CHAPTER THIRTEEN
FALSE HOPE
The Problem with Politics and Bandwagons
I used to lead a Bible study for a group I called up-and-outers. It consisted of baby Christians and some who had not yet taken the plunge. Everyone appeared to be highly successful, yet they had all climbed a ladder that was leaning on the wrong wall.
They knew it.
That’s why they came.
By the end of our time together, they’d all come to know Jesus. It was a rewarding experience to help them scamper down the wrong ladder and start up the only one that could offer the spiritual and life fulfillment they were looking for.
In some ways, that Bible study group reminds me of many Christians I know. But instead of climbing a success ladder leaning on the wrong wall, they climb aboard bandwagons heading in the wrong direction.
Two of these bandwagons are particularly enticing. They each promise to halt the spread of evil and to ignite widespread revival if enough people jump aboard. One is labeled politics. It promises to halt the spread of evil and ignite spiritual revival through legislation. The other is what I call ministry on steroids. It promises to change the world by mobilizing everyone in support of the latest high-visibility, big-budget program or parachurch vision and ministry.
Unfortunately, both promise more than they can deliver. Those who promote them mean well. Those who scamper aboard want to make a difference. But in the long run, politics and big-budget ideas can’t produce revival. And those who put their trust in them are destined to be disillusioned.
No Substitutes Please
Satan wants to destroy our hope. He knows that when we have Daniel-like confidence and courage, we won’t be afraid to storm the gates of hell. So he’ll do whatever it takes to kill them off.
But if that doesn’t work, he has a plan B. He’ll try to get us to place our hope and confidence in anything or anyone other than Jesus.
He convinced the Israelites to trust in horses and chariots, circumcision, religious rituals, and a physical lineage they could trace back to Abraham. He convinced the Pharisees and religious leaders of Jesus’s day to place their hope in rigid spiritual disciplines and a bunch of extra-credit rules they created. And he convinced the first-century church in Ephesus to place their hope and confidence in good deeds, solid doctrine, and determination. He had them convinced that these were enough to compensate for their lack of love.1
He’s still at it. Today, he’s convinced many of us to replace our passionate hope in Jesus with a passionate hope in politics or the latest ministry on steroids. It’s taken our eyes off Jesus and put our hope in that which can’t deliver.
Let me show you what I mean.
Trusting in Politics
There was a time not long ago when Christian leaders could swing an election. As a result, many pastors and leaders jumped on the political bandwagon. They saw it as the best way to shape society and save America. In some circles, an invitation to the mayor’s office, the governor’s mansion, or the White House became the ultimate sign of spiritual significance and impact.
The election cycle dictated preaching schedules. And those who failed to line up were widely criticized as being fearful or out of touch with the sins that ailed America.
Those who stayed focused on local church ministry and discipling were dubbed as old-fashioned and ineffective—fiddling while Rome burned. The slow and arduous task of introducing nonbelievers to Jesus and then growing them to maturity seemed antiquated when an entire city, state, or nation could be influenced by elections and legislation.
Indeed, it seemed to work for a while. Elections were won and laws were passed. George Gallup Jr. dubbed 1976 as the Year of the Evangelical. Time magazine dutifully reported it as so.2 Christian leaders such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson, and others graced the covers of national magazines.
Yet despite all of these impressive political victories, the moral fiber of our country continued to deteriorate. Eventually, the electoral tide changed as it always does. And when it did, those who trusted in candidates, court appointments, and legislation to stem the tide of evil and ignite revival were left crushed and disillusioned.
Back to the Basics
Today, few of us see politics and legislation as the pathway to national revival. Instead, the political arena has become a mostly defensive battleground where we desperately seek to stem the tide of a growing legislative and judicial hostility toward biblical values.
We’re no longer trying to impose our will on non-Christians. We’re trying to keep non-Christians from imposing their will on us—and our churches.
If you haven’t noticed, the culture wars are over.
We lost.
And while that fact might be a legitimate cause for disappointment, it’s not a cause for despair. If our hope is firmly rooted in Jesus, our salvation, and his certain return, we have far more to rejoice in than to be anguished about.
Jesus’s promise to build his church is still in play.
So is his promise that the gates of hell can’t hold us back.
But we’ll have to change our game plan. We’ll have to go back to the basics. The methods of the flesh and the methods of this world will have to be set aside, exchanged for the methods and weapons of the Spirit: prayer, obedient living, loving our enemies, and faithfully proclaiming the gospel.
These are the weapons that Daniel used. He brought great fame and glory to the Lord despite living his entire life under godless leadership, faced with a constant stream of military, political, and legislative setbacks. So did the early church in Acts. So can we.
Now having said all this, I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not saying politics are unimportant. And I am not saying Christians should stay out of politics. We live in a democracy. We have the right to influence the public debate. To neglect that right would be foolhardy.
I’m simply stating that it’s a tragic miscalculation to place our hope in political solutions. At the end of the day, no matter how many elections we might win or how many laws we might pass, political power is fleeting. The tide always changes.
The Problem with Ministry on Steroids
Politics is not the only bandwagon that fails to deliver. So does ministry on steroids: the big-budget, high-visibility programs and ministries that suck massive amounts of energy, resources, and money from the one thing God has ordained as his primary vehicle of evangelism and discipleship (more about that later).
Authentic movements of God tend to be organic. They’re birthed by the Spirit and fueled by the Spirit. They’re not dependent upon slick marketing campaigns, fancy flow charts, and fund-raising dinners.
That’s not to say God can’t use these things. He once spoke through a donkey. He collapsed the walls of a city with trumpet blasts. He fed five thousand from a lunchbox. He can do whatever he wants. But so far, grandiose plans and massive recruitment efforts have not been his method of choice when it comes to revival.
Authentic movements of God also tend to be unique. Even a casual study of Scripture shows that God seldom used the same method twice. Whether it was the great miracles and battles in the Old Testament, the healings of Jesus’s day, or the miraculous expansion of the early church, there aren’t many molds that he used a second time.
That’s why a cottage industry of scholars who study past revivals in the hope of discovering and duplicating the recipe God used in the past strikes me as strange. The same goes for those who map out ambitious plans designed to mobilize the entire Christian community in the pursuit of a particular program or ministry.
That’s not to say there is nothing to learn from studying how God worked in the past or that elaborate planning and prayer is a waste of time. It’s simply to say that God seldom uses our game plan or follows our timetable.
I’ve learned not to put my trust in any ministry on steroids, no matter how many folks jump on the bandwagon. I’ve found that the results never match the hype. At the end of the day, the success or failure of God’s kingdom doesn’t depend upon our human efforts. All we can do is prepare the horse for battle. The results rest with the Lord.3
Case in Point: The Passion of the Christ
But there is an even bigger problem than the disillusionment that our modern-day ministries on steroids tend to produce. It’s the massive amounts of time, energy, focus, and money they suck away from the local church.
As a case in point, consider the excitement that surrounded the release of The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson’s film depicting the final hours of Jesus’s life. Many Christians were convinced it would ignite a spiritual tsunami. The organizers promised it would be a watershed event, shaking America out of its spiritual stupor.
Churches all across the country were recruited to get as many people as possible into the theaters to see it. Like many churches, we bought some tickets. We filled a theater. We watched a movie. And that was pretty much it.
It was hardly a watershed event. There was no discernible long-term impact. As far as I could tell, it did little to advance the kingdom. But it did do a lot to advance Mel Gibson’s net worth.
That doesn’t mean The Passion of the Christ was a bad thing. Indeed, some people came to Christ. Some made life-altering recommitments. But when all was said and done, it was just another ministry blip on the radar screen. Here today. Gone tomorrow.4
And therein lies one of the biggest problems with our modern-day big-budget, high-visibility programs and ministries. They not only put our hope in something that can’t deliver, but they also unintentionally sabotage God’s primary ministry vehicle for evangelism and discipleship, the local church.
God’s Plan A
Let’s be honest. Most high-visibility ministries and programs operate independent of the local church. They may talk about their desire to be an extension of the local church. But in reality, they pretty much treat it as fertile ground for recruiting and fund-raising, not much else.
Admittedly, the local church is anything but sexy. It has a lot of problems. It often puts cherished traditions above its God-given mission. It’s easily sidetracked. And it’s done a lot of stuff that gives God a bad name.
But despite all that, the church in all of its local manifestations is the one thing Jesus said he would build and sustain. It’s the pillar and foundation of truth, Satan’s kryptonite, and God’s plan A for making disciples.5
The fact is, anything that sabotages the local church sabotages the work of God, even if it’s unintentional.
When it comes to raising a generation of Daniels (men and women with Daniel-like hope and courage), the only thing that will work in the long run is the same thing that has worked for the last two millennia: local churches.
Our seminaries, denominations, publishing houses, and media outlets are not up to the task. Neither are our parachurch ministries and the grandiose programs that flow out of them. But the church is different. Despite its flaws, whenever a group of Christians gathers together for prayer, worship, teaching, and accountability, Jesus promises to show up.6 And when Jesus shows up, hope and courage are never far behind.
1 Revelation 2:1–7
2 “Religion: Counting Souls,” Time, October 4, 1976, http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,918414,00.html.
3 Proverbs 21:31
4 James 4:14; Ecclesiastes 1:11
5 1 Timothy 3:15. The Greek word for church literally means “assembly.” It’s a reference to the people gathered, not the building they gather in.
6 Matthew 18:20