The Sick Church is Comprised of Safe Christians

I read an email from a man who is attempting to enter the world of Church Growth Counseling. I wish him well. But, he got off on a wrong foot. His material was good but pedestrian if you have read even a half dozen common Church Growth books. I would rather he present fresh manna.

But he didn't.

The comment that caused me to hesitate was this one:

Do
not use crazy people

Again I say do not use crazies.

Crazy People...Who is that? What does he mean?

I have a sense that he is attempting to confer the idea that we need to use safe conventional no surprise Christians. He wants ministry that is predictable. (unchallenging).

This won't move many mountains.

I recall some crazies that turned the known world upside down back a couple millenia ago. Table turning over crazies, dead raising crazies, Pharisee challenging crazies, blood and flesh drinking crazies, tongue talking crazies, people that sat for days in an upper room crazies, people that left their jobs and work to go reach the world and be martyred a cruel death crazies.

I don't see much evidence that sane "normal" people ever made much of a difference.

Once long ago a good friend of mine, a pastor, said of me, "You would scare the hell out of me if you were in my congregation". I am a little crazy for Jesus. Maybe a lot crazy. And I scare people. So people don't want me to sit down and be quiet.

I can't stay silent. I won't stay silent.

If you are going to change the world you have to be Just a little Crazy. Seal had a song twenty years ago that said that. It's still true.

If you are gong to be fearless in the face of opposition in proclaiming the Gospel, you have to be a little crazy.

Jesus has had enough of safe Christianity. I say that on good authority.

"I wish that you were cold or hot" ( Revelation 3:15–16)

"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you

were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor
cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth"

Time for that spiritual edge to be let loose.

2 Samuel 6:
¹⁴ David, wearing a
linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, ¹⁵ while he and the entire house
of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of
trumpets.

¹⁶ As the
ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul
watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing
before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.

²² I will become even more
undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by
these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor."

From CS Lewis:

'If there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than me or else just silly.'

'Then he isn't safe?' asked Lucy.

'Safe?' said Mr. Beaver. 'Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.'

Safe Christianity is a malady that has created sick churches. Let's have more crazies, shall we?