Why Doesn't the Church.....?

by Pastor Ed Evans

In the opinion piece headlined "'Liberal' Kirsten Powers rightfully rips Churches" (http://shoebat.com/2013/09/28/liberal-kirsten-powers-speaks-persecuted-christians/) I must call that a shot and a miss.  The wrong target was addressed because the target addressed does not exist as an entity to be held responsible.  If there are individuals the church's critics believe in error, those individuals should be addressed specifically. 

Walid Shoebat I'm familiar with, but I couldn't tell you Kirsten Powers from Martha Stewart, or Ben Barrack from Ben Affleck.  As for Kermit Gosnell, as many media sources as I access, I know very little about that situation as well.  But then, there have been many incidents of bloody evil right here in this nation that our own news media have very nearly ignored, to the public's ignorance.    The old guest preacher was asked what he was going to speak on, he said "sin."  He was asked what he was going to say about it.  He said, "I'm ag'in it."  That's been God's point of view all along.

I can speak only for the church I attend here in Nashville, Tenn., and to my own posted sermons, and in that respect I am unaware "the church" per se is ignoring the persecution and slaughter of Christians.  Incidentally, there is a Facebook page titled "Voice of the Copts", with 2,887 members which continually details persecutions such as mentioned by Barrack and Powers.  Those 2,887 members, like myself, pick up that news and share it on our own sites, asking for prayer and fasting, sending notes to our legislators, doing what we can.

However, since "the church" is a living organism, Biblically consisting of individual worshipers worldwide, there can be no specific answering for those who hear their own voice over that of the Holy Spirit, nor for those who launch out on personal agendas, ignoring the Word of God.  To blame "the church" for ignoring evil is like blaming the medical profession for late appointments.

I would be remiss if I did not point out that Christ did not tell His church to "Go into all the world and take up arms against evil."  Even the notable Shakespeare seemed to be ambivalent about such action, whether it was better to simply accept such trouble and tough it out or take action.  He penned in Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1: "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the sling and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them?" 

Not that the church has stopped followers of Jesus Christ from taking arms against the enemies of God.  History is replete with such instances.

What has stopped Christians and others from "taking arms" is the current political regime in the White House which has placed known Muslims in sensitive political positions, sent FBI agents to places like Tennessee to lecture communities against their efforts to contain the growth and influence of Islam and Sharia Law within their neighborhoods and schools, neutered laws against arming terrorists so they could provide arms to Syrian rebels who have massacred entire villages of Christians.

Very recently a young pastor's wife who is personally known to me was arrested outside the White House grounds for falling on her knees to pray regarding President Obama's actions, as were two Catholic nuns who knelt with her to pray.  The Christian church worldwide, made up of individual worshipers, is well aware of Christians being martyred, but how they deal with that continuing fact may not be within the understanding of those outside of Christ.

When I was a senior enlisted Marine late in my military career, civilians, those outside the Marine Corps, would often take the opportunity to tell me what they thought the Marine Corps should be doing about this issue or that one.  But my orders, the impetus to my actions, did not come from what they thought.  It's been observed that outside the Marine Corps you cannot explain it, while inside, you don't need to.  The same might be said of the Christian church.  Its detractors and those outside of Christ seem quick to tell the followers of Jesus Christ what they should be doing.  But those who have an active relationship with the Living God are listening to the words of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, our Messiah, something not obvious to others.

When I pastored a church, I forever shook my head at the propensity of some people to assume everything within the church was the Pastor's responsibility.  "Pastor, someone spilled cookie crumbs in the foyer," or "Pastor, someone left the water running in the ladies' room," or "Pastor, there's a window open in the back classroom and the rain is coming in."  My answer was always the same, "Well, take care of it."

I appreciate being well-informed, but I don't have to join in every fight I'm invited to.  The Lord God sets my path and equips me for the encounters He purposes for me as a follower of Jesus Christ.  And those who follow Him most likely know why.

As for Kirsten Powers and Ben Barrack, I would suggest if they have a problem with evil in the world, that they do something about it, something more than point the finger at others to do something about it.  The followers of Jesus Christ have made their position about evil very clear.  They, we, are against it, and our marching orders are not set by critics and the news media.  My advice is to pray hard.  Time is short.