You can tell a lot about a local church by the books they read. We visited a different church this past Sunday and right after we got in and got the children settled I went to their book table. I left the table a little bummed out. I saw a lot of Joyce Meyer books and the others were probably in the same vien (they were Spanish titles of course). We can talk later about why seeing the Joyce Meyer books bummed me out, but for most of you who read this blog you understand.That makes three different churches we've visited here in Costa Rica. Though I am totally thrilled by the number of Protestant churches here (most of Central America is Catholic) I am not thrilled by what I'm seeing.
Most of the worship we've experienced has been dynamic, but of all the sermons we've heard while here none of them have yet to be preached expositorally (book by book, verse by verse). Why is that important? Well, when a pastor only preaches topical sermons, jumping from one text to another, he can very easily miss and/or misrepresent the full teaching of the Word of God.
Now I'm not saying there is never a place for topical sermons. If you want to teach on what the Bible says about angels you show & explain all the texts mentioning angels. But if that is all a pastor ever does, he is not rightly representing the plain revealed teachings of the Word of God. Letters are written to be read from beginning to end.
Even though I couldn't understand 95% of what was being said Sunday I could understand the lack of Scripture from the pulpit. Quoting four or five verses from four or five differnt books of the Bible is not what Paul meant when he said,
"Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." Acts 20:26-27
and when he told Timothy,
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Sprinkling a peptalk with a few Bible verses is not "declaring the whole councel of God" nor is it showing that "all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable". I really have a burden for the church world wide, that it be healthy; biblically grounded. What saddend me the most was the fact that this church was mimicing what they had seen from American television. It was very plain to see that; the way the music minister prayed, the way the stage was set up, the form of worship, how the pastor preached. To me it was all very clearly a copy.
Is that bad? Didn't Paul say in 2 Thessalonians 3:7 "For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you..."? It can be bad to imitate when you are immitating the wrong things. Just becaus a church is big and on TV doesn't mean it is healthy and worthy of mimicing. Many of the people who began following Christ at the beginning of His ministry left once His teachings became hard. "When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" John 6:60. "After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him." John 6:66. When Jesus had a small crowd of followers (the 12) and was less popular was His message any less true? Numbers are a poor berometer of health when it comes to truth.
I realized after leaving that there is a lot of work to be done in training up this and the next generation of pastors. There is much at stake, because when the Word of God is not the primary focus of the worship service truth is lost. If truth is lost the gospel is lost. If the gospel is lost the church is lost. The future of the church is hanging in the balance, but thankfully Christ is reining triumphant and He is moving and working to make His bride, the church, pure and spotless.
Pray that godly men will be raised up who know and love the word of God, and rightly divide its truth. For the truth, for the church, for the world, for the glory of God.
