From the Publisher — Slapped in the Face?

Saturday night before going to bed I was reading on the Herald website that Tony Campolo would be speaking at the Ocean City Tabernacle, and on Sunday morning I said to my wife, “What do you think about going to hear what Campolo has to say? He is going to be speaking at the Tabernacle and I like to go there at least once per season. She did not want to go, so we went to our regular church. I am so glad that we did, because it turned out to be a strange experience.
As we were walking into the church, a person coming out from the earlier service said, “You are going to be moved by what the pastor is saying.” Another said, “He is speaking truth like we never hear anymore.” And another said, “What he said is convicting.” All these people were excited, and smiling.
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When was the last time someone slapped you in the face, you took it quietly, then turned to others around you a little later and said, “I needed that.” Well that is what happened Sunday.
What did he say that they responded so positively to? In a nutshell, he said, you call yourself Christians, and you are. But that is not what Christ asked you to be, He asked you to be His followers, and there is a big difference. You don’t follow Him; instead, you do what YOU want to do. If your boss at work tells you to do something you do it, because he pays you. But if Christ tells you to do something, because you are His follower, you frequently don’t do it.
So you do something if you get money for it, but you don’t do something out of love for God, if He tells you to do it – What does that tell you about yourself?
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Christ is very clear what characteristics mark us as his followers, and the pastor read to us numerous scriptures explaining what those traits are. I dare say everyone in the room fell far short of the mark, including the pastor himself. He said that what our culture has done is to ask us to accept Christ as our Savior, if we want to, and that gets us into heaven, and from there we go live like all of our non-Christian friends.
What has happened to us? There used to be churches everywhere, full of people diligently striving to live life the way Christ laid it out for us. Nowadays, there are ever fewer churches, and with pastors afraid to tell the truth like it really is, out of fear he’ll offend people, and drive them away as church members?
The strange thing is, the congregation Sunday wasn’t mad. As a matter of fact, they were glad to be told, if the shoe fits, wear it. In fact it appears that the failure to preach the truth is the reason so many churches have so few people in them, and those people are gray hairs like me.
Where are the young people? If they are in church at all, they tend to be at the new churches where the unvarnished truth is more generally preached—if you went there to be comfortable, why not stay in bed on Sunday morning?
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After the service, I turned and looked at the lady next to us. She gave me a blank look and then said, “ I am not from this church; I’m just visiting from out of town. I am so moved by this man’s words. I never hear real preaching at my church.”
I have been on this planet 66 years, and I have to tell you there is a strange wind blowing. We have lost our way, but the good part is, both the young and the old tend to know something is wrong. We know in our heart that America is a different nation from all the other nations of the world, and that is what has made us great—not being afraid to be different. We are a good nation full of good, self-reliant, hard-working, God-fearing people – for these reasons we are great. If we as the American people allow ourselves to become like the rest of the people of the world, our nation will become like their nations: mediocre.
“America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” Can it be that these words, credited to Alexis de Tocqueville are haunting us? We know this is happening and it is making us ill. In part we blame our politicians, but they are only a reflection of us.
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A great sage once said, when you lose your way, go back to the “Y” in the road where you made the wrong turn, and get back on the right path. Now is that time.
Art Hall