In June of 2015, the relevance of the 21st century Church suffered what appeared to be a crushing blow. Following the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, same-sex marriage bans were struck down throughout America. The culture war that the Church had been waging for decades was finally over, and the Church had lost. Christians across America grieved over the sinfulness of a nation they loved. Calls for the divine judgment of America began to resonate from the pulpit. Signs that carried messages like “A moral wrong cannot be a civil right” and “Leviticus 20:13 Abomination” dotted the landscape of our nation’s capital. Christians flocked to protest a Supreme Court decision that personified our nation’s turning away from God. We live in an era in which evangelists are more concerned about the political influence that they wield in a presidential election than the power of the Gospel. What has happened to Jesus’ bride? How has the 21st century Church become so weak, and so powerless against the powers of darkness that so overwhelm this world?
I don’t believe the legalization of same-sex marriage was bad for the Church. In fact, I believe the loss of this culture war was a victory for Jesus’ bride. For decades we’ve taken our eyes off of Jesus and His Kingdom and set them on this world, and in doing so, we have become an institution that represents a mere shadow of Jesus. Instead of living for Kingdom change, we now settle for political change. Our adoration of America and her values trumps our love for Jesus. Instead of campaigning for the eternal transformation that the Gospel brings, we campaign for the temporary change that democracy brings. The Jesus that is represented by the 21st century American church looks so different from the first century Jesus of Nazareth. What has happened to the revolutionary, radically compassionate, and beautiful Jesus of the first century? There is something fundamentally wrong with the Church when the hearts of self proclaimed followers of Jesus are broken over a Supreme Court decision but not by the poverty that overwhelms our communities. There's something wrong with our hearts when followers of Jesus are willing to drive hours to protest same-sex marriage but we're not willing to drive five minutes to bring the Gospel to the lost of our communities. We, the Church, have not been fighting the good fight. We've been fighting the wrong fight. When on Earth Jesus never displayed interest in the political. He wasn't interested in political revolutions. If He had been, He would've answered the call from the masses to be their King. Jesus was concerned about His Kingdom that was not of this world, not any kingdom of it.
So, Church: let's drop the politics and pick up the Gospel. Let's become the Jesus centered, Gospel focused, Kingdom oriented Church of the first Century. Revival won't come from winning the White House in 2016. Revival will come from the redeemed of The Lord living lives surrendered to the expansion of their Redeemer's Kingdom.
