They have hate for him who makes protest against evil in the public place, and he whose words are upright is disgusting to them. – Amos 5:10 BBE
This morning I read Phil Johnson’s excellent post at Pyro and I was reminded of this verse from Amos. I thought of Pastor Phil and how he feeds the sheep through his ministries. I thought of Pastor Dan and of Brother Frank and all the men of God who toil patiently in the blogosphere to supply us with redeeming content. I thought of my own beloved Pastor Brian Albert and his faithful, meaty teaching.
And, then I thought of the state of the Church today. Everyday Daddy and I have been involved in ministry in the virtual world known as Second Life for over a year now. During that time we’ve come to learn that Second Life is a sampling, a microcosm of real life in which pretense and decorum have been stripped to reveal the licentious depravity of man. While it is a make-believe world, the people within it are real and they walk among us. A trip into Second Life will open one’s eyes to the true nature of man and the true condition of this present age.
During our time on the Second Life mission field we have learned much about the Church. I hesitate to apply that name to all that we’ve seen, for there is only one body who may truly be called The Church. But, make no mistake, there are pretenders, both in Second Life and in real life. And, through interaction with them we’ve seen that the Church has been overrun with goats. William Still, in his book, Work of the Pastor said,
“Let goats entertain goats and let them do it in goatland.”
The Church has become Goatland. Doubt is virtue. Tolerance is a Creed. Feelings are the Barometer of Truth. The Word of God is a tool, a manual for living and nothing more. It is not complete. It is not understandable and it is most certainly not authoritative.
I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of letting the goats have the run of the place. I’m sick and tired of the goats setting the rules and asserting that the Sheep must abide by them. It’s time to take the staff in hand and drive them out. When will we rise up, o’ Church? When will we rise and drive these goats from our midst?
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? – Proverbs 1:22
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Hi, Jules!
Good questions. Does the church have another revival ahead of her, or is this the final spiral downward before the end of the age? There are strong churches out there, faithfully teaching the Word, but, sadly, the vast majority are the “goatland” type that you opine about.
Evangelicalism is following the trail that the mainline denominations tread down in the 50’s & 60’s, and towards the same end of irrelevance and capitulation to the culture. Have you read Al Mohler’s blog today? It shows the pressure to conform and compromise that is being placed on the church.
The Squirrel