From the church shooting in Charleston to the SCOTUS ruling on same sex marriage it’s been a wild week. And when you add the news headlines of the last several months it becomes clear and apparent that humanity is broken.
Not just in need of self help but fundamentally flawed. Ferguson and Baltimore were just the straws that broke the camels back. The threat of Isis is the common reality for those in other nations especially those who name the name of Christ. The culture has always steered away from the high sexual standard supported by Jesus and his followers. This is nothing new. Just symptoms of a deeply rooted condition.
The events of the past week have definitely rocked people’s world and some have responded in anger, panic, and fear. As a follower of Jesus I do not think this is the way. Taking a higher level look at all the things that have transpired and going beyond just the details of who is right and who is wrong the one thing that shouts out at me with a deafening cry is we are sinful and twisted people. We are up to our eyeballs in hate, lust, and selfishness. And I see that not just in others but in myself. I see that in our churches.
And so instead of looking at other people’s speck I believe the first thing that we as the church should do is remove the log in our own eyes.
Here are some recent stats from the Barna Group which cause me not to get angry at the LGBT community but to mourn over the sin in our own churches:
The statistics for Christian men between 18-30 years old are particularly striking:
77% look at pornography at least monthly;
36% view pornography at least daily;
32% admit being addicted to pornography (and another 12% think they may be).
The statistics for middle-aged Christian men (ages 31-49) are no less disturbing:
77% looked at pornography while at work in the past 3 months;
64% view pornography at least monthly; and
18% admit being addicted to pornography (and another 8% think they may be).
That’s just stats on pornography. I don’t know if they have stats on gossip or racism.
We as a church cannot afford to be mad and afraid about what’s going on in our country. We need to angry and saddened by what is happening in our churches and in our own individual lives.
And so I offer this blog post as a public lament. Yes the culture is changing. Yes it’s not safe to be the church (it never was). But we are in need of confession and repentance. Instead of rallying and picketing we need more weeping and wailing. Instead of arguments and theories we need prayers and mourning.
What should the church be doing right now?
We should be on our knees.
We should be crying out to God
We should drench our floor with tears
We should fill the empty void of our churches with wailing
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved! Psalms 80:19 (ESV)
This is my prayer. This is my call to lament.
