The Global Conversation

A well-written article with many valid insights to ponder and pray. Ultimately religion is not about definations, beliefs, words and dogmas but the Living Reality to which they point and should help us connect.

While I agree with Galli that we must not lose the 'vertical' component of our faith, I was quite disappointed in his dismissive treatment of the global church in regards to how we (read: white American evangelicals) might learn this from each other. I have read and reviewed Soong-Chan Rah's book "The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the church from white cultural captivity" (not listed in the book resources above), and feel Galli's comments demonstrate Rah's premise perfectly: that the western white church (read: we) has long dismissed the value of the perspectives of the global church by asserting that 'we' have the corner on truth. In this sense, it seems that Galli's assumption is that our vertical and horizontal relationships exist in isolation from each other, and that we do not connect more to God when we connect more to each other.

"A renewal in faith and obedience", Mark pointed out, is what's needed in God's people, a proper combination of seeking the vertical and horizontal, and let Jesus give us the proper perspective for all the other items like social justice, proper regard for ethnicity, pursuit of proclamation of the Gospel (evangelism) will all fall into place. All the items in this article will fall into proper place when the Evangelical churches concentrate on "getting back to basics" in their personal lives, "faith and obedience". And James said our faith is not faith at all without works, one proves the other, faith and obedience, but an obedience that is God inspired, God-fueled, via renewal of the vertical. The very terms of the new covenant, both in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 8:6-13 shows us it is a work of the vertical, God actively writing his laws in our hearts and minds. Go vertical, then horizontal will fall in place. The diverse evangelical movements will unite if they do this first.

Thanks Mark We needed that. Unless I missed something, though, I am surprised that among the other dangers that face us today, no mention was made of the super sexualized nature of our culture and its invasion into the church. I was reminded of this on reading a piece by A.W. Tozer in his book "Born After Midnight" written some fifty years ago, "The Erotic vs. the Spiritual". I quote the first paragraph, "The period in which we now live may well go down in history as the Erotic Age. Sex love has been exalted into a cult. Eros has more worshipers today any other god. For millions the erotic has completely displaced the spiritual." Tozer was called a "20th century prophet. What would he say today? I presume though that you will have further observations regarding the cure for our spiritual deadness, not the least of which is the death to self as stated in Gal. 2:20. I recommend the classic book "Born Crucified" by L.E. Maxwell founder of Prairie Bible College back in the 40's.

Thank you for this reminder that it is the gospel that has the power to transform.

wonderful essay and worth all of its 9 pages. The point worth taking away and meditating on is that "our" religion (yes mine too) is weightless. It is insubstantial. And has been even when a senior churchman. I was on committees and a teacher but when Jesus started his vertical relationship with me he said that for all my status I was still in spiritual kindergarten. It takes years of clinging to the cross like a child to graduate.

Thank you for your insightful article. I love your correct emphasis on the vertical, not just the horizontal. I agree with Doug that our churches of today need great expositional preaching. Where that is lacking is where churches go wrong. Too many preachers today think that by reading a verse, we automatically understand what the writer meant to say. And by reading another (related) verse, that the hearers automatically understand what the second author meant to say and how it automatically illuminates the first passage. I would challenge preachers to take one (short) passage of Scripture and help their congregation to understand what the original author meant to say to the original readers and to translate that meaning to their audience today, without using any so-called parallel texts. Struggle to really understand that passage of Scripture and share your struggles with your congregation.

Once again you have put your finger on so many things and challenged us (me) in so many needed ways. But the most powerful thing is that you point us to Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Thank you so much, Mark Galli! I sorely needed this today!

1) Stress good expositional preaching where every text must be dealt with. 2) Stress what it means to live in covenant relationship with God under the NEW Covenant. 3) Stress Lord's Prayer as prioritizing our Christian experience. The first three requests are about God's priorities; not ours. 4) Read very few Christian books. Be very very selective. Most (95%) aren't worth the money and only confuse people more than help. I take Ecclesiastes very serious on this point.

In the end, what matters is not what we want, but what God wants. If a person "joins" a church because it pleases him, but it is not what pleases God, he is still lost, and is just wasting time. Jesus said, "And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say (Luke 6:46)?" Therefore, if we are altering the Scriptures and what They say in order to attract people, we are still condemning them to eternal torment, and they will not be in Heaven.