Charisma News refuses to look in the mirror and instead blames the bible for losing this generation...

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Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; - 2Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV)

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"In today's society, it can be easy to wonder where all the church-goers have gone. After the pandemic in 2020, many people who went to church never came back. However, is it just because people got used to the comfort of their homes on Sunday morning, or is there another reason why people have fled the church? Here are seven reasons why the next generation is abandoning the church." - Charisma News

The above paragraph is the opening premise from the Charisma News article linked above. Forget just since the pandemic, it is true that about 40 million people have left the church in the past 25 years! The problem is that people at Chrisma News never look in the mirror to find the blame. They also never read the bible or they would see the key verse above teaching them that this great falling away was foretold by God Himself, who sees all time. I am reminded of the verse that declares how deep is the darkness when we convince ourselves that our darkness is light. The folks at Charisma never question what role they are playing in this great falling away. The fact is that 25 years ago was about six years after the Purpose Driven Church was released, which taught this generation of pastors how to sacrifice the gospel on the altar of "churching." Pastors became CEOs instead of shepherds. Blessed subtraction, where we encourage people to leave our churches, became a tool for these carnal hirelings. Instead of focusing on sin, we instead focus on relevance. Instead of trying to see people saved we bastardized that into seeing people "churched." The result is that plenty of people were churched and then they chose to dechurch. The average time someone spends in a purpose driven mega church is three years because that is all it takes to realize you have been duped. Instead of dealing with these facts, Charisma trots out articles like this designed to make them feel better by placing the blame elsewhere. So, let us reason once more together beloved.

"1. Modern American society is about a lifestyle of hustle and bustle. From hobbies, health, jobs and the desire to seek spirituality on their own, our culture does not make community within a church priority. Whether some have experienced prior church hurt and pain from others in spiritual communities, or simply find themselves busy, it is hard for many people to find the time to join a church and plant deep roots there. With more people moving and working from various locations today than they did years ago, it can be difficult to find true community in the brick-and-mortar church building. With our digital age, it can be easier to catch a sermon online than it is to fit time for church into an already full schedule. Unless this part of society changes, it will continue to be difficult to get people to view church attendance differently." - Charisma News

Let me remind everyone of how God designed all of this. There is only one way for people to be saved and that is through the preaching of the gospel. The act of being drawn by the spirit at that point is entirely of God. The vehicle He ordained for delivering the gospel is the church. The bible teaches us that narrow is the way that leads to eternal life and few are those who find it. Get that? Few - not mega church numbers. Why? Because the gospel divides people. It is a two-edged sword, not a blunt instrument. So, it does not matter how busy people are. People have always been busy and yes, even this busy. We just are more aware of everyone else's busyness because of the technology in this information age. Sinful man always pretends that this generation is somehow different than all the others throughout time. It isn't. If this is God's design, then I would suggest that we follow it. Drop the nonsense that passes for church today and preach the gospel. If people come, great and if not, preach the gospel some more. You may not have 5000 people lining up because the message of repentance is not favorable among sinners and that included all of us. You may not have huge buildings, adoring fans, book deals and mansions written off as parsonages but you will hear well done my good and faithful servant.

"2. America has become more diverse. Our nation has become more diverse over the years, and not everyone feels that the church today is conducive to an array of different views and backgrounds. With more Gen Zers coming from single parent families, immigrant parents, the next generation wants other global perspectives considered. Looking at Scripture from a classic, American perspective is too one-dimensional for this next generation. Perhaps discussion on persecution and the eternal value of the gospel would be more meaningful for this generation than the feel-good messages of the past." - Charisma News

God is no respecter of man, let alone culture. The diversity is irrelevant to the gospel. The same gospel that saved me saved the 18^th century aristocrat in France and the 5^th century serf in Scotland. Today it saves the underground Chinese and the martyred believers in Middle East. It does not need your advice, your opinion or your marketing. It just needs to be preached. The reason why people look for other perspectives is the failure of the church to preach the gospel. There is no need for other dimensions. We are sinners and need a savior. If someone hears the gospel and rejects it for Buddhism or Mormonism, they cannot deny they heard the gospel. This isn't a competition.

"3. Deep questions have been avoided for years. Deep theological questions about the Bible and the troubles we see in our world today have been avoided or glazed over with phrases like "The Bible tells me so." While this kind of faith is necessary as Jesus asks us to have the faith of a child, it can be difficult to simply accept some things, especially for those seeking out God for the first time. Having someone actually answer, or attempt to answer questions is a key for what many are looking for." - Charisma News

This sounds very much like the tortured arguments of the heretic Andy Stanley. He was upset that so many of the teens in his church that went off to college returned as atheists and he blamed this notion of relying on the bible as the sole arbiter of truth - which it is. What he failed to do is look in the mirror. His youth were not saved to begin with because his church does not preach the gospel. The absolute truth of the bible is the entire point. The problem Charisma has is that they think as the Purpose Driven Church taught them to think. That we play a role other than preaching the gospel in salvation. We do not. We do not have to pretty the word of God up. We do not need to make it relevant. We just need to preach it.

"4. The handling of LGBTQ communities has given Christianity a bitter taste for many Gen Zers. Gen Z has been told lies about themselves from the public school system and society for years now, and these views are now etched in their minds. Many are now questioning if they were even born into the right body or are questioning if they are attracted to the same sex. Unfortunately, instead of reminding them that they were made in the image of God, the church has pointed out the sin without discussing the One who can wash away the sin. Learning how to discuss why Jesus desires us to turn away from sin and how He can fill us and change us for the good is what this generation is desiring, whether they fully realize it or not." - Charisma News

I agree that the church only deals with accusing the lost of their sins. What the lost also see however is the blatant hypocrisy. They see that the church routinely excuses their own, especially in leadership. I will never forget when the news broke about Ted Haggard, who was the President of the National Association of Evangelicals. He was caught having a 20-year relationship with a male prostitute, who he liked to do crystal meth with. The real problem was every week from the pulpit he would rage against the gay community as the source of everything wrong in this country. I heard Christian leader start the "judge not" chorus soon after he was busted. Do you know what Ted Haggard went on to do? Pastor another church in the same state and a decade later there were more charges of sexual abuse. This is not lost on the lost beloved. The gospel is both law and grace. It is both sin and repentance and the Savior. It is not beating sinners up while secretly hiding the same sins. Additionally, what the lost see today is a church that is entirely motivated by carnal politics. They support some of the vilest candidates today. It is of little wonder that so many dismiss the church out of hand. We will answer for who we have scattered away from Christ.

"5. Scandals and prosperity gospel woes have turned people away from seeking Christianity.

Church scandals and prosperity gospel practices have highlighted some of the biggest failures of the faith. Church is meant to be a safe place, but no one wants to go to church if they feel that they may be violated and taken advantage of. While all have fallen short of the glory of God, Christians are meant to be striving towards a holy, righteous life. If we want people to come to church, we have to show them that we as the church are willing to love our neighbors as ourselves." - Charisma News

This is absolutely true. Of course, Charisma routinely platforms some of the most egregious offenders in this category. It seems every few months Charisma offers up another article from Benny Hinn pretending to repent while he sits on a 50-million-dollar fortune, he has amassed by fleecing the flock. Just this week Charisma ran a piece bragging about Steven Furtick and Elevation Church passing 100 million dollars in earnings for a single year, with 97 million being stolen through tithes. Charisma was also on Mike Bickle's side during the recent revelations that he is a child predator. So again, look in the mirror.

"6. Changing family dynamics have shifted people away from church. Less people are now getting married and having families. This makes it easier for people to seek out relationship and communion with God alone instead of relying on the church community. However, church is meant to be a place for all people. Instead of only making families feel welcomed at church, Christian communities need to see the value of all who walk through a sanctuary's front doors." - Charisma News

Ok, it is true that single Christians often feel neglected but that is part of the Purpose Driven model. I remember my fist Assemblies of God Men's Conference someone asked me what I thought and I said that it would be nice if they acknowledged single Christians exist because none of the workshops dealt with anything for singles. The following year they had one workshop, taught by a married Christian telling us not to worry, God had someone for us. So, I agree about the tone deafness. Here is the problem, it has nothing top do with the subject at hand. If people are leaving churches because there are not enough activities for singles, that is merely a by-product of not hearing the gospel. If they were transformed by the Christ then those petty offenses would fall by the wayside. When I was saved, I just wanted to hear more about Jesus, not why there was not a singles mixer.

"7. Churches feel like a step back in time for many young people. While the over-the-top seeker-friendly churches aren't necessarily doing the trick for the next generation, many still feel like most churches are outdated. When it comes to values, some may have a lack of biblical understanding, however, the approach in which the next generation is seeking information is different from previous generations. While it can be disheartening to see a next generation acting so rebellious in the topic of church-going, the truth here is that what they are looking for is the authentic reality of the gospel. What they need isn't just hearing a good message that makes them feel good for five minutes, but instead, they need a place to steward and cultivate a relationship with Jesus worth having. To know Him intimately, and to see the love of Him poured out through those around them. The early church leaders gave an example in Acts of what the church should look like. Perhaps its time to get back to this core gospel message." - Charisma News

Well, fair points. The problem of course is that Charisma News is part of the problem. They platform, support and defend rank heretics and people who do lead uber-seeker friendly churches. The lost are not rebelling against church going but rather against going to churches that are hypocritical and do nothing for them spiritually. Why get up on a Sunday morning to hear the same club music you heard the night before and then a 20-minute motivational message about how great they are? Oh, and then be shook down for 10% of their money. The church in the Book of Acts preached the gospel. They read scripture. You cannot cultivate a relationship with Jesus without hearing the gospel. I understand that some of this sounds reasonable and some of it is. The problem is the source it is coming from is entirely unreasonable. Charisma News is a cesspool of NAR politics and Charismaniacal abuses. Perhaps the author of this article is genuinely concerned about the lies being fed to the lost through churches devoid of God and His word. If they would just look in the mirror, they would see however that the true enemy is thyself. These seven reasons were listed as why "because the bible told me so" does not work for this generation. Doctrinally, we call that the inerrancy of scripture. We believe God wrote the bible and therefore it contains no errors. So, when people say why, answering because the bible says so, is a reflection of our faith, not some esoteric gobbledygook. Arguing that scripture is no longer inerrant or should not be presented as such is exactly what the devil wants in these end times. For the "church" to decide that we need something other than God's word. As if we have the power to actually save people instead of the gospel. I am not surprised this is the position Charisma would hold. Just surprised it took them this long to admit it.

Reverend Anthony Wade - July 26, 2024

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.