The Problem Solving Church

The Problem with Problem Solving Christianity

The faith once accurately called Christianity continues to morph into a narcissistic religion that eschews suffering, sacrifice, and self denial. And at the very heart of such a shameful religion is the question for the fallen man to seek an answer to all his earthly problems. He does not desire to follow Christ into a life of consecration and surrender. No, his desire is self enhancement and comfort.

I have counseled hundreds and hundreds of people. And common to almost all of them is their quest to alleviate whatever problem they are experiencing, and in so doing alleviate the discomfort attacking them at that moment. They desire to elicit from me a divine panacea to that problem. And like an answer to a puzzle, they want the cure without sacrifice or a self evaluation of their spiritual lives.

How can I save my marriage? How I can I get out of debt? How can I get a better job? How can I find a mate? We want to get married and now we need a preacher. All these and many other questions are usually at the center of most counseling sessions. Very rarely does the person ask, “How can I deepen my spiritual life?” And yet the latter question is always the pertinent one.

People want words that encourage them and provide a scrap of hope without any substantive change in their hearts and lives. They do not want to hear how they must reverse their spiritual course or how they must repent. They are usually interested in the repentance of others who are causing them distress. They desire me to embrace their side in the matter. They want consolation without contrition. They want encouragement without consecration. They want soothing words without correction. I have always found most counseling sessions very hollow and mostly unproductive, even if their problem can be “solved”.

But such is the state of Christianity. Preaching is now a “how to” session that is like a Home Depot presentation about re-tiling your bathroom. People are not thirsty to hear of Christ and His redemption, they want answers to their own problems. And many decades ago preachers discovered that people want to hear about their own lives, and so many preachers altered their messages to address earthly lives and solutions. That, they found, draws crowds.

But the overarching theme of the New Testament, and the entirety of all Scriptures, centers upon the Godhead, the Person of Jesus Christ, and the redemption provided by that God. But it seems as if that story is now stale and archaic. Today’s messages must be exhilarating and relevant to a well rounded western lifestyle. The cross is now an ancient talisman, but can hardly find a place within the average Sunday morning message. Even the resurrection has become a symbol of turning over a new earthly leaf.

Most people believe that coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ solves most earthly problems. But what has been lost in these modern times is the fact that true discipleship most often causes many earthly problems. And the reason that so many professing believers often benefit from their faith is not due to a divine blessing. It reveals how shallow their commitment to Christ and how deep the commitment to the hedonism all around us. It is the world that slops the hogs not God.

Gone is the sacredness that should accompany a true exhibition of discipleship. Gone is the unmistakable distinctiveness of a follower of Jesus Christ. Gone is the remarkable essence of a life that claims a dedication to Him. Millions of believers, some leaders in the church, live a life that is marked by the same debt, the same entertainment, the same pursuit of earthly success, the same desire for a career, and the same allegiance to earthly systems that mark the average unbeliever. Had this been the case from the beginning there would never have been any martyrs.

But still people clamor for preachers to help their problems. And there is no shortage of books and Cds and preachers to help them solve earthly problems while at the same time these false messengers line their own pockets. The entire religious spectacle is astonishing.

Suppose five men jog out to a baseball field. One wears a hockey uniform, one wears a football outfit, one wears a business suit, one wears scuba gear, and the fifth one wears a judge's robe. They begin to pass around Frisbee. You walk out to the one in a business suit and ask him what they are doing. The man replies that they are playing baseball. But you show him a picture of men playing baseball in the past, and you read to him the rules of baseball. You even show him a baseball, a glove, and a bat.

But the five men gather around you and insist that the game of baseball was meant to evolve over the years. They suggest that what was once practiced is no longer relevant, and that true baseball is now played with different uniforms and with a Frisbee. Regardless of how strongly you protest, the five men continue playing and point to you as a judgmental throwback. They shout out to those in the stands that Babe Ruth was a Neanderthal, and Abner Doubleday is not the only path to authentic baseball.

Of course my sarcastic metaphors are meant to highlight the state of the modern church. They are practicing a faith that has severely deviated from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. And yet the church suggests that we must change with the times and give the people what they want. There are many problems with that kind of problem solving Christianity. Perhaps the most heartbreaking problem is this:

One day people whose earthly problems were addressed and solved by modern preachers will find that their eternal problem was never actually solved. And on that day, what will careers and relationships and prosperity benefit? And even if they have gained the whole world, what good will that do concerning their sin?

The modern church cares for the body but not the soul. And the ultimate liability in that format is eternal damnation. Very, very serious.