the rubble of the World Trade Center in an attempt to rescue lives? Would we have froze up and done nothing? Would we have panicked and run? You've got to admit, a crisis like 9/11 would test your mettle and reveal the scope of your heroism –– or lack of it.</div> <bR> <div> But disasters come and go. They breed much anguish and heroism at the moment, but the scene dims as time passes. Heroism that makes lasting differences in our world must be considered on a stage different from terrorist bombings. The heroes of 9/11 lived and died to save many on 9/11, but the heroes needed in the church today must be committed to actions designed to save the lives of those in generations to come. It is in this context that we must reconsider the definition of "hero" as it applies to the ministry of the gospel.</div> <bR> <div> There is no creature worse in a culture than one that screams on a regular basis when everyone else is trying to sleep. Though the masses delight in the absence of these pests, Isaiah says that a culture without them is a feast for predators. God calls the beasts of the field and forest to come and feast on the slumbering inhabitants because, </div> <bR> <div> “His watchmen are blind, all of them know nothing. All of them are mute dogs unable to bark, dreamers lying down who love to slumber” (Isaiah 56:10).</div> <bR> <div> There it is. Not a <B>lack</B> of watchmen, mind you. No sir, the church today is not lacking in ministers. But look what the word of God says about those watchmen/ ministers –– </div> <bR> <div> — They are blind. Though there are enemies and danger in abundance on every side, and though destruction is immanent, they don't see it.</div> <bR> <div> — They know nothing. They wouldn't be able to spot danger if they saw it. Does the modern Christian understand the word of God well enough so as to know when the church is in a state of spiritual rot?</div> <bR> <div> — They are mute dogs, unable to bark. Our little mutt, Maximus Rex (fifteen pounds of teeth and fury), has times when he barks at nothing, but he does bark. As he grows up, he'll learn (we hope) when there is real danger and when there is not. The watchmen of Isaiah's day couldn't even bark as the clock ticked down to their destruction.</div> <bR> <div> — They were dreamers who loved to sleep. It was far better to these ministers to imagine things in dreamy, idealistic perfection than to face the waking reality of impending doom. </div> <bR> <div> Now, I have been pretty hard on the ministers, but I want us to keep in mind that in the New Covenant community of Christians, all are ministers of the gospel. There is no distinction between "clergy" and "laity." We must consider what will happen to the future generations of Christians if we, as a congregation, become non-barking "mute dogs." We must be committed to raise up and even become modern heroes of the church. So what do these modern gospel heroes look like?</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Truth: the Weapon of the Modern Hero</U></B></div> <bR> <div> Alexandar Solzhenitsyn is arguably one of the most brilliant and heroic men of the twentieth century. His determination to tell the truth about the oppressiveness of the Soviet regime was, in part, responsible for its collapse. While many cheered the collapse of the Soviet empire, few have appreciated the main weapon that brought it down: <B>TRUTH</B>. "One word of truth outweighs the whole world," Solzhenitsyn would say.</div> <bR> <div> In our case (as it was with Solzhenitsyn), the truth was that of the gospel, God's word. The modern church seems to have little appreciation for the truth. Zeal is high, ideas abound, "converts" increase daily. But the church is naked and poor nowadays. It is a toothless lion that offers no threat and thus no alternative to the dying world. A church without a conviction for truth only gives the perishing a religious atmosphere in which to die. </div> <bR> <div> Principles of merchandising religion to the consumer mentality of our nation have superceded a determination to preach the unvarnished truth of God. This accusation would make the majority of church leaders bristle. "We aren't compromising the truth! We just need ways to motivate people to come into the church so they will hear." As a result, lavish productions and pop entertainment are served up to draw in the masses. This, the modern church leader believes, is how the world will be reached. As Isaiah says, they "know nothing."</div> <bR> <div> Solzhenitsyn was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1974, but the Russian political infrastructure had already been damaged beyond repair. In 1994, he was able to return to his native land. In between those years, the former communist country had opened up to the influences of the west. (Besides opening the door to the influences of the western culture, American churches also exported our brand of Christianity; but that's another pitiful story.)</div> <bR> <div> He returned with a desire to rebuild a moral Russia. Unfortunately, either due to the years of censoring truth by the communists, or due to the apathy towards truth that came from the west, Solzhenitsyn's labors were not well received. Oh, the Russian folks were not angry or hostile, they just weren't interested. David Aikman explains, "For several months, (Solzhenitsyn) presided over a television talk show. But though his selected topics were always interesting, Russian society, impatient with seriousness and anxious to catch up with the rest of the world's notions of consumer entertainment, seemed no longer interested in serious discussions."</div> <bR> <div> Yevgeny Yevtushenko, in his introduction to Solzhenitsyn's "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" explained it like this: "Accustomed to confrontation with political authority, Solzhenitsyn was unprepared for the respectful indifference he encountered upon his return to Russia. Tactlessly, the new powers took away his weekly television program. They also took away his favorite enemy –– censorship. Pop stars who wear conspicuous crosses on top of their shirts, flashy casinos and strip-tease shows, detective and sex pulp fiction, American, Mexican and Turkish soap operas have all inundated Russia and taken away the potential young readers of (Solzhenitsyn's) books –– maybe as many as two or three generations at once."</div> <bR> <div> Mr. Solzhenitsyn's experience is breathtaking in the lessons taught on affecting a culture if only we have the humility and patience to listen. No, we are not a culture that suffers under the oppression of the gulag. Our oppressors are much more subtle and affect us differently. Prosperity and a lust for success have a much more narcotic effect on us than we are willing to admit. </div> <bR> <div> Large numbers, successful programs and big buildings are now considered the crown of God's blessing rather than transformed lives hungry for the true God. To put it another way, we would much rather invent our own divine blessings than endure the sufferings involved in the true blessing of uncompromising faithfulness to God's truth. In the modern church system, shallow character on the part of our converts is an acceptable consequence if it means maintaining our empires.</div> <bR> <div> If there is to be a godly heritage for the future generations, our heroes cannot be those who can pack the buildings with people. They must not be the "gospel" entertainers, orators, musicians and comedians. The future cannot be assured if the best literature we can muster is hokey fiction and shallow devotionals. </div> <bR> <div> The heroes of the church must be men and women with a steadfast commitment to <B>TRUTH</B>. Modern heroes of Christianity must believe the word of God as absolute truth, practice the word of God as practical, living truth, and speak the word of God with conviction that it is truth. </div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Faithful Persevering</U></B></div> <bR> <div> The rise of tyrants like Stalin and Hitler certainly wreaked destruction upon the countries under and surrounding them, but the other side of that coin is the masses of those who followed sheep-like to do their bidding. These men were not above lying and covering truth to achieve their ends. But such leaders are totally powerless unless they have a following of the public who are willing to believe their lies. It is no different in the modern church!</div> <bR> <div> Many churches are planted and nurtured by men who have no concern for truth. They are willing to set aside or ignore the word of God in order to achieve their ends. Their success is evident only because they have found a biblically illiterate populace who is ripe for the picking and will yield to the leading of these religious pretenders. </div> <bR> <div> The lofty goals of these leaders promoting pre-packaged programs has replaced the iron spine of the early church who went forward in triumph by holding fast to the truth when the world around hated the truth. And many are willing to give up their spine to follow. God exposes these false prophets and their "prosperity" in that they do it by <I>"...your lying to My people who listen to lies"</I> (Ezekiel 13:19).</div> <bR> <div> Given the modern culture's ignorance of the truths of God's word, it is no wonder that the church is in the condition it's in. It's not that the modern church and her leaders won't claim to be concerned about truth, it's just that we're so ignorant, we can't distinguish truth from lies. Look at the glut today of religions, denominations, churches, factions, para-church ministries, cults, and splinter "house churches" — all with their claims to be walking in the truth — and tell me this isn't so!</div> <bR> <div> The modern church hero must have a vision to follow a path that breaks away from the masses and cultural status quo. We must be willing to persevere by standing in the principles laid out in the truth from God's word. We must break the measuring rod handed down to us by failed religion which measures success in terms of numbers gained, money collected or buildings mortgaged. </div> <bR> <div> Some who would read my tirades on false teachers, leaders and prophets may ask for names. "Who are you talking about, Tim? Is it the cults? Maybe those schmaltzy television evangelists? You're not talking about the Baptists and other evangelicals, are you?" Why ask for names? Look at the fruit of the churches' labors over the last half century and decide for yourself!</div> <bR> <div> Professing Christians abound, but the pollsters affirm that the fruit is rotten and biblical Christ-likeness within the churches is at low ebb. Many churches are great in numbers but shallow in character. Record masses of people are swelling our church buildings, but these people are, for the most part, empty human shells, devoid of the life of the Spirit that fills a soul with all fullness of Christ.</div> <bR> <div> Again, Yevgeny Yevtushenko says, "Bertolt Brecht once observed that a country which needs heroes is an unfortunate one. But even more unfortunate is a country that needs heroes and has none." We need Christian heroes in America today and it seems we have none. </div> <bR> <div> When we look at the condition of the church today, we realize that heaven’s heroes will be the barking dogs. They will be the committed Christians who will not be satisfied with the empty nothingness of form and pretense, but only with a life and ministry that exhibits all the fullness of Christ, where He is glorified and His grace is bursting out of us from every pore, where His likeness is easily recognizable in every soul that calls themselves “Christian.” Bark until that is the case, for without such heroes, we will perish.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>