A recent
conversation with an evangelist friend of mine has left me greatly grieved at
the state of the American church. So
harrowing was his account that last evening I was troubled to an extent that it
gave me a bit of insomnia. He opened up
his soul to me as he told me of the superficial spirituality that marks many of
our churches these days. This
superficiality is marked with a “hurry up and let’s get this over with”
mentality. Worship is rushed and has
little depth because of the desire to hurry and get to the next thing. There is pressure to hurry and get to the
restaurants, the game on television, the shopping excursion or some other
endeavor that seeks to satiate the entertainment factor in our soul.
I was
appalled when he told me that several of the churches he went to, pastors had
informed him before he ever started to preach that they did not care for any
sermons on hell, judgment, or any kind of conviction. One pastor gave the recommendation that he
ought to read three or four Scriptures and tell four or five stories and then
conclude the sermon. Another place he
went to, he found out that the pastor was opposed to altar services that
brought people to the “mourner’s bench” and was marked by tears and confession
of sin. He was told that the people
needed to be given a “joyful” and “exciting” worship experience so that they
could go home “happy.” Music has also
become a bit of a beast in that he noted that at multiple places, the music
would get people whipped into a superficial, psychological frenzy. The music would go on for a lengthy period of
time and the preaching of the Word would be limited to a fifteen to twenty
minute time slot.
