(Submitted column for the Times News for Saturday, June 2, 2018)
The church is among the most unique institutions created by God.
Marriage is an ordained institution by God for procreation and the glorification of God for the proclamation of the gospel. Family is a result of this first institution where parents train and teach their children to walk in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
The church is then this blessed institution where the gathered fellowship of individuals, married couples, and families constitute the united effort of advancing the gospel of the Lord Jesus the Christ to the ends of the earth.
Often in churches there is a celebration of those who are innovative thinkers. There is much made about people who “think outside the box”, so to speak.. This doesn’t mean a church shouldn’t exercise good thinking and planning about how to get the gospel to those who don’t have it yet or express thoughts and worship with old and new songs. This does, however, mean that churches must consider what they’ve been instructed to do.
Can you imagine that a soldier is instructed to carry out a command and instead of doing it how he was instructed, he decided to do it more creatively? He would not be a soldier for very much longer. It doesn’t mean that his idea was a bad idea, it means he didn’t follow the instructions of his commanding officer.
Can you imagine if a catcher on a baseball team decided it would work better if he stood behind second base instead of the assigned place the coach put him? He wouldn’t remain in the game much longer, or his team would lose every game for the remainder of the season while this so called “creative innovator” rewrote the game.
This is similar in the church.
Sadly, many pastors and churches have bought into a new clever methodology that is secular and worldly. Pastors get recognized today for doing what no other pastor has ever decided to do, rather than being faithful to what the Bible calls the “ancient paths”.
A problem is that many think the word “ancient” means old, wore out, outdated, or old fashioned. Ancient could mean that if the previous generation introduced new innovative ideas that are now more like a clothing fashion or have treated their duties like a coat of paint on a wall that needs refreshed from generation to generation because the popular color then is now out of date.
But the institution of the church is not like this.
Maybe the church house needs a fresh update. But the core of the institution is immutable. It doesn’t need a change and should not change.
A church that strives to remain faithful to Scripture and let the Holy Spirit use this ancient Scripture to conform God’s people is met with opposition among the new “innovators”.
The Holy Bible says that the word of God is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). Churches and pastors who get this may face criticism from those who think there may be a better way.
Churches and pastors must become more disciplined today to remain faithful to this eternal work.
There is nothing better than a soldier who does what he’s been trained to do. There’s no better way to guard the home plate than a catcher who endures the heat, sweat, dust, and pain of doing what the coach trained him to do. There’s no better aid to a community than for a church and her pastor to be “the pillar and buttress of truth” by returning to the ancient path of Scripture.
Bless the Lord for churches in the Magic Valley who get this and may God bless these churches with pastors who will faithfully do their duty.
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