Where is the True American Church?

Over the past year my wife and I have found ourselves joining the growing cadre of sincere Christians who don’t attend or serve in a local church.  We’ve been practicing Christians for more than forty-five years.  We are not losing our faith or drifting away from God.  In fact, the opposite is true.  We’ve gained a great deal of knowledge and grown closer to the Lord than ever before.  In the process, we’ve grown away from the organized church.

The years spent actively serving in churches had a positive and lasting effect.  We needed that teaching, those Bible-based sermons, and friendships with other young Christians to establish our spiritual foundation.  We grew “in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” as Peter urged in his second epistle. In addition to church teaching we spent time studying the Bible on our own, learning with our friends and family through Bible studies and other gatherings.  After a few years we began to lead Bible studies, and, as all teachers know, nothing teaches you more than preparing to teach others. I earned an MA in history along the way and began a 23 year career of teaching history in universities and colleges as well as blending my history and Bible knowledge to conduct classes in churches. 

During these years our culture experienced a steep decline.  I knew from my study of America’s history that Christian churches had played a leading role in the establishment and growth of the early colonies and later our nation.  The fiery sermons of the colonial pastors revealed that the British were creating laws that went against God’s law.  The men we call the “founders” heard those sermons, took them to heart, and acted on them.  Even King George III blamed our rebellion on those “Presbyterian preachers.”

But we noticed that the sermons we were hearing on Sundays completely ignored what was happening in the world around us.  Pastors seldom mentioned the ungodly laws and court decisions that dragged our culture down while supporting a growing matrix of perverse lifestyles or the staggering number of children murdered in the womb.  When asked why they avoided these issues, pastors hid behind the false claim of “separation of church and state” or “the Johnson Amendment.”  They claimed that these were political issues that had no business being addressed from the pulpit.  Some of us argued that it was a spiritual battle, blatantly violating God’s moral code laid down in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and that is the business of the church.  Very few pastors agreed.

To fill the void we began to focus more and more on our own studies, praying for the Holy Spirit’s guidance.  We found others on a similar path and joined them.  As we dug into the Great Commission described in Mathew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-18 it was clear that Jesus had shown us the broader responsibilities of His church, his Ekklesia.  In his great Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught us to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16), outside the walls of our church buildings, in the larger culture of our towns and cities, states and nation.  To do this we have to be engaged, being godly examples in community activities, participating in elections and council meetings.  If called and capable we are obligated to run for office and work to restore godly principles to our government.  If not, learn to vote biblically, not according to the political party passed down by our parents.  Our silence has allowed satanic influences to guide our schools, government, entertainment, businesses, and our military.  All areas of our nation are now compromised, drawing our youth into forms of evil my generation could not have imagined.People sometimes ask me about tithing.  I obey the commandment to tithe, but I cannot financially support a church that will not obey clear biblical commands.  My wife and I send our tithes and gifts to the ministries that teach and inform us and obey biblical commands.  These para-church ministries are out there doing what church pastors will not do.  There are many of them, easily accessible through the internet and social media, bringing a deeper teaching that doesn’t fit in a 45-minute sermon slot in a Sunday church service.  And they teach the difficult truths pastors are afraid to bring to their congregations.

Younger Christians desperately need biblical truth about the moral issues that are destroying our families.  They need to know that homosexuality, for example, is a sin and an abomination in God’s eyes.  Some Christians may have relatives or family friends who are caught up in one of the many forms of sexual deviancy.  But God requires us to speak His truth.  Former homosexuals have testified that they found the strength to come out of the homosexual lifestyle after they heard a sermon explaining that it was SIN, not a mere lifestyle choice.  Deep down inside they knew that, but they needed to hear it.  Pastors should obey their calling to teach biblical truth where it is most needed and rely on the Holy Spirit to save and heal.  But most are afraid to speak out.

Knowing this, what will you do?  Are you just “doing church”?  If your pastor will not address the real issues that are destroying our nation, stealing our children, turning our schools and libraries into LGBT grooming centers and allowing millions of Christians to remain in ignorance and pathetic compliance – then lovingly challenge him.  Pray for him. Show him scriptures that call for the church to lead the culture (Mt. 28:20a, I Pet. 2:9).  Remind him that these battles are spiritual, not political or governmental. If he still will not speak out, I recommend that you seek out pastors and mature Christians who want to join the remnant of the church of Jesus Christ, working to restore the culture and see godly principles guiding our nation once again. 

As the psalmist told us in Psalm 33:12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!”