I expect no favor among churches that have delved into the latest social enigma to foster a manner of ministry that appeases the soul of humanity. I know my saying that won’t help either, but at some point, Christians need to ask: What is the end goal of ministry today? Is it still salvation for the lost, or reconciliation as the scripture states? Or is it what we see today? A vast entertainment system that appeals to the emotions and anxieties of today’s media-driven humanity.
Social media has become a breeding ground for individualism, not for the betterment of humanity, but for the worst aspects we can imagine. While it provides a sense of security in knowing that at any time, anywhere, you can see what is happening in the world, it also removes the fundamentals of common sense and responsibility. Why? Because a device that has no soul isn’t able to console human emotions or assist the heart the way another person can when socializing together. As much as AI is rapidly improving in the rendering of truth from scripture, the Holy Spirit will not work through it.
Therein lies a problem for today’s Church, in that how do you minister to humans made up of three parts of spirit, soul, and body who are bound to a device and any algorithms within it that have become the center of their social stature. And it is a device that not only provides an interaction through videos or text or virtual interface, but an interaction with evil and false images that are presented as truth. Many of which Christians have taken to heart as the gospel for living out what they see, yet are clueless of the truth concerning it.
This blog isn’t about our iPhones, iPads, or Android devices; it is more about the state of humanity as a result of them. And churches that are treading in holy water to be the next mega sensation. In part one of this series, I said churches are failing to deter socialism and other deviant manners, mainly because they no longer teach or preach from the truths of scripture. That said, it is not so much what they do not do at the pulpits as much as what they do in them that is the crux of this failure.
All one has to do is sit down and watch about six or maybe seven websites of the most relevant churches in your city, and you get the picture. Humanism is the theme of the day in most of them, as it flows well into the social enigma most of the congregants live by today.
1 Pe 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Churches have fallen into this social abyss of emotional conjuring, ministering by a venue so like the social media mannerism their pew occupiers expect from the world outside their doors. Much of what is going on inside them is more of a subliminal effect, with dark sanctuaries, large LED screens, and music so loud it hurts. I brought this up in a recent blog and emphasized that expressionism is the new form of praise and worship.
The affirmation of this is the fact that as soon as they leave the service, their in an emotional downspiral until the next elevation occurs, whether it’s on Wednesday, Saturday, or the next Sunday. I say that because the events they will be drawn to on social media are more than 90% anti-God seen in the content presented. So, they get emotionally pumped up and then render themselves to a social trauma until the next ministerial opportunity comes around. I know this is true because I and many others have lived this trauma, going to church and letting the dark atmosphere of it all be a propping up for the next few days, and then after a day or so of the world’s darkness, we are right back needing another fix.
2Pe 1:3-8 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
For a child of God, the most important issue is living as one, as this reveals an image of our Father in heaven. This does not mean we cannot use these devices or deal with the social anomaly of a media-driven interface, but it means we must be of a nature that is not fashioned by it. And that nature only comes by the constant nurturing of the Holy Spirit and the Word. Our relationship to God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit is fundamentally built on righteousness, which expresses all the things Peter brings to our attention here.
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Consider this: The hate and anger that is infecting this nation and the world is itself born out of emotion, brewed and stirred for civil unrest. It is purposely done and relies upon the news media, social media, and the content of words narrated and video feeds that embolden the denial of God by those who are evil in it. Therefore, churches utilizing this emotional conjuring to meet some erringly devised ministerial statute are assisting the devil in his work in all of this.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
What does it say here? That the world and its ways are not to be conformed to, but instead be transformed by a renewing of your mind. Thus, if we view this in light of the truth, all of this dynamic expressionism is for naught, because it cannot transform us to have a renewed thinking about what is good and acceptable to God.
Faith is not an emotional context that binds you to Christ; it is founded on the truth within the word of God and was given to you to receive everything God has said He will do, starting with your salvation. For today’s Christian, it is about whether they will believe what is presented to them via social media, dark sanctuaries, and other outlets, or have faith in God and what He says, which is more than enough to maintain one’s life amid the evils around them.
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