D.A. Carson on the Emergent Church -2-

One of the worst things about society in the US -- unspoken, assumed segregation in churches, by nearly every background. When I was in graduate school many of the professors pointed this error out, rightfully so, that the most segregated place in America is the church on Sunday morning (referring to churches across the USA). It's sad that the God who created all peoples can't be the focus of worship by all peoples together in specific local churches. Sure there are major exceptions, though sadly they are not all that common. The general rule is observed by churchmen and women, and thank the Lord for new believers who don't follow the same rule and are willing to be formed by Jesus Christ and the Father as the potter (Jeremiah 18).

What has happened is sad for a more important reason than many think too: Christians who have gifts from God by the Holy Spirit (encouragement, service, mercy, teaching, leading, administration, evangelism, etc.) tend to use them only with people like them. The whole church is in more poverty for it, spiritual and emotional poverty. Christ sent Paul the Apostle (and others) out to the Gentiles to bring in the nations, to bring in those who would trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to the church. Together they build the church up, serving as the body of Christ (one in this role, one in another). The NT churches were from the beginning combined congregations of peoples. The gift of tongues back then was probably largely for proclaiming the gospel to make this merging happen and to translate in the congregations (for a limited time during the change in covenants it would appear).

There is hardly a "church" out there that will admit it is segregationist, but they are behind the closed doors when they make decisions, how they talk about the 'others' that are out there. IN Texas the impossibility of holding to that error and following Christ at the same time is being pressed to a point.

This link shows that Texas is no longer an Anglo state. For the vast majority of churches of various denominations, that means adopt Christ's call to bring in all nations to your church and/or denomination by fishing --or-- pretend you don't know how to fish - therefore - cease to exist by demographic predictions.

The solution seems simple. Follow Jesus' command to bring in all people who will trust Him from the nations and bring them into the fold. Will this happen? Not sure. It'll be great to see (with a holy zeal, and knowledge of Matthew 28:19-20) the Christ-rejecting social clubs in various inter and denominational church buildings who don't take Matthew 28 realistically sell their buildings to vibrant new churches that don't go by the wayside of history's blunders. It would be greater if they'd turn from their present disregard (accidental or deliberate) of other peoples, but ... unfortunately that is not likely for the majority of local congregations. So those non-profit 501(c)3 buildings are going to belong to Jesus' Great Commission in 2011/forward one way or another. Irony of ironies thanks to a good US rule on non-profit property.

Yep, the people they couldn't genuinely put in leadership or other positions because of their ethnic background are going to get the buildings that belonged to God and were taken from him anyways. Those are the ones who are going to buy out those structures and return the praises of God to being in their walls again, rather than merely tradition epithets void of Great Commission fire.

What will the Texas church look like in the future? The ones that still exist as congregations and the ones with buildings are going to be from various nations. God has a sense of humor, and it is worth smiling about.