I thank God for the wonderful work that many large ministries have done over the years, but there is a very troubling trend in the Evangelical church as a whole. And I believe that the pulpit is partly to blame.
The truth is often watered-down in the hope of not offending members and building a large audience. Judgment is never mentioned and repentance is rarely sought. We want to grow a church rather than break a heart; be politically correct rather than biblically correct; coddle and comfort rather than stir and convict.
This is not a letter of rebuke (I’m in no position to do that) — it’s a tear stained plea that we return to God’s truth … that is our only hope.
Pastor Brian Houston, your ministry has touched millions. I’m listening to Hillsong United as I write this. Bishop T.D. Jakes, your ministry has been used to bring millions of prodigal sons and wayward daughters home — we need you to speak the truth in these dire times. Pastor Joel Osteen, I don’t know much about your ministry, but it appears that your gift is motivation — please use it to motivate people to turn from sin. We don’t beat people up with the truth, but we do lovingly point them to it.
The pulpit regulates the spiritual condition of God’s people which affects the nation. A lukewarm, sex-saturated culture (and church) simply reflects the lack of conviction in the pulpit as well as the pew. Most pastors, including myself, struggle with speaking about controversial issues.
I believe that we can be both loving and truthful. How can we warn if we won’t confront? How can we correct if we won’t challenge? How can we contend for the faith if we won’t question lifestyles that oppose it?
“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state,” Martin Luther King Jr. said.
There is a huge difference between someone who is struggling with sin and someone who embraces it wholeheartedly. Lovingly confronting the homosexual lifestyle serves to restore the person to God via repentance. Christian leaders must be crystal clear on this issue.
Not everyone is an A.W. Tozer, Leonard Ravenhill, or a John the Baptist, but all pastors have a biblical mandate to preach the truth. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (I Timothy 1:15), yet, many avoid words such as sin and repentance. The good news about Christ can only be appreciated with the bad news as the backdrop. When we fail to proclaim God’s Word faithfully, we run the risk of “encouraging sin” and “perverting the words of the living God” (cf. Jeremiah 23).
All of us must return to the prayer closet where brokenness, humility, and full surrender take place. Without prayer, “the church becomes a graveyard, not an embattled army. Praise and prayer are stifled; worship is dead. The preacher and the preaching encourage sin, not holiness … preaching which kills is prayerless preaching. Without prayer, the preacher creates death, and not life” (E.M. Bounds). “Without the heartbeat of prayer, the body of Christ will resemble a corpse. The church is dying on her feet because she is not living on her knees” (Al Whittinghill).
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SOURCE: The Christian Post
Shane Idleman is the founder and lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Lancaster, California, just North of Los Angeles. He just released his 7th book, Desperate for More of God. Shane’s sermons, articles, books, and radio program can all be found at www.wcfav.org.. Follow him on Facebook.
BCNN1 WP 
You’re “spot on” in your observations and convictions!
People in the church need to wake up!