We live in a time when many are questioning their faith and a large portion of the church is still experiencing Sunday service on a screen. As Christian influencers, celebrity preachers and worship leaders publicly fall or leave the faith entirely, many in the church are falling in private. Virtual church services are not my greatest concern. Virtual Christianity is.
The word “virtual” describes something that appears to be real but is not. It is something that is so close to the real thing that it seems real itself. Many people in the church are finding the religion they thought was real isn’t holding up under the close scrutiny of these uncertain times. I’ve said for years, “The world has tasted religion, and they’ve spit it back out.” Now, I’m finding many in the church are spitting it out too.
It’s time to tell the truth. Religion has failed you. Religion teaches you what to believe and how to behave but is incapable of changing your nature. People come to church and get an educated conscience, not a new nature. They learn the rules but are not empowered to live them. So many in the church have a relationship with the experience of God without actually knowing Him. If God had a social media account, they would definitely be his friend or follower. He is an influencer for sure. But He is evidently not their King, and there is no real transformation.
People need something real. The Bible was written for the real world. But we must not be afraid to preach the gospel of the kingdom, the real gospel, if we are to see lives truly transformed. This gospel begins in repentance, brings transformation and results in signs, wonders and miracles. When so many are questioning faith and religion, God is calling the church to arise and reveal the real kingdom of God that is “not in word but in power,” and we’ll talk about how to do just that in this episode of From Behind the Veil on the Charisma Podcast Network. {eoa}
H.G. Strickland has planted churches, launched ministries and has raised up leaders across denominational lines for the past 25 years. In fulfilling that call, God has taken him far beyond traditional ministry and church leadership to lead charities, foundations, businesses and even train government leaders on Capitol Hill to operate in their identity and purpose. H.G. currently serves as a founding pastor of Kingdom Life Ministries DC, a church planted a couple of blocks from the White House. Learn more about Envoy at envoynews.org.
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