The Church's Deep State Dies Hard, Too
A long road ahead
Let’s take a look at where things stand. We have…
A bleak outlook for the future if something isn’t done soon.
An entrenched, managerial establishment that works to silence any attempts to be realistic about the need for a change in strategy.
A commentary class that rehashes the same safe, familiar talking points to prevent discussion of more challenging, practical current concerns.
A burgeoning conference circuit that spends millions to throw red meat out to the base, but leaves with little to show for it.
A leftward element that considers the right’s every move to be simple-minded and bigoted—blissfully unaware that the left themselves are drifting toward oblivion due to their inability to gatekeep their more extreme agitators.
The realization that this is all going to take a lot longer and be much more difficult than we might have thought at first.
No, I’m not talking about Washington D.C. and “the swamp.”
I’m talking about the Christian world.
There’s a lot of overlap in the two worlds though, and that’s not a coincidence. Everything that has been built up in living memory has come at the expense of future generations, and the consequences are coming home to roost.
What’s worse, nobody’s on the hook to fix it. The prevailing managerial leadership style of our day means authority has been separated from responsibility, and with nobody responsible for youth falling away, churches closing, etc., it’s hard to fix anything.
As my colleague at Focus Press, Dr. Brad Harrub, pointed out a few months ago, the churches of Christ absolutely have our own “deep state” that exerts control over what topics and beliefs are off-limits and who’s approved to speak. We’re not the only ones, either. Just look at the fights the SBC and LCMS have gone through in recent years.
There is positive energy to move things in a good direction, but it is often stonewalled by those who benefit from the status quo. Change is so much harder than convincing someone of a good idea or two.
So, what do we do?
Just as with D.C., we average folk can’t change much. What we can do is improve things locally. Invest in your local congregation. Be hospitable. Find people to serve. Pray for the people in your vicinity. If you’re a leader, lead however you can. As I’ve repeatedly said, restocking elderships with a generation of faithful, trustworthy men is our clearest path forward.
And, let God handle the bigger picture. I would like to think we can repair things without bouncing off of rock bottom first, but human history says that is not likely the case. I am not trying to limit God—He can change things overnight, and we should pray He would.
But as far as it depends on man, we are slow to change. Doctrinal purity spirals and theologically minimalist gatekeeping will continue to rule the day, until they don’t. All we can do in the meantime is be faithful where we are, and pray for God to continue to provide as we await our exit from this wilderness.
For more on this topic, check out my chat with Marco Arroyo
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