FoxNews.com reported the other day that a church in Charlotte, NC plans to visit local bars and pass out shot glasses that ask patrons to "give us a shot" and bear the slogan, Real Church for Real People.
The next level is a nontraditional church that encourages members to dress casually and snack on coffee and doughnuts during services. It has grown to 700 members. Any surprise?
Can you imagine the Lord handing out shot glasses in bars? Neither can I. He spent time with sinners, but He did not in any way contribute to or condone their vices.
This church furnishes us with an example of the many that have completely abandoned their purpose. "But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." (1 Timothy 3:15) Church services are not for feeding our bellies or tickling our funny bones; "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Romans 14:17) Also read 1 Corinthians 11:22-34. They are to be a time for sober worship, praising God, and examining ourselves in the light of His Word (John 4:23,24; Acts 2:42; 20:7).
People have strayed far away from the church found in the New Testament. Their faith in God's Word as the power to draw men to Him has all but disappeared (Romans 1:16 John 6:44,45). Rather, they have drunk from the well of secularism and incorporated marketing techniques to bring in the crowds. Some are beginning to wake up and see the problem. But most are not. If the church draws people based on their carnal appetites, and in worldly ways, the result will be carnal, worldly people and carnal, worldly churches. If the crucified Savior and His truth is not sufficient enticement to leave sin and serve Him, then coffee and doughnuts aren't likely to do the job.
It is time to do away with casual churches. They breed casual attitudes toward an almighty, serious God. They make worship a common activity, not a holy occasion of bowing before the great I AM.
Let us be careful not to fall into this trap, but to recognize the need to be reverent before God, trusting that His Gospel is truly the power unto salvation.
Sadly, these stories can me magnified with many other gimmicks that worldly religions are using to draw crowds. An old preacher once told me, "If it takes chicken and coke to bring people in, it will take steak and iced tea to keep them!" (KMG)