Who's changing?

Other sociologists prefer to speak of “churches of choice” versus “churches of place.” Secularization will often turn a church of choice into a church of place as it adjusts itself to the expectations and agendas of the general culture. Troeltsch assumed that secularization was inevitable and unstoppable. Sect-type churches in his schema were doomed to marginality in a world in which the only way a church could survive without losing their minds or their members was by serving the social agenda of the society.” Global Awakening, page 109

<idle musing>
Yikes! The church is called to be the conscience of society; the salt that leavens the whole loaf. But, far too often Troeltsch is correct: the church changes and not society. I ran across a statement the other day that said, “Far more Christians have been changed by Nashville than have changed Nashville.”

Unfortunately, you could substitute just about any city or country for Nashville. The siren call of the world lures the christian to his/her spiritual death; the only way to resist it is to live already dead—dead to self and alive to Jesus Christ, as the scripture says. If you are already dead (and the scripture tells us we are), then the world and its riches have no appeal to you. But, you have to realize and believe that you are already dead! Faith, again, is the core issue.
</idle musing>