Taken from page 71 of his new book The Importance of Being Foolish:
Consider how our churches have explored and exploited our need to replace the numbness in our lives with a passion for something, anything. We’ve created worship in which the music is left to stir the emotions but the soul is left unmoved, in which the words spoken are little more than manipulations of the heart. We have created catharic experiences filled with weeping and dancing in the Spirit that leave us with the sense that we have touched God but that fail to give us the sense that God has touched us. We run to churches where the message feels good and we were energized and uplifted — but never challenged or convicted….
The church loves to bash the hippie generation over inventing the ‘if it feels good, do it’ life motto. However, I find it amazing that the church practices a similar pragmatic mentalty of ‘if it feels good, then it’s God and therefore do it’. The mistake of exalting experiences over Scripture turns the believer from one of power to one of pragmatism. I really wonder if this type of thinking devalues God from a sovereign, omnipotent being into a personal assistant who fetches our every want and desire.
I believe that we have failed to see that passion in a Godly realm works hand-in-hand with purity and precision.
I’ve just started reading Brennan’s book “The Signature of Jesus”. He has so much wisdom, I have to read slowly to absorb every sentence.
Well of course–who do you think is leading our churches today?
(CLUE: Think about who many of them were as teens and young adults).
Good post.
It’s very sad, though. *sigh*