Is the Church Growing Ashamed of the Cross?

Disclaimer: This might very well be one of those posts that tick people off. Sorry. If you think that might be you, quit reading and just click here

I have become increasingly aware where I feel completely at peace. No, it's not a pub. That's wonderful in its own way, full of community and conversation, but it's not where I feel most at home. More than any other place, I feel a simple assuring calmness in the pew of a church. Preferably an old church, and I do specify a pew.

This realization has progressively come upon me through my time at Incarnation, but I had a mild epiphany Saturday night while at a wedding inside First UMC Dallas. It should go without saying that I indeed affirm that Christ's Church is not a building but His people, His Elect; however, there is something encouraging to my soul about a place of worship that actually reminds me of my Savior. Such is truly wonderful to me. There is something about an old church that provides me grounding in my faith. Within it's sacred walls, I feel shelter and refuge from the foreign world in which I spend most of my time. I adore the quiet stillness while kneeling in a wooden pew with the cross ahead of me. I even like the cross with Christ on it, and yes, I understand the significance of the empty cross of our risen Lord. Still, I take comfort and encouragement in the whisper that we are all to bear our cross, and yet, Christ bore His to completion for our Salvation and ultimate victory.

So many other churches I am in are constructed with the intention to not look like a church at all. For me, this removes any visible separation that I need as a reminder in my life. As Christians, we are sojourners in a foreign land, yet I feel that most who call themselves believers never think about this. When I walk into a church, I hope to be instantly struck with the truth that I belong to a God and a community that are not of this world. It seems the trend now is to simply mirror the very trends of society. Why would we want people to feel like they are in a coffee shop or a county club? There are already too many Starbucks. I desire to be starkly confronted with the reality that I am in a house of devotion to God, a place of safety and grace situated geographically within the metropolis of bankers, attorneys, and coffeehouses. It is the clear distinction between the age of the eternal and He who is truly glorious, and our present age of sin and a fallen world subjected to Satan. (Yeah, he's real.) We should inescapably see and feel this difference and affirm without doubt or confusion in which of these two realms our identity is held.

Think of the irony of the building where the pastor offices and the message he preaches to his congregates. Is this not the very theme on which we are admonishing our parishioners? Are we not called personally to be a vision of Christ to our community of friends, family, and all those whom we come into contact with? Yet, our gathering places, our chapels of worship are themselves a light hidden under a bushel, masquerading as a generic convention center with top quality convenience amenities. Furthermore, many such buildings go to such great lengths as to hide their crosses, the symbol of our faith. I don't just mean outside, either. Inside, a cross couldn't be found. Instead of boldly proclaiming the Gospel with it's wondrous symbol, a clear and visceral confession that our salvation was procured through Christ's propitiating our sin through His death on a cross, we too often look no different than a used Lexus and Mercedes dealership next to a donut shop or business park. So much for boldly proclaiming and bearing the cross of Christ. Talk about overreaction to a likely misperception of iconic tradition. To be fair though, even Peter tried to fit into the crowd and denied knowing Christ to the public around him three times.

This makes me wonder how much we think. I mean, really think and consider what our actions communicate to our community. Even church buildings expose a pile of evidence that testifies authoritatively to our theology. How much does the church believe in her God? There are basically two lines of thought:

1. God is sovereign and saves man. As Paul writes in his letter to Romans (8:29-30), it is God who foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified. God draws men to him. The basic support for this view is Scripture (the Bible), the historical doctrine of the church (majority through the First Great Awakening), and all previous accounts of God's relation to man.

2. Man is sovereign and saves himself...with God's help, of course. Basic support for this is found in the Second Great Awakening, Billy Sunday, Charles Finney, and most Baptist Youth Camps.

So here's where the tires meet the road. Does God save or do we? Let me ask you this way, with some application specifically related to this topic: As Christians, are we commanded to boldly proclaim the Gospel and have faith in God to reveal Himself and save the lost...or, because we don't think God can cross the rubicon of coolness and relevance, do we camouflage Him because He might scare some "seekers" away? Do we really believe the Scriptures when it says that nobody seeks God? Then why do we conform our visibility to pander to the lost that doesn't seek Him outside Him removing their blindness? Do we not believe God will call all whom He predestines, that He is not faithful? If we do believe the Word of God, why do we hide our cross?

Just some thoughts. I'll stop before I enter a full fledged rant.