Challenge to Church Leaders
Where is the man or woman amongst you who is going to make their voice heard and start seriously challenging the faith and lifestyle promoted by the Jesus Army? When is the conspiracy of silence going to be broken?From where I stand it is hard not to feel that you are so insecure about the lack of success in some of your own churches that you dare not challenge a movement which gives the impression of being very dynamic and is apparently willing to get its hands dirty in as it "reaches out" to vulnerable people in our society! Maybe it shames you; and some of you dare not point the finger because you think to do so would be narrow minded and "un-Christian".
Some of you instinctively feel, "who am I to criticise?" Some of you long to see a restoration in the fortunes of the Christian Church and believe that the reason for its decline must be to do with its having compromised and strayed from the path of righteousness. You are all too well aware of the dominant individualistic, materialistic culture which seems to prevail as much within the Church as it does elsewhere, and it makes you feel second best when you compare and contrast yourselves with the "all or nothing" commitment of the Jesus Army members.
When some of you see injustice and suffering in the world, it troubles you; and you feel that it would be wrong to speak out against groups like the Jesus Army who are apparently working hard to take the gospel of Christ to the victims and the downtrodden of our society. In recent years, various well known leaders in the evangelical, Charismatic sectors of the Church have spoken in defence of the Jesus Army and have endorsed their status as "pioneers who will inevitably attract opposition on account of their radical agenda". The launch of the Multiply Christian Network and the associated readmittance to the Evangelical Alliance has also helped draw the sting from the isolationist criticism they so much wanted to shake off. Inevitably, there are some of you who, like sheep, are just going along with what influential Christian leaders are saying.
Humility is a wonderful virtue. Openness to different ways of doing things is to be applauded. Inclusion rather than exclusion can often promote change. Tolerance is a strength. But who exactly is calling the tune? Don't you see that your complicity has played straight into the hands of the Jesus Army and that you've actually betrayed the many vulnerable people who wanted to hear you voice.
Believe it or not, there are people inside the Jesus Army who are struggling with the lifestyle that is being expected of them, but they are unable to work out for themselves what they ought to do (I know this from both my own experience and from the many people who have written to me for help and advice). They have grave misgivings but don't know if their anxieties and fears are coming from their own "disobedient heart" or not...and therefore they don't know how to deal with them. Inevitably, some of these people are not strong enough to break free for themselves and they bury their heads in the sand and carry on with their commitment to the Jesus Army. I too was like that once. Many people who have written to me through my website over the years are like that.
But things would be different if they could hear a strong, clear message of opposition from people in the Church. In its absence, they have no way of knowing what to think or do other than what they are being told by those closest to them - their friends and leaders in the Jesus Army - and all those Christian leaders who are saying, 'the Jesus Army is ok! We're all on the same side!'
Forgive the comparison, but it's the best one I can think of. The situation is like a having a political party in opposition who have lost the will and the reason to do just that - to oppose! This doesn't have to be hostility, but it is the DUTY of the opposition to constantly probe, to question, and to speak boldly and powerfully when there are shortcomings in the Government that need be exposed. Furtherstill, it is also their duty to have a viable, clearly-understood alternative agenda.
But no! You have all gone silent...too insecure about where you stand yourselves to make your voice heard. Would YOU join the Jesus Army? Do YOU believe that the type of Christian lifestyle promoted by the Jesus Army is the way forward?? If not, then I beg you to make your voice heard so that other people can benefit from your wisdom - the light that is currently hid beneath the bushel!
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