One can listen to just about any radio and/or internet broadcast from reputable outlets such as AFR, AFA, BOTT, etc., etc., and hear a classic statement such as "The (c)hurch is failing in her mission to influence and keep the evil in America at bay."
This kind of rhetorical, blanket accusation comes from very prominent, well-known, talking heads such as Jeremiah, Dobson, Hybels, Jakes, Land, Sekulow, Falwell, Stanley, MacArthur, Turek, Fischer, et al.
They all love talking about how the (c)hurch has failed, or is failing, and is in decline, is not doing what God has set forth to be done, has lost it's influence in the culture wars. On and on the drone of their litanous yammering goes without ever letting up. They assume that man-made (c)hurch organizations ever had the power to exercise over the culture. Never do they verbalize the distinction between the (C)hurch and the (c)hurch. The only power those (c)hurches out there could ever have had came from the Head of the (C)hurch. They routinely place the cart before the horse, and yet are viewed as leaders and giants in the faith by those who lack vision and discernment.
The continual lack of distinguishing between the The (C)hurch and all those man-made (c)hurches out there with buildings, lawns, parking lots, toilets, some with swimming pools and basketball courts, professional, hired staffing...all of which encompasses what most people call "the (c)hurch."
Frankly, it is understood that those man-made organizations have indeed failed to maintain the desired influence over the surrounding culture. They are powerless in and of themselves. Pull the money out from under them, and they collapse into a proverbial, smouldering heap of financial ruin. They are the places where even unbelievers can enter and exercise their influences. The world has indeed become a tightly embraced lover in many of them, rendering them no more than portals into the pits of Hell by way of warped theologies and corrupted values and creeds. Some lay claim to have been around for centuries, thinking that their antiquity legitimizes them as true representatives of the TRUE Christ portrayed within the Bible, when in fact they are no better than the other portals into the bowels of Hell for many of their followers.
What's the distinctive difference?
Simply stated: The (C)hurch is a beautiful, living, breathing being with Christ Jesus as her Head. Notice my emphasis upon the capital "C" versus the small, lower case "c" throughout this post. The (C)hurch lives on with or without the foundation of money. Pull the money away from her, and she continues living and breathing because of the Head, Who sustains her with His own Life and Power. There is no measure of unbelief, disobedience and corruption in her as there is within man-made (c)hurch organizations.
The (C)hurch has never failed, and has never become corrupted by any means nor measure. She possess the power given her by the Head. The culture is under the control of the Head, and any claim that the (C)hurch has failed is a false accusation against the Head from those who would dare to level that finger of accusation against the (C)hurch. It's fine to accuse the (c)hurches out there. Not a problem. The culture, the world, and also the entire universe, are all completely and totally under the control of the Head. If one wants to level an indictment against the Most High, then I step aside and let you have at it... those who "think" themselves qualified to accuse their Creator.
So, this goes to the fact that words have meaning, and failing to ensure the distinctions is an oversight that has been going on for FAR too long by alleged "leadership" within the (c)hurch communities, faith-based radio, television and internet broadcasts, across the nation and around the world.
What say you?
Jr
This kind of rhetorical, blanket accusation comes from very prominent, well-known, talking heads such as Jeremiah, Dobson, Hybels, Jakes, Land, Sekulow, Falwell, Stanley, MacArthur, Turek, Fischer, et al.
They all love talking about how the (c)hurch has failed, or is failing, and is in decline, is not doing what God has set forth to be done, has lost it's influence in the culture wars. On and on the drone of their litanous yammering goes without ever letting up. They assume that man-made (c)hurch organizations ever had the power to exercise over the culture. Never do they verbalize the distinction between the (C)hurch and the (c)hurch. The only power those (c)hurches out there could ever have had came from the Head of the (C)hurch. They routinely place the cart before the horse, and yet are viewed as leaders and giants in the faith by those who lack vision and discernment.
The continual lack of distinguishing between the The (C)hurch and all those man-made (c)hurches out there with buildings, lawns, parking lots, toilets, some with swimming pools and basketball courts, professional, hired staffing...all of which encompasses what most people call "the (c)hurch."
Frankly, it is understood that those man-made organizations have indeed failed to maintain the desired influence over the surrounding culture. They are powerless in and of themselves. Pull the money out from under them, and they collapse into a proverbial, smouldering heap of financial ruin. They are the places where even unbelievers can enter and exercise their influences. The world has indeed become a tightly embraced lover in many of them, rendering them no more than portals into the pits of Hell by way of warped theologies and corrupted values and creeds. Some lay claim to have been around for centuries, thinking that their antiquity legitimizes them as true representatives of the TRUE Christ portrayed within the Bible, when in fact they are no better than the other portals into the bowels of Hell for many of their followers.
What's the distinctive difference?
Simply stated: The (C)hurch is a beautiful, living, breathing being with Christ Jesus as her Head. Notice my emphasis upon the capital "C" versus the small, lower case "c" throughout this post. The (C)hurch lives on with or without the foundation of money. Pull the money away from her, and she continues living and breathing because of the Head, Who sustains her with His own Life and Power. There is no measure of unbelief, disobedience and corruption in her as there is within man-made (c)hurch organizations.
The (C)hurch has never failed, and has never become corrupted by any means nor measure. She possess the power given her by the Head. The culture is under the control of the Head, and any claim that the (C)hurch has failed is a false accusation against the Head from those who would dare to level that finger of accusation against the (C)hurch. It's fine to accuse the (c)hurches out there. Not a problem. The culture, the world, and also the entire universe, are all completely and totally under the control of the Head. If one wants to level an indictment against the Most High, then I step aside and let you have at it... those who "think" themselves qualified to accuse their Creator.
So, this goes to the fact that words have meaning, and failing to ensure the distinctions is an oversight that has been going on for FAR too long by alleged "leadership" within the (c)hurch communities, faith-based radio, television and internet broadcasts, across the nation and around the world.
What say you?
Jr
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