I love the church. I am part of the church. I am right now looking for a new church to pastor because I love my God, believe He has called me to it, and desire earnestly to shepherd His flock. That said, I may be the most pessimistic person I know with regards to the church at large. Maybe that’s an unhealthy thing. I don’t know.
I just see things like T.D. Jakes being called the “greatest preacher in the world” by the pastor of the hippest church in the area. I see that pastor post slickly produced videos in which he basically labels anyone who dares to criticize his methodology (or is it methidolatry?) as “haters.” I see Jakes also being invited to the Elephant Room 2. I see Matt Chandler making the mistake (in my opinion) of preaching at a revival also featuring Jakes and a woman preacher, and then preaching a good, God-glorifying message, and then seeing the people in charge of the revival leave his sermon out of the rebroadcast because that church wanted to “focus on Jesus.”
It feels sometimes like there are more reasons to be pessimistic about the church than there are reasons to be optimistic, or even hopeful.
But then I read the words of Jesus: “and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” And that, beloved, gives me confidence in a day and age when there is much confusion over who Jesus is, what kind of authority the Bible has, what the church should look like, and much more. It’s what gives me confidence when I see so many people who should no better capitulate the truth in exchange for a false Christian unity. Because let’s be clear, any “Christian” unity that does not put the gospel before the unity is false Christian unity (and that’s exactly what is going on with Jakes, McDonald, the Elephant Room, Steven Furtick, and Elevation Church).
Glory be to God, who has given those who truly believe Him the victory through His Son Jesus Christ. The gates of Hades will not overpower His church.
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