NO WAY OUT?

The average church is pockmarked by business meetings, Roberts Rules of Order, motions, seconds of motions, arguments, votes by secret ballots, the raising of hands, and shouts of "Aye," an "No." How many times have you sat in church business meetings and heard the inevitable words, "All in favor say, 'Aye.' (Pause) "Those opposed say, 'No.'"?

What follows the votings are hurt feelings, scars, the nursing of grudges, and the marshaling of voting blocs for the next meeting of the members. The business meeting leaves new members aghast, disgusted, and sometimes in tears at what they've seen at their first business meeting of the members, while new Christians are left hurt and wondering at how the people they once respected could act so badly. Some battle-scarred veterans of these disasters finally do the right thing and vow never to attend another business meeting or leave the church. They can't take it any more.

THEY DON'T ACT THIS WAY ELSEWHERE

Why do normally sane people allow this to happen, not once, not twice, but so many times over the years that they've lost count? People who rant, rave, and vent their lava at church business meetings, never do that at a company meeting and the reason is simple: they can't get away with it there; if they tried it, they'd be in the unemployment line faster than they could say, "Fort Ticonderoga."

THEIR REASONS

Answers to the question of why keep on having battling business meetings are varied. Some say, "We've always done it that way," that is, "We don't know any other way, and besides, our parents and grandparents did it that way--they met, made motions, seconded motions, argued, and voted." But is that a good reason?

They may also answer, "Because that's what our church constitution says we're to do." But that's begging the question. (Begging the question fails to prove anything other than what is already assumed. It's therefore unpersuasive.) That answer leads to the question, "Why does the church constitution say that's what we're to do?" Usually, no one asks that question.

Another reason churches resort to voting, thus politicizing the church, is because that's the American way. We Americans settle things by debate, argumentation, and voting which is a euphemism for the rough and tumble, no-holds-barred-world of politics come to call. Churches adopted this method of settling issues because it's like truth and justice; it's the American way that Superman fought for. So we bring this Trojan horse into the church and the damage has gone on for a few hundred years. This amounts to nothing less than the world's influencing the body of Christ. This Americanizes the church. It's our culture. 

LOOK AT JULY 4TH

To get a picture of what's happening, let's go to the discovery of a roving reporter who roamed the beaches in San Diego, asking the question of young adults, "Why do we celebrate the 4th of July?" He got blank stares. The answers ranged from "I don't know" to silence. When he asked, "When was the Declaration of Independence signed," the answers were, "1870-something." He got so many blank stares, that he began to spice up his question: "In addition to Jesse Ventura and John Wilkes Booth, who else could you name as one of our Founding Fathers?" One person answered, "Lincoln," another said, "Jeremiah," others had no answer at all.

He added more spice and asked, "Since on July 4th we celebrate our victory over the Nazis in World War II, what are you going to do on that day?" The most common answer was, "Party." The respondents seemed ignorant of Nazi part. Phrasing the question another way, he asked, "Since on July 4th, we celebrate the North's victory over the South in the Civil War and the freeing of the slaves, how are you going to celebrate that day?" Most popular answer: "Party with friends and family."

A CORRELATION?

Maybe the same thing is happening in both the church business meeting mess and the 4th of July ignorance. The cause of the 4th of July ignorance came to light in a recent study by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni titled “What Will They Learn?” This study found that students actually learn very little when it comes to vital subjects such as economics, literature, and history. The study of 1,098 colleges’ and universities’ graduation requirements found that just 18 percent of them require a basic American history course. (This runs counter to columnist George Will's promise that if he were made King of the World for a day, he would pass a law that all students had to major in history.) What's happening is a deletion of American history courses.

NO WAY OUT

That's happening to cause both problems, the church business meeting mess and the 4th of July ignorance. In the 4th of July matter, history courses have been effectively deleted so as to become almost non-existent. In the case of the church business meeting mess, the average church does not know how to exist without membership, business meetings, and voting. They know of no other way to do it (and if they did, would most likely reject it). They see no way out of the bloodletting of business meetings; for them, there's no alternative; they are under the tyranny of the business meeting.The way out (no membership, no voting, an Acts 15 formatted meeting) has been deleted from their thinking.

THE UNIVERSITIES

Let's expand our thinking, connect the dots, and apply this to another situation. On many college campuses and in those businesses linked to government, one must be aware of microagressions, that is, "brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color.” (Columbia professor Derald Sue)

For example, the University of North Carolina warned the students not refer to the "Christmas vacation" as such because it would constitute a microagression. As the list directed, "The mention of any Christian holiday, stating that celebrating Christmas further centers the Christian faith and minimizes non-Christian spiritual rituals and observations." We're all familiar with the various prohibitions of saying, "Merry Christmas" by businesses and schools. therefore: Christmas? Deleted.

A roving reporter in New York asked passersby during the month of March, "What holiday comes this Sunday?" (Answer, "Easter"). 50% couldn't name it (answers included, "Memorial Day" and "Father's Day") and respondents didn't know why we celebrate Easter (answers ranged from "to celebrate the opening of the womb of a new mother," to "I don't know," to "the Easter bunny bringing eggs Jesus laid," to "the birth of Jesus." One lady identified the story of Jesus' life on earth as being in the Old Testament. Easter? Deleted.

SINISTER?

Maybe what's happening is more sinister than just a blocking of information. Maybe it's a blocking of information with a purpose, the purpose of tyranny, as stated by Allan Bloom in his book, "The Closing of the American Mind:" ". . . freedom requires the presence of alternative thoughts. The most successful tyranny is not the one that uses force to assure uniformity, but the one that removes the awareness of other possibilities."Therefore, if there are no alternatives, there is no way out.

This correlates with Luke 8 where Jesus explains the parable of the Sower and Seed that fell on rocky ground: "The seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved." It also correlates with II Corinthians 4:4: "[Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

Could it be that the satanic conspiracy of the microagression madness is to remove "the awareness of other possibilities" such as any information connected to Christ (Christmas, Easter, the gospel) especially the information that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead and whoever trusts Him alone has eternal life. 

NO WAY OUT?

The church members have business-meeting-blood on their hands because they see no way out of membership and ballots. Those ignorant of the 4th of July operate without any information. Those who have no clue as to the significance of Easter have no alternative information. Deleted, deleted for a purpose.

But there is a way out: you and I and the Bible--lights in a dark, dark place.