I know this is a sensitive subject, which is exactly why I’m addressing it. It seems there is, in the minds of many Christians, a correlation between “marketing” and compromise. The thought is that if you market the church or its message in any way similar to the secular world, you’ve somehow stripped the gospel of its dignity. I would contend that marketing is what the Great Commission is all about, especially when you include personal, one-to-one (word-of-mouth) marketing as the most important marketing of all.

I would certainly argue that it can be tempting for leaders to water down the message of the gospel to make it more palatable for the public - and this is certainly not an option. But can biblically grounded leaders utilize marketing tools to “get the word out” about their ministry and message? Just read this interesting article by Chris Forbes:

http://ministrymarketingcoach.com/blog/2008/08/02/what-about-the-critics-of-church-marketing/

It’s an interesting point about how great the anti-marketing message gets marketed. It’s something to think about. In my opinion, there’s a great advantage to having a logo, website, advertising, sending postcards, doing direct mail, and even television commercials. It engages people in the context of their current cultural setting. But yes, I’d agree that the greatest marketing of all is still a believer relating to a non-believer compassionately to share the good news of Jesus.

I am currently reading Andy Stanley’s book Visioneering and have just completed the chapter about having moral authority in leadership. Stanley gives a couple of examples of how moral authority works in our lives. One example was Mother Teresa’s harsh words about abortion during a National Day of Prayer breakfast in Washington. Though the Clinton’s and Gore’s gave little response, the room erupted into a standing ovation after she spoke. Why would such a small woman have such a huge impact? Moral authority.

Stanley points out the difference between receiving forgiveness and having one’s moral authority restored. We are obligated, as believers, to forgive, but not to trust. Forgiveness is a biblical obligation placed on everyone who has been forgiven, but trust must be earned over a great deal of time and an establishment of an example of integrity.

I’ve personally gone through an experience in which someone close to me had a moral failure. Long ago I came to a place of forgiveness (that is, I released them from any debt toward me), but I cannot trust them because there continues to be a pattern of moral compromise. Often people demand our trust by demanding what they believe to be forgiveness, not realizing that forgiveness can be instant, but trust must be established over time.

One of the greatest examples of the establishment of moral authority in the Bible comes from the life of Zacchaeus. He was saved and forgiven by Jesus but his moral authority with the people around him was nil, due to the fact that he had cheated them out of their financial security for his own benefit. Assume that, having trusted in Christ, he gathered all those whom he had wronged together with a passionate apology. Would they forgive him? Perhaps. Would they trust him? Absolutely not.

So Zacchaeus sets the example we must follow when we’ve failed - he shows the real fruits of repentance. He not only apologizes, he declares, “Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” (Luke 19:8) If you received a check from Zacchaeus for four times the amount he had taken from you, you might be inclined to give him another chance.

The subject of moral authority is dear to my heart. It is one of those frightful doctrines. I can honestly say I’d rather lose everything I have down to the shirt off my back than to sacrifice my moral authority. I want to look my wife, my kids, and my friends in the eye with the ability to say, “All is well with my soul.”

In today’s devotional reading from J. Sidlow Baxter’s book Awake My Heart, there is a particularly moving paragraph that not only puts into perspective what the Christian’s worldview ought to be, but also inspires us to remember the ultimate end of that worldview…

Christ’s people were never meant to live at the world’s sea-level. We are meant to have a mountain view, the long view, the wide view, the really understanding view. We are meant to see the happenings of our time in the light of inspired prophecy, through the eyes of the Holy Spirit, from the high view-point of the divine purpose, and with our gaze on the ultimate victory of Christ.

He then closes out the writing with a sample prayer of commitment for the coming year that I want to make my own:

I will give not less than thirty minutes each day to prayer. I will commend my Savior in earnest conversation to at least one person each week. I will read consecutively each day from both Old and New Testaments. I will allow nothing in my life which might in any way compromise the name of Jesus.

“And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords (of the Philistines), and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life… And he judged Israel twenty years.” -Judges 16:30-31

The old Testament is filled with stories that seem very disconnected with us culturally and religiously. Samson is no exception. His life seems to be a series of moral failures and yet God sovereignly uses him to punish the Philistines (though never totally subdue them). When we read of one of God’s wild men in the Bible, we may be tempted to convince ourselves that we can live inconsistently and still be used of God. But listen to C. I. Scofield’s observation about Samson’s life…

The character and work of Samson are alike enigmatical. Announced by an
angel he was a Nazarite who constantly defiled his Nazarite separation through
fleshly appetites. Called of God to judge Israel, and endued wonderfully with
the Spirit, he wrought no abiding work for Israel and perished in captivity to
his enemies the Philistines. What was real in the man was his mighty faith in
Jehovah in a time of doubt and apostasy, and this faith God honored.

Because Samson had a mighty faith in God, he was used to temporarily punish the Philistines. But because Samson gave himself to the power of the flesh so often, he was never used to actually lead Israel into national revival or to defeat the Philistines in a final sense. The only tribute to his life was a pile of bodies, including his own. He broke his parents’ heart, disrespected his wives, misrepresented his nation, and devalued his Nazarite calling.

Let us never think that there is any thing good to come of our flesh. Let us instead give our lives to the struggle for consistency. The calling of a Nazarite was to a life separate from the world, the flesh, and the pleasures thereof. It was a picture of the high and holy calling of every believer in Christ. We are not called to compromise, but to consecration. May God use us to subdue the enemy and to lead our nation in revival through a holy and separated life.

I know in advance that what I write today will not be popular, but the trumpet must be sounded to a renewed stance of separation from error. A few years ago I attended a Promise Keepers conference for the first time. My Baptist brethren had debated whether or not PK was over the edge on their ecumenical philosophy so I reluctantly went, expecting an ear full of talk about breaking down denominational walls. My first year at PK went surprisingly well and the messages seemed well balanced. Over the next year, I learned more about the doctrinal identity of the speakers and decided to give it another try. My second experience at a PK conference would be my last.

The first three messages called men to be godly leaders - a message I wholeheartedly endorse. The last three messages were calls to break down the doctrinal barriers that divide us. The conference closed with an invitation to all Pastors present to come to the altar, hug each other, and apologize for wanting “our denomination” to be the one to bring revival in America. How pompous, how arrogant of us to desire that a truth-teaching body of believers usher in a new wave of the Holy Spirit’s empowerment.

This call to abandon doctrinal rigidness seems to be the spirit of Christianity in our age. Consider this excerpt from a recent daily devotional by Michael Craven…

Don’t misunderstand me, I think doctrine is profoundly important but I pray that
I do not violate the unity of the Body by being more committed to my own
doctrinal convictions than I am to the fellowship of believers and the Lordship
of Jesus Christ. Again, such a position assumes that “my” doctrinal convictions
are true absolutely. (Crosswalk.com’s “Live It” devotional, June 7, 2006)

Notice the common assumption that “the body of Christ” is this foggy, universal collection of all believers of all denominations and all doctrinal persuasions. Scripture speaks of a church that may be organized with ordinances and officers, not an invisible and universal assortment of all who call themselves Christians.

Also notice the equating of “the fellowship of believers” and “the Lordship of Christ” as being together more imporant than “my own doctrinal convictions.” Craven’s order is definitely contrary to Scripture. It is the Lordship of Jesus Christ that determines our doctrinal convictions, which in turn determines the boundaries of our fellowship with other believers.

Finally, notice Craven’s unwillingness to say that his own doctrinal convictions are true absolutely. Allow me to think critically here and assert that Christianity today is guilty of a doctrinal relativism akin to that of the postmodern culture’s philosophy concerning truth. I assume that my specific doctrinal convictions are true absolutely, such as the eternal security of the believer, the nature of the church as a local body, etc. If I felt they were not true absolutely, I would abandon them.

Mr. Craven, I’m sure, is a godly individual and I would never question his heart for Jesus. But I’m concerned with the proliferation of ecumenicalism, theological and doctrinal relativism, and the emphasis on supposed “unity” and “harmony” at the expense of the truth.

In an age of compromise and resulting apostasy, Jude declared that believers should “earnestly content for the faith which was once delievered unto the saints.” The problem with modern ecumenical Christianity is that we’ve lost our fight. The loose and liberal world in which we live doesn’t like our rigid standards, so we’ve accomodated and compromised in the name of our evangelistic witness. But if we aren’t careful, we’ll lose our saltiness, they very key to permeating the world with the gospel.

I believe in getting along, striving for unity, and strengthening the body of Christ (which is a local institution). But I believe that God’s truth demands vindication in an age of error and I’ll not apologize for standing for my own doctrinal convictions. Let’s recover the early church’s zeal for knowledge and truth, and defend our multi-faceted gospel at all costs.

”And (God) said unto (Lot), See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.” –Genesis 19:21

Lot is what we might call a lukewarm believer. Though Peter calls him “righteous” (2 Pet. 2:7-8) he obviously had made some serious compromises of his faith. He had spent many years living in Sodom and yet had won no one to Christ. His sons-in-law laughed at his message of judgment and his wife looked back toward the city of sin and was turned into a salt statue. Nevertheless, Lot was an intercessor.

When God’s anger was aroused against the cities of the plain, Lot prayed for a small town called Zoar. We know that Zoar wasn’t a nice neighborhood not only because of God’s intention to destroy it but because Lot fled the city later on for fear of his life. But Lot prayed that God would spare this city and God responded.

We live in times of great moral testing and wickedness. We live in a nation that often values the wrong things and excuses sin, even laughing at that which is vile and rebellious. But God desires to show mercy to America and He’s looking for prayer warriors who will stand in the gap for the land and cry out for God to spare the nation so that others might hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Why not pray for your nation, for your city, your neighborhood and even your household today?