The Crux of the Matter

My Great (x5) Grandfather, Captain Fabius Hicks, was a Gospel preacher.

My Great-Grandfather, William Isaac Jackson, was an Elder in the church.

His son, My Great-Uncle, M.C. Jackson, was a gospel preacher and and an Elder.

My Father was a Deacon and did some mission work in Indonesia.

My Mother taught Bible Class.

I have been in Ministry (or Ministry training) all but 1 1/2 years of the last 30.

I have a Master's Degree from LCU.

Are you impressed? No? Well hold on, there's more.

I was awarded a Bible in August 1971 for being the boy who brought the most kids to VBS.

I was born on a Sunday and was probably in church the next Sunday.

I have a full head of hair.

I could keep going on, but I'm sure by now, you must be in awe.

No? Good! Because none of that matters for anything.

The problem is that for too many of us, stuff like that does matter. They have become central to how we see ourselves and the church. When churches and individuals begin flouting their resumes and geneologies as evidence of authority, then we have let go of the authority that really counts.

I have heard way too many times individuals talk about how many years they've been a member (or elder, or deacon, etc.) of the church, how much money they've donated to this or that program in the church, that their parents or grandparents "built this church" or any number of such (in Paul's words) 'rubbish'.

As congregations we've gloried in too much periphery thinking. We have identified and practically deified the 'Distinct Identifying Marks' of the church. Things like a plurality of elders in every congregation, acapella singing, the Lord's Supper every week, and even baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sins. None of these things are the crux of the matter to what it means to be a Christian or the Lord's church.

Maybe that's why we are in decline (if you've read this month's issue of The Christian Chronicle) It is because we've forgotten what really matters.

What does really matter? The Cross. Nothing else. The Cross: Jesus' life, his death, and his resurrection is our power. The Cross is our one and only 'distinct identify mark.' Putting anything else at the center of who we are will result in 'the Cross of Christ being emptied of its power.' (1 Cor. 1:17) And will result in what we are seeing today; congregations in decline, individual Christians without real vitality in their faith.

So look in the mirror. How are you doing? Look around you. How is your congregation doing? It is easy to blame our culture - "people just don't have faith anymore, like they used to" is what we often say. My guess, is that people just don't have faith in our cultural expression of Christianity anymore. The Cross still has power to convict and change the hearts of people. But we must get back to the cross and quit advancing our unique (or so we think) resume and pedigree.

But what was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:7-11

I recently preached 2 sermons on The Crux of the Matter which you can download or listen to at www.universitychurchonline.org