The body of Christ finds itself at a crossroads. The common reaction to crossroads is to look to the right and to the left, but this is no ordinary crossroads. We are living in a unique time, a time where people stand frozen in their uncertainty. They look right and left, paralyzed, not knowing which way to go.
What they need is a third alternative, a true option, - a third way. The challenge, the crossroad, is not a choice of right or left, it is forward or backward. The third way is Jesus Christ. He is the only way forward. He is the only way to a secure future for the church. If the church does not check its spiritual compass and reorient itself to Christ and only Christ, then every step will be backwards no matter how well intended.
While we all recognize that we are swimming upstream against the cultural current of the world, we are also swimming upstream against the prevailing cultural current of the church as well. When I entered the ministry, people had difficulty seeing and speaking of Jesus in human terms. The reality and depth of the incarnation was not the conversation du jour, rather, the divinity of Jesus was. Now, it seems that people have shifted to a view of Christ that ignores or downplays His divinity. Believers internally acknowledge that He is divine, other worldly, and powerful, but treat Him like a drug. He is something to make us feel better, to help us escape the world. Believers have reduced Him to a mere part of our life and not the source, power, giver and Creator of all life.
It is frequently said among pastors that in this post COVID world, “We have marched off the map and are in uncharted territory.” That is not true if the map is the Word of God. In Christ, there is no uncharted territory. The Scriptures are the map and He is the North Star. We are called and created to move ever forward regardless of the circumstances. We belong to Him and not the circumstances. The greatest need for the church USA is not for the people to return to the church but for the church to return to Christ.
So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.
– Deuteronomy 5:32
