Anything that replaces a love of God is idolatry.
I recently wrote an article for Influence Magazine on patriotism and the church.
As we celebrated Independence Day in the United States over the summer, I saw a lot of churches discussing America, God, and the Church, and how they fit together in the context of worship services. I want to challenge us towards a greater understanding of God’s Kingdom in times of national celebration.
According to a LifeWay Research study, almost 90% of Protestant churches did something in their worship services to celebrate July 4th.
There is a statistic that brings an interesting fact to consider how and why the church is involved to such a large degree. Here it is:
53% of Protestant pastors say “our congregation sometimes seems to love America more than God.”
Now, when I point out the dangers of mixing patriotism and worship, some people are just deeply offended. Well, I’m deeply offended too—by this stat.
It is the last statistic that should be sounding alarm bells. That is what is compelling me to write. Anything that replaces a love of God is idolatry, and this needs to be addressed. It is our job as pastors to point people to Jesus and highlight idolatry in our lives, in our churches, and in our culture.
I go on to explain why this statistic shouldn’t actually surprise us:
As recently as 60 years ago, the church was the community center, the pastor was the representative of the community, and the church building was the largest public gathering hall in town…And [these things] made it instrumental in the forming of the American culture we understand today…America, God, and the church coalesced together in a symbiotic relationship.America is perceived to be a Christian nation less because of the ...
from
http://feeds.christianitytoday.com/~r/christianitytoday/ctmag/~3/jhMVkxDXHWo/patriotism-and-church-is-it-too-much-to-ask-churches-to-be.html
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