Letters to Emerging Christians

Here’s a new letter that crossed our desk. The young person has a beef with the Church, or should I say he fears what God thinks of the American Church. I’ll open this up for discussion, and give my thoughts later today.

Scot,
I’ve been struggling with some similarities that I have seen with several Hebrew Scripture passages and our current church culture. My struggle is that I read Isaiah 58 or Amos 5:21-24 (among others) and I see a people that is obsessed with worship, traditions, going through the motions. I then see God’s displeasure with outward displays of worship and His urgent desire for us to seek justice. What I cannot shake is this feeling that God views many of our American churches today in this way. With the obsession with musical worship, programs, churches run as businesses and so on, I get this sense that we are in danger of looking like the ancient, unfaithful Israelites (with the exception that we are not being threatened with imminent doom).
There is a part of me that wants to push this aside because when Jesus came everything changed but then I can’t ignore the first three chapters of Revelation as well. What are your thoughts on this? Is it possible that God does view us in the same way that He views the ancient, unfaithful Israelites?
If this is something you would like to answer on your blog then I give you permission. If not, then if you have any insights at all, that would be incredible.
Thanks.
Jon