A book published in 1996 really nailed this Christian distraction problem. Funny how we never heard of it then or since!
Well, I heard of it this week when Connie found an old magazine she’d been saving. It’s “Release Ink,” collecting reviews of and ads for Christian books. We still have it because of the nice article about Jack Hayford. Hayford’s rapidly growing Church on the Way was where Connie spent her formative teen years.
Well, get a load of this list! It’s the outline of Bob Briner’s Seven Deadly Detours (Zondervan, 1996), a book briefly reviewed in the magazine. (It is out of print, but there are some copies available at the link.)
- Squabbling Over Prayer in Public Schools
- Making Jesus a Right Winger
- Thwarting the Homosexual Agenda
- Fighting Other Christians Over Doctrinal Purity
- Shutting Down the Abortion Clinic
- Christian Television
- Fighting for Family Values
Point:
He saw these as deadly distractions keeping Christians from attending to true Biblical and Christ-ian priorities. I certainly agree! And now, after ten more years of intensifying distraction, our nation, our culture, and our world are in much worse shape and much more imminent danger. Christians – churches – we could have made a real difference if we had not been so thoroughly distracted by political and cultural wars.
Distractions matter.
Jeremiah 23
18 But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?22 But if they had stood in my council [i.e. had not been distracted by their political agenda, or by parroting each other], they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.
The reviewer wrote
As I read, I kept hearing myself say, “Yes! I’m so glad someone is finally saying this!”
A few months ago this appeared on a Baptist site in Missouri. The author, Ken Satterfield, referred to that old book, then asked some questions. I’ve put his questions in list format.
- What if our churches were scrutinized in the same way we look at candidates?
- How is your church seen in your community?
- What is its track record?
- Is it attractive?
- Is it a warm church?
- Does it care for, even fight for, all people?
- Does it sling mud at those who oppose it? (Ouch.)
- Is it primarily known as the anti-(place an issue here) church?
- My fear is to one day find myself before the throne of God, having fought for and against political issues, and have Him ask, “But, what did you do for Me?”
Visits: 69
I noticed you had a link to my article. That is now a broken link. The actual link is http://www.wordandway.org/article.php?ww_article_id=287, FYI
Every time I read something like this, I just pause briefly and I internally ask myself, is this another hard candy ball; a “Jaw breaker.�
The Jaw breaker is layers of harden sugar coating in different colors which serves no purpose but to just pass time and eventually just dissolves into nothing…
The Bible is the only book that silently speaks the rules of life. Within these pages are guidelines to everlasting healing in every human abilities. The Bible is “CLEAR�—I mean clear! It clearly addresses only the clear-soul of an individual, clear education without stereo type, clear in pattern of scriptures, clearly identifies important messages which exist in between lines, and above all it is clear truth.
It clearly states in Matthew 22:35-39
Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
This is the beginning of all the answers to the “Jaw-breaker-sugar-coats.� Therefore, the flip-side of this list is:
Squabbling over Prayer in Public Schoolsïƒ Teach your children the value of prayer at home and promote Christian schools.
Making Jesus a Right Winger ïƒ Jesus is Jesus, not a right winger or any other
Thwarting the Homosexual Agenda ïƒ it’s just another awkward agenda
Fighting Other Christians over Doctrinal Purity ïƒ fighting Christians is not wholesomeness
Shutting down the Abortion Clinic ïƒ shut down abortion
Christian Television ïƒ Becomes Christian- Tell a vision (Gods true vision)
Fighting for Family Values ïƒ just family values, no fighting