As we begin the series “Church of God at the Crossroads” we come with the question posed by Dr. Stafford in his book, “what kind of church is pleasing to God?”
It’s a good question, but not an easy one to answer. Many church groups over the years have given answers to this question. The answers vary greatly, so who is right? Perhaps it’s not any one thing, but a combination of things that make a church that is pleasing to God.
The first idea we are going to discuss here is that a church that is pleasing to God is a gospel church. The word “gospel” means “good news” or “glad tidings.” The good news in this context is that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) has come and that humanity has been given the opportunity to be redeemed. With this in mind, what then is a gospel church? It is a church that proclaims, sings, teaches and repeats this news that Jesus Christ has come and that every person has the chance to take part in the salvation he brings. If we are not proclaiming this message then we have missed the point; and if we replace the proclamation of this good news with other agendas, no matter how worthy, we have ceased to be a gospel church.
This idea of being a gospel church is not unique to the Church of God, nor should it be. All Christians who are truly followers of the Christ and recognize the amazing thing that has happened when Christ came to bring salvation to all people will be proclaiming this gospel message. When we have good news, we can’t help but want to share it!
However, we are all aware of church groups who have lost this as their central message. We have all seen the havoc that churches can wreak by replacing this predominate message with messages that are political or situational or even Biblical but secondary. These groups are divided because they have not gathered around the gospel.
There are certainly many valuable discussions to be had by the church in this world, but when those discussions supplant the good news of salvation, we lose people. We cannot get caught up in placing at the center anything besides the gospel. When people come to a church (any church, any denomination) whether they realize it or not, what they are looking for is this good news. Humanity’s most basic need is salvation from sin and that is what we have to offer them! When people are searching for meaning, for comfort, for healing, for peace, for acceptance…all of these can be answered with the good news.
The knowledge of this keeps me centered as a pastor. People come with so many questions, questions I am unable to answer, but what I can do is point them to Jesus. It’s ultimately not our job to give people answers, it’s not our job to fix people or their problems. It is our job to tell them the good news – that Jesus is the answer. It is our job to point them in that direction and help them to meet their Savior.
The church at large would do well to remember that this good news is our central message. The gospel is the key to being a part of the mission God has for us in the world; not just for the Church of God but for the Kingdom of God. To put it plainly, a church is simply not a church unless it is speaking the message of good news that Jesus Christ came to save humanity. The church that speaks this gospel message is a church that is pleasing to God.