Change is inevitable for any society. Society grows and
improves itself as it learns (hopefully) out of force or by choice. Over the
years, the church too has evolved and progress along the way. Society has often
or not influenced how churches changed. Vice versa.
The question which I ask today is to what extend does
society dictate how churches should be in the last days.
Very often we are concerned with big trends that are
happening around the church stratosphere. We cannot deny that in some sense,
these trends are a reflection of which direction society is moving into. But
are these trends a reflection of what the church should become?
Jared
I guess this would beg the question is the church a thermostat or a thermometer?
ReplyDeleteIs the church meant to be the change agent and influence society or does the church become influenced by the movement of Anthropological and Sociological change?
Even when talking about the Church Stratosphere. Are dominant larger churches dictating the belief structure of denominations and even local churches?
in history, we have seen how the church has evolved according to how society has evolved - in terms of methods and style and form. does society dictate because the church has no control of its own or is the church changing because the church wants to be relevant. we've heard the saying so many times 'the message is the same but the methods can change'. we need to be very clear about what we are changing and what we are not changing.
ReplyDeletethe church is still called to be the lighthouse - the guiding path, the influencer of society, the thermostat. but are we? are we just changing our methods and styles (using the earlier saying as our ammo) but failing to keep the message and influence the society with it (hmmm).
I agree with Iggy and Anne. Is the church influencing the society or the society influencing the church? We are called to be the light of the earth and salt of the earth, a agent of change and influence. I have no problems in changing methods in order to reach different groups of people with different culture but the message cannot be compromise. But we do not change the methods to please the world or to make them feel good. Truth still has to be preached with boldness.
ReplyDeleteI think the most important is that Christian must really make time and effort to study the word of God under the auction of the Holy Spirit in order to know and abide by the truth. If we really know the truth, we will not compromise. As ambassador of Christ, we are to let our light, the light of truth shine before all people, so that they may see and give glory to God.
ReplyDeleteChange is inevitable for nay society and this is true. Can changes influence the way churches conduct their affairs internally. Certainly. In order to win many to Christ, churches need to take time to pause for a moment and do an assessment test to see how effective they are in getting the gospel across to the masses. Most people will not know about Christ unless they are informed about Him or if they discover Him on their own. We need to study and employ the best methods in sharing the Gospel to the people. People may be receptive to it or otherwise. This is the chance we have to take. I'm sure in the midst of change, the church will remain true to the doctrines that defines its' existence. It is hard to sidetrack from the central focus of the Gospel because we cannot substitute Christ for another person in it. The question is just how much are we doing to present the Gospel as it is in a rapidly changing society. The clock is ticking and we ought to seize the many moments available for us to share the Gospel otherwise the people might not have heard it even once.
ReplyDelete