In his 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King states, “The church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.” In King’s eyes this was “the Church” that Jesus built with expectation to continue his own mission in the world. Are our churches today extensions of that Church? Or, are we so personalistic and individualistic that we forget that the church was built as a transformative mechanism for society? There is a certain wayward spirit in our society that is transforming the churches into thermometers instead of thermostats.
As I survey churches across America, I notice that far too few of the churches maintain a true prophetic character. Pathetic apathy compromise the prophetic nature of the Church that Jesus expects. In the face of oppressive immigration laws, poverty, violence, abuse, bullying, resistant and evil racism, and greed, the churches must become “the Church.” There is a need for a unified prophetic voice of “the Church” that cries aloud and spares not! The Church is not a privatized business opportunity for men and women who seize the opportunity to attract people to collect tithe and offerings. The Church that Christ intends is not a social club that collects membership fees and bifurcate the haves from the have-nots. That is what I see among many of our churches. In his 1963 Strength to Love, King says, “If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.”
If we are to continue King’s legacy, we must cross denominational, non-denominational, theological, ethnic, and gender lines to form the Church of Jesus Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ is not the vision of church leaders– thats corporate America that has infiltrated churches today. The Church of Jesus Christ bears a single vision and a single mission. Anything we call a vision or mission should be a microcosm of the single vision and mission of Christ’s. To this end, churches should be able to come together to a common cause. This is seldom the case. We (churches) must be aware. Let’s retract our human biases that interfere with divine purpose for the church.
Hollywood both steers society and reflects trends within society; in like manner, Christian television both steers churches and reflect trends within the church. I say, this is an ecclesiological tragedy on many levels. If churches are to align themselves with Christ’s divine vision for the church in transforming society, they must resist trends that are antithetical to the love, grace and peace intrinsic to the gospel. All to often church leaders look to televangelists for divine inspiration. People like Eddie Long, Marcus Lamb, Zachery Tims, Martin Luther King, Jr (himself), every other “minister,” “reverend,” “pastor,” “bishop,” “apostle” and “prophet” I know and even me help us to see that the humanity of local, regional and national religious leaders can not be trusted as perfect. But, Jesus can be trusted. The gospel can be trusted. It is a gospel of love and not of material and sexual lust. Many religious leaders are charismatic persons without divine anointing to lead churches or even to have national attention. Others are anointed for certain purposes but not to be elevated to a celebrated position.
Jesus founded the Church to glorify God. Who is our churches glorifying? Who do we seek to please? In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, King also says,“Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? …Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.”
If we are to contextualize King’s frustration we can not fail to admit that we can not please God if we do not speak up for those who are in need. When we raise money to build buildings and fortify our own empires, we forsake building people. Giving food to people and giving them a jacket when it is cold so that we can boast in our good deeds does not bring glory to God. We must transition our disposition to that of building houses to help people get on their feet; educating the uneducated in areas that will sustain their welfare; challenging the government in godly ways to alleviate poverty; confronting injustice in our immigration laws and the list goes own. Churches must stop laying hold on their members, refusing to cross pollinate or fellowship with other churches because of petty divisions. When we do this, we are like salmons that move against the current; we become nonconformists in the dominating Christian religious landscape. But, until then, we fail to be the Church that King envisioned to be the Church that Jesus founded.
Happy Birthday Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We honor you for all that you did as servant of Christ for humanity. M.L.K., R.I.P.
Antipas L. Harris, Aspiring servant of the Lord.
Tags: churches, Letter from the Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, MLK, The Church
The manifestation of a benevolent movement that would augment the Great Commission encompasses a fervent engagement of an epistemological construct.
I Corinthians 1:9-10 (NIV) express that “God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.
Fundamentally, the Apostle Paul endorsed and urged uniformity despite the great socio-economic, political, class, gender, and ethnic divisions of the ancient Midddle Eastern Jews and Gentiles, slave and free, men and women alike.
The fiery prophet Amos, whom Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so often quoted, posed the notorious question: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3, KJV).
When Jesus commissioned His disciples, “…went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits…They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” (Mark 6:6-7, 12-13, NIV).
When we as Christian leaders accept and engage the truth about the deficiencies within ourselves, we can humbly transition to engage others as such. The ultimate truth is that no comprehensive ecumenical spiritual amalgamation or campaign will take root as long as those called (or chosen) by God are radically disobedient to His Will and not trustworthy to employ a fervent humane cause. The greatest movements compelled the masses to move because of overwhelming certitude – the full assurance of real action. Moreover, the full assurance of real action was coupled with overflowing consonance.
The full assurance of real action coupled with overflowing consonance cannot exist without a mutual disposition of conviction. Wben you do not experience disenfranchisement with a personal conviction and are not moved by a leading collective attitude against such, you will never act. When you do not experience hunger and poverty with a personal conviction and are not moved by a leading collective attitude against such, you will always starve yourself of righteousness. When you do not experience the mourning for joy with a personal conviction and are not moved by a leading collective attitude against such, you will always starve yourself of peace. When you do not experience brokeness within your family with a personal conviction and are not moved by a leading collective attitude against such, you will only know the abysmal dysfunction of being alone.
Hence, let us walk together in Christian love striving for the advancement of God’s kingdom and secure the initiative we were called upon without further delay. The dream of Dr. King is the reality of employing our lives with full assurance of real action coupled with overflowing consonance in Christ Jesus – today.
Dr. Harris quoted Dr. King in saying, “Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? …Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.”
I would have to agree that overwhelmingly the local church bodies that pepper the American landscape are, for the large part, conformist. I am not sure whether conformity is birthed from apathy, comfort, fear or a combination of some or all of those. Nonetheless, although my heart breaks for the churches at large, my deepest ache is for the one or two nonconformists in each congregation. Those “remnants” who sense in their spirit that something is not right, that receive from above a world-changing spark and sense within them a growing dream to see “justice [roll] down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” (MLK, Jr. “I Have a Dream”) Yet, the prophetic voices of these nonconformists receive no support. General nay-saying and even sharp rebuke not to “rock the boat” stifle the dream in the heart of these men and women who have become descendants in the line of all the great dreamers, including King.
The religious establishment has always stood in opposition to the revolution of Love. The Pharisees to Jesus, the Jewish synagogue to the Way, now the Christian church to the Christ-followers. There is certainly a religious stupor among our churches today. It is a matter of prayer first and foremost as we do not war against flesh and blood but, in this case, a religious anti-Christ spirit that seeks to quench human liberation. It is a matter of education and exhortation for our nation’s churches – we must learn to do things differently.
Yet, Christ assured all nonconformists of this:“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.” (John 16:1-3) He also told us that unless a seed falls to the ground it will not bear fruit. As history tends to repeat itself, I fear the persecution and death of many nonconformists (on many levels) until the day of Jesus’ return. However, the redemption of this is the life-bearing fruit that comes from the death of these nonconforming servants and that is a sign of the Kingdom coming to Earth.
This is a call to all nonconformists hidden in the pews of our nation’s churches. Beware of the cost of following Christ rather than religion. But also beware of the cost of sitting in your pew.
Hot or Cold? Revised
In reviewing this article, I had to first wrap my mind around “the difference between a thermostat and a thermometer.” [1] What did Dr. King mean in addressing the need for the “Church” to move beyond a “thermometer” to a “thermostat?”[2]
Well, according to WikiAnswers, “a thermostat controls temperature, [while] a thermometer [only] measures it.” [3] In other words, based upon this definition and the “mission” of Christ, the “Church” must set the tone of spiritual influence in a society ravaged by sin instead of just pointing out what’s wrong as alluded to in the article. Unfortunately, we’re good for that.
Sadly, the article captures the “apathy” of today’s Church and society. I agree that we must reach out to our brothers and sisters in creative measures in order to holistically minister to the vast needs, but if we can’t feel then we won’t heal. Perhaps while on “the mountain top” [4] and seeing the other side, Dr. King not only saw ours strides in freedom but also was in agreement with God’s warning to us as He commanded the children of Israel.
“Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;” (Deuteronomy 8:11-14, KJV).
[1] http://wiki.answers.com
/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_a_thermostat_and_a_thermometer
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] http://www.mlkonline.net/video-martin-luther-king-last-speech.html
Footnotes did not transfer in previous post.
Michele
Dr. King had many admirable qualities, with humility and dedication to the cause of Christ topping them. Many outsiders thought Dr. King was simply desiring a platform, however he is not like many of today’s leaders who are aspiring for the celebrity status, wanting a voice but possessing little to say. Dr. King simply wanted to make a change and he was given a platform. It was the cause that inspired others to follow, as the message is thousands of years old. It was being willing to lay everything down for that cause that brought thousands to tears at his funeral. We certainly celebrate Dr. King, but it is not his eloquent speeches that we praise. It was humility among fame, and sincerity among persecution. Thank you Dr. King.
I just added this website to my google reader, great stuff. Can’t get enough!