Unquestionably, Christians in America are blessed; I am truly thankful for the privilege of being about to attend church, read and purchase Bibles and other religious books and materials, and to worship God freely. It's a privilege that millions around the world can only dream of having. In Alcorn's novel, a successful American businessman, Ben Fielding, is sent to China on business. He re-connects reluctantly with a Chinese citizen who had been his roommate in college. Ben Fielding is reluctant to reconnect with Li Quan because Ben has drifted away from God and he is afraid his Chinese roommate has not. Ironically, Ben is the one who helped bring Li Quan to Christ, but that's where Ben's discipleship ends. Ben has become caught up in the successes of life. His goal is to be CEO of his company, even though that goal has cost him his family. Nothing matters except financial success, right?
Upon arriving at his friend's home in China, Ben is struck by the poverty in which his friend lives. He knows that Quan's goals were to become a university professor and write books. Imagine Ben's surprise when he finds out neither dream came to fruition for his friend. It is here that the discipleship tables are turned and Quan begins the task of bringing his American friend back to faith. Some of the things Quan says to Ben may sound harsh. For example, Quan tells Ben that America's idols are "Materialism. Pleasure. Entertainment. Worship of celebrities. Obsession with sex. Food. Fame" (p 71). Quan is absolutely right. Take a good look at the list. How many of those can be applied to the American Church? How often are church services judged by how "good" the worship service is? How often are worship services that don't incorporate a dazzling show deemed inferior? American culture is obssessed with entertainment. It's an obsession that infiltrates everything. School isn't "fun" if it's not entertaining. The days in which students studied out of book or listened to a teacher simply talk about a subject are ridiculed. Nope, we need the powerpoint, the prezi, the video. In many ways, Church today has become a series of Lights! Camera! Action! We don't want to listen to a divinely inspired message; we want entertainment. Is the preacher a quiet, soft-spoken individual--he/she must be ineffectual--it takes charisma and razzle-dazzle to be a great preacher. Often the fact that such "dynamic" speakers actually have little say is lost in all the spiritual gymnastics.
However, before you tag me as someone who thinks that we should all sit quietly and sing ancient hymns, let me assure you that is not the case. I long for the move of the Holy Spirit, for the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, and the might move of God in our services. Too often today, though, the gifts of the spirit are downplayed. We're told to "seek the Giver of the Gift, not the gift." This is true, but it's being used against those who ernestly seek a move of God. We're tagged as "emotional," and told that our services must be "seeker-friendly." We don't want to scare anyone off. Really? Was Christ ever afraid of scaring anyone off? I think not.
Even our churches worship celebrities. Perhaps we don't run after the Hollywood actor, but we very often run after the lastes and greatest spiritual trend and personality. Hence the rise of the mega-church; it takes a big personality to attract that many people. Now don't misunderstand; there's nothing wrong with wanting our churches to grow. Growth is a sign of a healthy church. The problem arises when the focus is on the number of people in the pew and not the number being discipled for Christ. If the focus is on discipleship, the numbers will take care of themselves.
Far too often, Christians judge others within our churches and decide that there are those within the church body that are too wierd or non-traditional to associate with. Often even church leaders warn new members to be careful about the friendships they make within the church as not everyone is considered suitable or desireable. How many would have gone unreached if Christ refused to associate with anyone except the affluent or those considered part of the "in-crowd"? Every Christian needs to adopt Quan's question: Is this the day that I die? Think what an impact we could have in our homes, in our churches, in our schools, in our businesses, in our communities, in our nation, and in our world?
In a perfect world . . . It's not too late . . .
