Excerpts from the current issue of Modern Reformation:
To my dearly beloved North American Brothers and Sisters in Christ, greetings.
I thank God for this great privilege to write this letter to you. My hope and prayer is that the Lord will be pleased to use this letter to bless you and strengthen you as you contend for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. To God alone be all the praise glory and honor through Jesus Christ forever and ever! Amen.
I am writing to share a few things that I have been thinking about over time regarding the state of the church in North America and in the Western world, in light of the prevailing trends we are seeing as a result of the church’s departure from the Scriptures, from historic Christianity and its pillars. This matter is and has been of great concern to me for a very long time . . . .
As an African Christian, I have three main concerns when it comes to the American church and American Christianity. First, I am concerned for the future of global Christianity. The impact that this shallow, subjective, and sentimental (Americanized) Christianity is having on the rest of the world is of great concern to me and many of my fellow African brothers and sisters in Christ. The kind of Christianity that is being exported to the rest of the world (particularly the developing world) from America is incredibly harmful. As a Malawian Christian, I am concerned about negative influences of the American Church in my home country at different levels, not the least of all theologically . . . .
Second, I am concerned about the eternal impact of this kind of Christianity on individual souls. The kind of Christianity being frequently practiced across North America is, as Michael Horton has rightly described it, “Christless.” If this is indeed the case (as I believe it is based on my personal experience), then there is reason enough to be concerned about the eternal impact of this kind of Christianity not only on individual souls in the pews but especially on those who preach and propagate this kind of Christianity . . . .
My third and greatest concern is the glory of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church of Jesus Christ must of necessity aim at and care about the glory of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ in everything she does. Christ must always be at the center of the church’s worship, evangelism, and missions. The church must strive by the grace of God to open the eyes of the blind by faithfully proclaiming and living by the gospel of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:1-6). I feel that many churches across North America are preaching a different kind of gospel, which the Lord through the apostle Paul condemns in Galatians 1:8-9. I plead with all who have been called to preach the gospel to follow the example of the apostle Paul and preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26-27) and contend for the historic Christian faith (Jude 3) . . . .
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wow ~ how’s that for honest & direct? I know many Christians in America who feel the exact same way.
He’s ‘right on’.
This is not just a North American problem. It’s a Western Church problem.
Haven’t we evolved past the way the Apostles presented the Gospel? That was 2000 years ago. We have Iphones and airplanes now. America is heaven…who needs the Gospel.
If you haven’t read the whole letter, read it. In the excerpt above, Pastor Matandika exposes the Western Church. In the words of Walt Kelly, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” We can’t lay this at the feet of anybody other than ourselves.
As I read the excerpt, I wondered about my role as someone who represents Christ and his church. What do I need to do? What do I need to change? I love that Pastor Matandika offers answers to these questions for the layity and for the clergy.
The part that really stung me was, “Anyone whose life has been gripped and impacted by the sobering and sweet truth of Christ’s atonement for sin on the cross will do everything in his power (under God) to make sure that others get it and that they too are gripped and impacted by this good news of God’s salvation for sinners.” I don’t communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who don’t know him with any kind of urgency and that has to change for me.
Right on, Greg. Thanks for sharing in your comment. I, too, don’t really share the Gospel with the urgency you mentioned (and Matandika mentioned). It’s a disease really. My old church where I’m from just created T-shirts to “get the word out” instead of actually talking to people. Amazing how the combination of fear of rejection and laziness can take hold of us as Christians.