Jesus Cropped from the Picture

Jesus Cropped from the Picture

Slowly, the Christian life became less about Christ’s global purposes and more about his specific task to save the Church from punishment. Eventually it was not even about his Church (with “me” as a crucial part of the Church). Instead, the Church is viewed as a collection of individual Christians, each with their own personal relationships with Christ, gathering together to get their individual needs met. Christian Sans Church For some, even church became optional and was completely cropped from the picture. Recently, a group of Christians passed out gospel tracts at the middle school where my son (Mark) attends. The final pages of the tract highlighted the need to believe in Jesus, pray to Jesus, read the Bible, and spread the word . The Church was never mentioned. Clearly, Christ is “in,” but the Church is “out.” The implication is, “If you can get your needs met without church, why bother? If books, television, radio, or podcasts can meet personal your spiritual needs, why go to a local church?” George Barna provides a shocking example of how far the cropping process has degenerated when he said: Whether you become a Revolutionary immersed in, minimally involved in, or completely disassociated from a local church is irrelevant to me (and, within boundaries, to God). What matters is not whom you associate with (i.e. a local church), but who you are.... The Bible neither describes nor promotes the local church as we know it today.... It does, however, offer direction regarding the importance and integration of fun- damental spiritual disciplines into one’s life.... Ultimately, we

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