Jesus' teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing, religious people of his day. However, in the main, our churches today do not have this effect. The kind of outsiders Jesus attracted are not attracted to contemporary churches, even our most avant-garde ones. We tend to draw conservative, buttoned-down, moralistic people. The licentious and liberated or the broken and marginal avoid church. That can only mean one thing. If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did. If our churches aren't appealing to younger brothers, they must be more full of elder brothers than we'd like to think.
Tim Keller in The Prodigal God, 14-15
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I think we must also consider that comparing the type of people that were attracted to Jesus "in the day" versus today's "avante garde" types is not exactly an apple-apple comparison.
Those from "in the day" were rejected by society and culture; those "avante garde" types today explicitly reject anything resembling society or culture themselves.
Today's "avante garde" types explicitly reject the notion of absolute truth, the idea of sin, and maybe even the very idea of a "power greater than themselves".
It's not necessarily a matter of differing views on issues, it's a matter of not even talking about the same issues.
I am not sure how we "fix" that, though.
Keller makes a magnificent point. I understand there are differences between the two time periods. To me the point is that today's churches are pushing away exponentially more people than they are drawing in. The saddest part is despite all the talk about reaching the world for Christ most churches are more than happy to keep the 'heathens' away.
Keller's point may be magnificent, but you cannot discount the changes in culture and what that means in terms of who will even walk through the front door OR even hold a simple conversation.
Witness the events in Livonia Michigan-- where some 'avante garde' types decided to conduct a hostile and hate-filled "church invasion":
See Here
When all the "players" involved cannot even agree on what constitutes basic civil conduct, making a church more appealing to a larger audience is a major challenge.
Yeah...we must remember that Jesus told us that people would know that we were His disciples by our love......check this out ....i used to think that this scripture (Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.)-
was talking about jesus knocking on the door of our heart, but look closer...this is written to the church!!!...what???!!! could thispossibly true??? be???...you mean that Jesus isn't even in the modern day apostate christendom churches????...Check that scrip out for yourself.......Oh, in case you need a second witness (Heb 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Heb 13:13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
Heb 13:14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.....Will we go forth unto Him???...you know out where real people are hurting, or will we continue in our deluded social club called church.....Think about it.......look forwared to hearing from you
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