The Church in 2050

2008-11-10

The year is 2050. The church and religious organizations are no longer visible, with the exception of the churches that are largely “pro-tolerance.” These visible churches are merely humanitarian in their efforts, though they may have an ethereal religious feel to them. No absolute truth can be preached about God because he is preached as an unknown, and therefore created in the image of humankind. These new churches’ mission: civil rights, environmental awareness, and a social club to benefit its weekly attending members. While these things are not necessarily bad things in themselves, the real mission of the church has dissipated in the wind: to glorify God and make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Where are the real churches then? They may be hidden in the basements, living rooms, and porches of small homes scattered throughout the world. The word of God is preached when and where it can be, though the tolerance laws enacted in previous times have put many into prison. What is the role of these churches?

These churches could very well do what the churches did in the first century. They can go out to the church buildings to rub shoulders with the religious, since the visible churches are now a mission field just as the synagogues of yesteryear were. These hidden churches can challenge people with whom they come into contact, showing that they themselves have a hope within that defies understanding.

Since the real churches were forced underground, the tactics of the twentieth and early twenty-first century churches had to be quickly abolished. The idea that society can be affected via political involvement had to change. Compassion had to come about within the hearts and minds of the disciples: compassion for those who are enslaved by sin and the spirits that control them. They now need to reach people on an individual level by preaching the gospel. This is how it should have been from the beginning, but the times have taught them that attacking the symptoms of sin never cures the disease.

Since nobody in the public sphere adheres to Biblical values, the disciples are absent from any public dialogue and their views are not represented anywhere. They are thankful for their right to exist, and now see lost opportunity to reach out to people in retrospect. They are not worried about winning seats in the Senate; they are concerned with creative ways to reach people with the Gospel.

Understand this message, and understand what is coming. Take advantage of the opportunities we have now because we never know what the future may hold.