One of the fantastic parts of my childhood was growing up in church. My family was very active in our church; we were there Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening every week. I had to be extremely sick to miss church, or the weather had to be so bad that church services were canceled. I loved attending church because most of my closest friends also attended there. We would sit together during church services and run the halls after services. We usually tried to behave during church services, but there were those times when our behavior got out of hand. That is when I would get “The Stare” from my mother, sitting behind the pulpit with the rest of the church choir. That look meant I needed to curb my behavior quickly if I ever wanted to survive another day. I had a reverential fear and awe of my parents, and I didn’t want to do anything to “incur their wrath.” Now, when I say fear, I don’t mean that I was literally afraid of my parents. I am talking about knowing my parents’ character, their unwavering love for me, and the rules they had set for me; I loved and respected them enough to obey.
As I mulled over in my mind memories of the past, I wondered if we could say the same regarding our view of God? Do we have a reverential fear and awe of Him? In 2010, Jamie and I closed the doors of our church plant, Hole in the Roof Ministry Center. We were exhausted, burned out, and financially strapped. Personally, I was so wounded by the deception I had experienced from another pastor I chose to stay clear of attending any church. I just couldn’t risk being hurt like that again. In 2013, when we started our sports ministry, Gateway City Aquatic Club, we both found ourselves at swim meets most Sunday mornings. Despite not attending church services, God met us where we were. He showed us His character and unwavering love, and we continued to read our Bibles and listen to Bible teaching online. In 2021, after the death of my father, Jamie and I felt that oh-so-gentle tug that we needed to find a church home. If I was honest, we immediately experienced some “culture shock” at how things had changed in church.
I sat in church services Sunday after Sunday and observed an uber-casual attitude permeating the atmosphere. There was a coffee bar in the church lobby, and the lines were huge as people grabbed their cups of caffeine before heading into the sanctuary. Many people were dressed super-casually in t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops, etc. During the pastor’s sermon, individuals got up frequently and repeatedly all the time. I’m sure some left to use the bathroom, and others left to refill their coffee cups. This casual coming-and-going behavior blew my mind. My parents drilled into my little brain that I needed to ensure I used the bathroom before the service started because I wasn’t allowed to get up at all during the church service. The purpose behind this was to show respect for the teaching of God’s Word. Now, before you start thinking that I’m just some old, fussy elderly person who says, “Well, back in my day. . .”, that is not what I am saying. I don’t have a problem with people having coffee at church, and I totally understand that sometimes you just have to use the bathroom. What I am talking about is the attitude. Have we become too casual, making the church more palatable?
Then, we have the current trend of deconstruction. I don’t blame you if you are unfamiliar with the term as it relates to Christianity. I didn’t know what it was the first time I heard the term. Wikipedia gives the definition of faith deconstruction as when people who identify as Christians re-examine and rethink their beliefs, jettison their faith, and sometimes no longer call themselves believers. The first time I heard the term was in the Fall of 2021. During our time coaching the swim team, some of the kids introduced me to the YouTube channel Good Mythical Morning with Rhett and Link. It was a channel where these two guys played silly games, ate tons of weird foods, and did all kinds of odd stuff. Much to Jamie’s dismay, it was regular viewing in our home. After watching the channel for a while, I told Jamie that the two guys gave off a youth pastor vibe. I researched Google and discovered they started with the missions group YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and then transitioned to YouTube “stars.” During one of their videos in 2021, they mentioned that they had a video podcast where they would tell the story about how they went from missionaries to YouTube stars. Believe me, I was very interested. Part one of their story was about their time with YWAM, which was very interesting. If I was honest, I found their experience with YWAM spiritually lacking. They seemed more interested in using the missions group to “get discovered,” “be famous,” and “draw a crowd.” The second video, Part Two, was where the wheels came off the bus. The entire video was Rhett telling his story of the deconstruction of his faith and how he was no longer a Christian. Part three was Link telling how Rhett had helped him do the same. They had both convinced their wives and children to stop believing in Christianity. I was shocked. I had never heard of “deconstruction,” so I began to look into it. It turns out that many people who were thought of as solid Christian artists, pastors, and authors had “deconstructed.” Now, they are telling their stories and helping others deconstruct their faith.
Besides losing my father, learning about the deconstruction movement was what motivated Jamie and I to get back into church. I felt like Rick VanWinkle waking up from his nap to find a significantly changed world. I’ve watched many YouTube sermons where pastors stand before their congregations and try to persuade them that the Bible should not be taken literally. They claim that the Bible is not the inerrant Word of God and there is no absolute truth. They proclaim that sexuality and gender are fluid. In addition, they state that since Jesus was “just a good teacher,” there are many ways to find god within yourself. Sadly, these are all lies told by people who have no fear or awe of the Lord God
I have been reading the Book of Judges in the Bible for the past week. There is a common phrase found throughout the entire book. “Everyone did right in his own eyes.” You find it in Judges 14, where Samson tells his parents that he wants them to get him a Philistine woman to be his wife because “she is right in my eyes.” Judges 17:6 says:
“In those days, there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
The book ends in chapter 21:25, repeating the exact same verse. As I sat and read these Scriptures, I knew we were living in the same mindset today. “There is no king in Israel” because the church has backed off standing up for the inerrant, true, holy Word of God. Conviction is rarely spoken about because we don’t want to offend or be canceled. Most sermons you hear from certain well-known preachers tell you how good of a person you are, that God wants you to be happy with yourself, and that you can do anything you set your mind to do. I am not saying that every sermon needs to be filled with guilt and condemnation, but freedom from sin through the shed blood of Jesus Christ is the basic foundation of Christianity. Without conviction, there is no repentance. Without repentance, there is no salvation. Without salvation, there is no eternity with the Lord God.
Then there is “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” We live in a society of self. Social media is about promoting the perfect image of yourself. Be your best self. We are told to “Live Your Truth” since there is no absolute truth; personal, individual truth is the most important. All of this screams that the Fear of God is no longer part of our lives. We need to rediscover our reverential fear and awe of God. J.I. Packer says this about the fear of God:
“We must learn to reverence God. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Not till we become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God’s holiness and sovereignty, acknowledging our own littleness, distrusting our own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom become ours.”
Again, I am not talking about being afraid of God as you would be afraid of an abusive parent. I am talking about reverence and awe. I’m talking about the same “fear” I had of my parents growing up. I know God’s character because I have studied it and read about it all my life. I know about God’s unwavering love for me because I have seen and experienced it throughout my life. I love, honor, and respect God, so I do my best to follow Him. Of course, I fail sometimes, but that is what forgiveness is for. Take the time to read about God. Take a moment and read Job chapters 38 through 41. It is God’s “answer” to Job’s questions about why so many things have gone wrong. God doesn’t answer his exact question; He answers Job by asking him if he knows how God keeps the world moving through space. Does Job know how God separates the darkness from the light? Does Job know the depths of the ocean as well as the vastness of outer space at the same time? It is an awe-inspiring set of chapters that points out how high and mighty God actually is. Yet, the same God who makes sure the Earth stays on its axis while spinning around the sun knows my name.
“And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”
- Exodus 33:17 ESV
“But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
- Isaiah 43:1 ESV
Take a moment to let that sink in. How can you not feel the reverential fear and awe of God? Those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ need not “do what is right in our own eyes” but follow the teachings outlined in God’s Holy Word. Only then can we reach a world that desperately needs to know the true risen Christ.
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
- Romans 12:2 (The Message)
