The Crisis in the American Church and the Underlying Assumptions (and Worldly Givens) the Church Refuses to Address

https://virgilwalker.substack.com/p/the-sermons-the-church-refuses-to

Once again Virgil Walker manages to raise some valid points and then miss the larger point. Has the modern Church succumbed to worldliness in the realm of gender and family structure? Absolutely, and this is even a problem in circles that otherwise are deemed to be very conservative.

Has the Church embraced psychology and integrated it into its ecclesiology, ethics, and spirituality? This is certainly the case and it is destructive. In recent years we've seen how this kind of thinking overwhelms Scripture and the teaching of the apostles - subjugating the revealed Word of God to perceived needs, feelings, and the world's standards of judgment.

One problem (missed by Walker) is the individualism spawned by Classical Liberalism - the individualism that is enshrined in American idealism and law. This is effectively in American (and even Western DNA). It is assumed. It is treated as a given and yet it's not Scriptural. But to admit this is to call out the American Founders and expose the deep flaws in the American system. And many won't have it. Why? Because America has been turned into an idol. Christians worship its symbols and the power, pride, prestige, and mammon-comfort it all represents. They won't hear criticism. They have wed this idolatry to their truncated notions of Christianity and will decry what I've just said as heresy.

Another factor in the individualist soup is the economic values of Capitalism which are also treated as gospel truth - even through they cannot be found nor sustained by an examination of either Old or New Testaments. Capitalism espouses a utilitarian ethic in which demand grants moral validation. This combined with individualism and riches leads to decadence and like Sodom in Ezekiel 16, American culture is handed over to all manner of perversion and self-idolization which are sure paths to destruction.

Why aren't these sermons preached? If you can't identify the deep cultural sources of these tendencies then you have little or nothing to say. If you think this all simply emerged from 1960's counter-culture then you have a very poor understanding of American history and its cultural development.

In many respects the breakdown of the family and gender roles reached a crisis phase with the Industrial Revolution - over 150 years ago. If Christians (and Christian leaders) aren't prepared to re-think some basic assumptions about our culture, then there's little hope of change. You're treating terminal cancer with first-aid cream and some hydrogen peroxide - it may fizz a bit, but it's not accomplishing much of anything.

Over the weekend I attended a Reformed congregation a few hours away and was stunned by both the large number of people in attendance and the overwhelming affluence of the area in which the church is located. Out of curiosity I later looked up the pastor (one of them) and found out where he lived. From my standpoint he's living in a mini-mansion, a rather grand home that immediately suggests significant wealth. Do you think this 'shepherd' is going to take on the deep cultural assumptions? He might rail against the other political faction - indeed he prayed (without qualification or explanation) that God would bless President Trump.

After this experience, then to come home and open up this Walker article - I must say it strikes me as somewhat absurd. I don't disagree with Walker but the fact that he omits these other things, these other deep and fundamental problems (which he may not see as problems) leaves me to conclude that he lacks discernment. I would not recommend his work. I would not look to him for sound doctrine and application.

And here's another critical point - while he's right to decry the Therapeutic and Social Justice gospels, his condemnation of the Prosperity Gospel rings hollow. It dominates not just conservative Evangelicalism but the Reformed sphere as well - as I just testified. And when Walker and others engage in partisan motivated political diatribes, and demand that Biblical Law is applied to society (whatever they happen to mean by that), they cannot pretend that they too aren't concerned with questions of social justice. It just happens to be that they have a different understanding of how that works and how it is applied, and they have different commitments and assumptions.

I do agree that it seems a lot of men are choosing to go the non-profit 'ministry' or para-church route in lieu of leading and shepherding congregations. I've encountered it first-hand and it's highly problematic. But this touches on conceptions of the Church and how few are willing to actively condemn the whole ministry-conference-celebrity scam that has taken over?

I'm all for thundering truth and dispensing with pep talks, but sadly Walker also misses the mark. And now because of the cultural crisis we've reached a point that in order to save young men and turn back toward masculinity there is a danger emerging from the pendulum swing. I see lots of young men trying desperately to be masculine by growing beards, lifting weights, and getting into guns and the like - but so often this is a worldly Lamech-like masculinity that has nothing to do with the New Testament. These problems must also be addressed. I don't doubt Walker's sincerity but frankly this article is just going to generate confusion and despite what nuggets of truth it contains - I would not recommend it. We can learn from it, but perhaps in ways other than Walker intended.