An Inconvenient Truth: Global Pew Warming<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
David Raynaud
www.christianworldviewnetwork.com
 
 
By the year 2020*, if the Lord tarries, the church as we know it we will be in massive trouble. There will be very few churches that escape the reach of this dilemma. Almost every church in every part of the world will be affected. However, churches on the cutting edge in their "ministry," relevant in every way to the current societal norms, will be the most affected by this phenomenon. A flood that has long been predicted by those who monitor and track the climate change in the church is inevitable. Global Pew Warming will wreak its devastating consequences unless we change.
 
For years there has been a melting away of the basic truths of God's Word. In an effort to be relevant, more user-friendly and more comfortable to the masses, shortcuts have been taken in the application of truth. Sound, biblical preaching and teaching have undergone massive erosion as progress and growth at any cost has become the mantra. Biblical convictions that once stood as the foundation for the infrastructure of the church have been replaced by feelings, fun and frivolity. 
 
Noise pollution has become one of the leading factors in Global Pew Warming. There are now multiple ways in which people can communicate a message and the competition to be heard is enormous. The sheer volume of unaccountable words spoken has done great damage to what started out as a very simple message. (See John 3:16.) Much of what is being communicated comes more from the minds of men than the heart of God and the eternal value is very limited, if even there at all.
 
A consequence of this epidemic is already being seen in the food supply. Genetic modifications have been made to the good seed and have caused fruit production to decrease to levels that have not been seen in our lifetime. The fruit that is being produced by this modified seed lacks the ability to provide necessary nutrition and ultimately, to sustain life. Though it has only been used in production for a relatively short time, this bad seed is showing its inability to produce lasting results.
 
This has helped to produce Global Pew Warming.
 
Defined, Global Pew Warming is the sad truth that large majorities of the people who are in the church today are not born again believers as defined by scripture. (See First John.) They are people who have been convinced, through various means, that church is good for their life and their family. They have been convinced that they need to add God to their lives in order to be more complete. They have been convinced that going to church can be fun, exciting and a great benefit to their sense of well-being. They have been shown that the church can compete weekly with anything in the secular world in order to attract their attention.
 
Massive amounts of resources have been used to grow this church environmental nightmare. Money is thrown at anything that will get people in the doors. Time and energy are expended by well-meaning members as they are given tasks that are supposed to be building the church. Methods, no matter how harmful, are legitimized and become the accepted norm as long as they work to the desired end; bring in lots of people, keep them happy and have lots of programs for them to support that make them feel good about things in their lives.
 
Who is responsible for this Global Pew Warming?
 
While I am sure that there is enough blame to go around, the responsibility for this seems to fall squarely at the feet of leaders, specifically leaders in the church.
 
Many leaders in what is called the church today have become addicted to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Big Church, Big Production, Big Budget, Big Buildings, Big Debt, Big TV, Big Crowds and Big Success. In their pursuit of these goals, the biblical environment that is supposed to exist in the church has been polluted to the point that it is hardly recognizable. What we see today is a result of years of neglect. The outlook seems to be very bleak.
 
Is change possible? In truth, yes and no. 
 
For many of these leaders, because of their addiction, their goals and desires, when confronted with the need for change, they can only give it lip service. They see clearly that reform is needed to correct the problems associated with Global Pew Warming but the cost is just too great. If they initiate reform and return to biblical truth, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all its exclusivity, people will be offended. More than likely, many would choose to leave the church and an exodus like that would trigger a landslide of financial problems, not to mention the programs that would be destroyed. All that time and energy, wasted.
 
The hope lies in leaders in the church who believe that the Lord is the One who builds His church. They rest securely in the fact that they are called to faithfully preach, teach, disciple and train believers for life and ministry to God. They desire to see the true transforming power of the Gospel at work in the lives of those who are being born again. 
 
So is there hope? Can Global Pew Warming be reversed? I believe so. Here are a few suggestions to get the process started:
 

1. Reduce the toxic emissions of relevance
2. Drive less with purpose for life and more with passion for the gospel
3. Recycle the Word of God in the church and home
4. Eliminate "led" based ideas unless they are biblically sound
5. Cut back on energy consumption for things that do not matter for eternity
6. Promote conservation and preservation of truth

 
If we begin with these few steps, we may be able to reverse the current effects of Global Pew Warming.
 
 
*Not scientifically proven nor meant to be specific.