Laodicea: the Plastic Church ~ Bible Prophecy Today
I read this post a few times trying to get a handle on it as I thought about it more and more I realized it was subtle, but there is a growing discontent among Christians who want to "perfect" the church, then let the prefect perfect the body of Christ.
That is Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
I read this:
Look at the phenomena within the church world that has occurred in our lifetime. There has been one fad after another. Religious television and the mass media take each fad and exploit it to the extreme and then we watch it fade. Notice how “fads” turn into “fades.” Jim Bakker and PTL was one of the first fads that I remember. Then, we had “The Prayer of Jabez,” the “God Chasers,” TBN and Paul Crouch, and then Rick Warren and his “Purpose Driven Life” phenomena. These are nothing but religious fads with short lives.
I was a little surprised.
I think it is marginalizing in a negative way what God used in a positive means.
Did people get saved by the Thousands in each of those cases above?
Are those Ministries all gone? Or are there people who can say they owe a Thank you for the time they were there?
I don't particularly choose to be a part of some ministries, but I do not doubt in any way shape or form, while I may be beyond some of those minstries, If God Chooses To Use a Jack Ass, he can do so I will admit it ten years later as easy as I do at the time of it.
People are not saints, but God makes people fit for his use and that is not by our being Righteous, Good, Or Holy. He uses unfit people so he can declare who did it, He Did.
PTL even in the midst of it's excess, was used by God.
The Prayer of Jabez, a rather amusing "wind of doctrine", was also used by God to help some who needed it.
TBN is still around, and frankly so is Paul Crouch.
I am glad Jesus doesn't let us pick and choose who he can use.
I would not be saved otherwise, nor would most of Southern California Hippies and Baby Boomers because theology off or on, Calvary Chapel was birthed by some unusual peoples....Lonnie Frisbee comes to mind.
I don't see a perfected saint in the Bible after meeting Jesus anymore than I expect to meet a perfect ministry as I can scripturally eat anyone for breakfast if I wanted to make a kosher diet of the Body of People Jesus died for.
We are all sinners, before and after grace.
But the Men God uses, and Judges, and even sets up and causes to fall, how dare we descry even one if a soul is saved from hell.
I think Jesus would confront all of us on our sacred cows of theology because being on fire for him in love, as we were in the Jesus Movement, was not about WHO was Wrong and Who was right, but it was ALL About Knowing Him.
It was all about Jesus.
And you know, the more I read posts, the less I hear about Him.
Maybe that is Laodicean after all.
Michael James Stone
