From A Distance

I spent a portion of today immersed in the stacks of a local bookstore.  I was considering the Christian book offerings, seeking options for future studies.  I stepped back from the shelves and in a moment became very aware of the seeming contradictions of the books and their messages.  Most of the books on the shelves had titles with great spiritual sounding themes, but the descriptions of the content were largely the same - 'author X has written a great book to help Christians help themselves with the struggle of Y.'

Help ourselves?

Help ourselves???

Where is God?  Where is Christ?  Where is the Holy Spirit?

Are the latest 'Christian' books simply reconstituted presentations of secular self help books wrapped in the language of the modern church?  Is this what the church's search for meaning and relevance in the 21st century is producing?

This week we have been considering Core Principles 4 and 5.

Core Principle #4 - Don't work against yourself

Avoid becoming so obsessed or fixated on an intent or outcome that you actually work against the desired result.

Core Principle #5 - Look at yourself from a distance

Only human beings possess the capacity to look at themselves out of some perspective or distance, including the uniquely human trait known as your "sense of humor."

In light of these principles, I have been considering my experience in the bookstore.  Has the American church become so fixated on being relevant and attractive to the secular that we are now actually working against ourselves and our unique purpose?  Seen from a distance, would the American church appear indistinguishable from the secular world?

I don't know the answer, but I am confident that God will help us to step back and view ourselves from a distance for a recalibration if we simply ask.  I fear that we may not like the answer.