Standing Alone

Edgar Young Mullins (1860-1928) who became president of the southern Baptist seminary, Louisville KY in 1899, who wrote the book Christianity at the Crossroads, told the story of a young monkey who had escaped from his home in the hardness of winter with ice and snow covering everything.  He went up to a house, looked in the window and saw a bright fire coming from a fireplace, he went around trying every door knob until he finally got into the house, found his way to the fireplace and their froze to death because what appeared to be a fire in the fireplace was a fake log. I know this is true because I have used these fake logs and lights in my fireplaces. They give the appearance of a fire in the fireplace but absolutely no heat.  You use them strictly for appearance when you have central heat in the house.  This fireplace fire you turn on with an electric switch. 

So it is with most twenty-first century churches, from the outside there is a masquerade of fire and heat, but inside one can freeze to death.  One church caught fire in this town and as it was almost burning to the ground a local atheist said, “this is the first time I have felt any heat from that church”. Diabetes is an epidemic in this country, 50% of the population is overweight, we have an epidemic of diabetes in most churches, too much sugar from the pulpit.

 Some years ago in an orange grove in California, Dr. Robert Schuller built what is called the “Crystal Cathedral”, a huge edifice built almost entirely of glass where thousands watch drama during holiday seasons, hear a magnificent trained, paid choir and musicians, where liberalism is proclaimed in all of its compromise.  Dr. Schuller said on one occasion, “there is nothing worse than warning people of their sinful condition”.  One of my employees brothers stayed in California after he left the marines (Pendleton) and worked at the Crystal Cathedral.  He said the entire complex is just, “one large business”.

The Baptist preacher, Dr. Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback church, author of books such as The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, has said that someone could come to his church for a very long time before they would hear the gospel message.  They are much more interested in “drums and drama“, “bells and smells“, than the unvarnished truth of the gospel of Christ and his redemption, the salvation of their souls.  In other words, at the Crystal Cathedral or Saddleback we find a fake fireplace with much light with the appearance of light, but the light of the world is not proclaimed in the simplicity of His salvation.  The truth is the truth whether anyone believes it or not.  Christ told us, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

Pastor Warren and Pastor Schuller give much credence to the bottom line, they want to be loved, to be popular, to attract large crowds and large giving.  No where in the Bible can you find anyone who was popular with everyone.  If these two, like all the others in pulpits across this country and around the world, preach the truth there would not be much clapping or laughing and their membership would be much smaller.  Rough truth is better anytime then a polished lie.  It is better to attract members by truth then by errors.  If a believer in Christ is not conformed to the doctrines of the church then he should cast his lot with a unity organization, or Universalist group, that does not observe baptism, the Lords supper, or any of the truths of discipleship we are told to bear. 

Many times it is a matter of standing alone.  Elijah stood alone against Ahab and his 400 false prophets on Mount Carmel.  Christ stood alone before Pilate even his most faithful disciple, Peter, denied him.  Many of us have known the loneliness of standing alone with our convictions in a family.  Others of us have left churches where we were standing alone with our beliefs, ridiculed by modernist preachers and a lost congregation. 

Returning from a meeting of a southern Baptist convention, I was asked to make a report on the convention. This all white, elitist, modernist southern Baptist congregation was infuriated when this disabled, world traveler, said, “ It amazes me that a denomination is so concerned about people of other skin color across the ocean, when they walk by the doors of the church everyday, live and work all around us and we care nothing at all for their immortal souls”.   A wannabe doctor, head of the local public health department, and the member of the church who usually ran things including the weak pastor, told me that my words were not appreciated nor was my membership in the church.  The majority is usually wrong, we will live to see this from the last national election.  It is far better to make numbers count instead of counting numbers. “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16)

I am a totally committed Christian, 100% disabled, totally blind veteran, a goal water type conservative, I send commentary such as this to disability, political and religious publications.  In my lifetime, I have written thousands of letters to government officials and opinion molders in this country.  You can believe this, if you never believe anything else, those in political power, the bureaucrat who carry out their wishes, the editors and reporters of publications, who should be interested in the comments of this world traveler, one who has experienced disability, do not want to know the truth, they are getting their heat from a fake fireplace. ( Dr. Morris is a totally blind 100% disabled service connected veteran, world traveler, passport stamped in 157 countries)