The Church. Again.

I still can't get over that George Tiller was serving as an usher in his church. Is that some kind of poor-taste joke?

Imagine Ted Bundy greeting you at the door of Bates Baptist Church. "Um, isn't that the mass-murderer?" you whisper to the little old lady near the door.

"Oh, yeah, but hey, we don't judge folks here for what they do on their own time," she demures.

In case it's been a couple of weeks since you've read Revelation 2 & 3, Jesus Christ blasts a number of churches for not dealing with sin in their midst. Likewise, Paul rails upon the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 5) for its tolerance of that for which God is most intolerant. Paul's other letters, Peter's letters, and John's letters all call for the church to police itself. Jesus, in Matthew 18, discusses how individuals should handle situations where someone sins against them. Shrug it off as just personal preference, boys will be boys? No. Confrontation must come. Sin must be named "sin."

So what's up in the American church? Indictment #1 rests upon the shepherds, the pastors who teach and proclaim that which the Bible (hence God) does not teach and proclaim. Taxes, international relations, use of the military, abortion, homosexual "marriage," infrastructure, medicare, social security, etc., etc., etc. are all moral issues. Pastors must provide their flocks with a biblical foundation for understanding these issues. When they don't or when they distort or deny what the Bible plainly states, they abdicate an enormous God-given responsibility.

But indictment #2 anchors to the laps of those sitting in the apathetic pews. We suck in the heresy faster than a six-pound bass slurps up a jigged-worm, and it hooks us to our demise. In the small town of Berea, Macedonia, Luke commended the folks for not taking Paul's word for gospel until they cross-checked it against what the Scriptures actually said! John's first letter repeats over and over, "Obey." He goes so far as to equate our love of God with obedience...but then so did Christ. How can one obey if one has no clue what to obey? How can we hold our pastors accountable if we have do not know what God's word says?

So what about your church? What's your pastor preaching? This isn't a call for a witch hunt, but when you have folks living in blatant contradiction to the Word of Truth, for their sake and the sake of their soul, call them on it...in love...with a more scrutinizing eye toward the same sin in your own life. The point behind biblical confrontation is restoration to Christ. The weak supporting the weak through the endless power of Christ.

We have a responsibility to one another. No man is an island. He's not.

We can't bury our head in the pillow and hope we'll wake up to a new morning. Our usher is cutting up babies.