Our fathers and grandfathers have presided over the demise and collapse of Christianity in the Western world. It has tumbled to the ground. Congregations of old gray busy bodies, biddies, and bitter old rebukers close their doors weekly as the congregations are folded off into caskets and die. The marvelous and majestic cross of Jesus Christ fades in the twilight of this, the moldy post-modernist after morning. Their deeds are vile; drunk on consumerism and flashy media culture of depravity, lawlessness, skepticism, and sexual frenzy.
The children of the church generation all around declare their superiority over the old faith, the old foolish ways of their parents.
They scream from the rooftops, "God endorses slavery!"
"All the wars in the name of religion!"
"The Bible is inferior because it doesn't endorse homosexuality!"
And blah blah blah, and on and on and on. All such objections easily refutable, but they don't care about the evidence or the arguments, try talking to one of these objectors and they'll bounce from complaint to objection, change their footing ten times, contradict themselves and then walk away laughing smoking a cigarette. Never the less apologetics is the way to show them plainly that their "objections" have no footing. They are lies.
This has happened from the very beginning of time. The first generation witnesses the blessings of God (such as in the history of Israel), and their children turn from God. Or as I heard it explained, the first generation accepts faith with proof, the second generation assumes faith without proof, and then the third generation raised on faith without logical proofs turns from that faith and declares their superiority over the old faith.
I can see it all around me. There are two different places in town, just here in Wausau where I feel quite uncomfortable while I'm there. Panera bread in Wausau, I used to host a Bible study there. And every thursday this young kid, probably 16, seeing our shirts and the Bibles would just glare across the counter. And every time since then I go to Panera and I get that same glare and sharp attitude when I order. It's the same thing at Allister Deacon's coffee shop. I recall one day I wrote on the cover of a Bible "free" and I left it out for someone to take if they wanted. Next time I went there one of the assistant managers who I would guess is a homosexual individual, he had pulled the Bible behind the counter and he rudely tossed it onto the table in front of me next time I was there, like, "no you need to keep this, we don't want this here."
Wausau, Wisconsin is quite a conservative bastion still even with all the changes in their country, population of about 80,000. But one by one the churches in the area are closing their doors, mostly Catholic and Lutheran congregations. And if you go to Madison, Wisconsin and try discussing Christianity in public wow, the hostility just vibrates off people. You can just feel it, sense it. There were a few moments when I thought I might be attacked verbally from across the room.
But that is the way of things. Social and cultural changes begin in the big cities, Madison, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and then slowly the smaller cities change as a result too, like say in Wisconsin cities like Green Bay, Eau Claire, Wausau, Stevens Point, and Sheyboygan. It just takes a bit longer.
Christianity was really caught with it's pants down, with bad leadership and arrogant rebuking fools with no desire or need for apologetics, science, philosophy, or even fun, and in no more than thirty or fourty years, the great experiment of Christendom crumbled across Europe and the United States. Strangely enough at the same time Christianity grows in China, Russia, and the Middle east as it falls in the West.
There are many contributing factors, but much of the blame falls on the church. The church has failed their own children and with their foolishness has sent their children off into a world of sin. Certainly the secularism doesn't help. The socialist atheists professorships at once Christian universities brainwashing untold hundreds of thousands of students into dead ideologies doesn't help either. The mainstream media's insane dive into total sexual depravity and sin celebration has certainly done untold damage to millions and millions of young impressionable minds. And the corrupt mega-corporations, uber corrupt banksters, and politicians caught daily with their head in the till certainly causes incredible outrage, anger, but worse yet, poverty, broken homes, and strained overworked spiritually bankrupt people. And then there is the genocide, of 56 million children by the unspeakable horror of child sacrifice our culture dresses up in the guise of abortion, or "choice."
It's ugly. It's bad. And it's getting worse, not better. Which is why I write this today. We need heroes. We need activists, working day and night for the truth. We need humble leaders. We need dedicated, genuine, hard working, brave, inspired, and pragmatic new leaders. We need heroes.
This is a call, a humble request, for new, young heroes of faith. Rise up my brothers and sisters. Rise up now. Now, today. You are so needed. Your fathers and grandfathers have presided over the collapse of the faith we rejected. But I'm calling on you to take up the rusty broken banners of the Christian faith and begin your triumphant campaigns across the west to lead the fallen, broken, lost, "tolerant" masses back to the truth!
You will be hated for it, you will be shunned for it, you will be mocked for it, but the truth is on your side. The scientific truth, the moral truth, the philosophical truth, the reasonable truth, when it's all boiled down all of these forces of truth belong to the Christian, even if they have been rejected and lost by the miserable, old church fathers of dying Christendom as they mold and mildew away in their wooden pews sitting down and standing up for the God they no longer love or even believe in.
The old self righteous fools, when they see you rising up young leaders, they will be rebuke you, mock you, and shun you as well. Believe it, they will force you right out the doors of those churches, and try to lock you out because they're afraid of your passion and drive for Jesus Christ. Not only will you face the uneducated atheist "tolerance" crazed post-modern sex junkies mocking you and shutting you out, but you'll face the last old, wicked, tired, self righteous remnants of fading Christendom attempting to shut you out, quiet you down, and stomp out your genuine faith and love for Christ. Believe it as well, I have faced both personally.
Nevertheless great warriors, great minds, young heroes, you are so needed, if you're out there now, please, rise up, and work hard, never give up and keep fighting even when all hate you and despise you and shun you for the beautiful cross of Jesus Christ! And refuel your fire, your passion for the Bible, for God, for the truth, love the truth, adore the grace, and take a stand for Jesus Christ the Lord of the Universe!
Operate in the wilderness, make bastions of your cities to stand against the night, the tidal wave of sin celebration approaching from the cities; set up outposts of hope and truth, devise plans and operate from secret rebel bases. Even better, retake the big cities, set the fires of truth across the nation; Operate like John the Baptist amongst the wilderness, as the religious pharisees in the brick buildings fold, operate like John the baptist in the wilderness boldly proclaiming the truth of the Gospel, raw, uncut, intense, genuine, full, wise, yell, shout, share, proclaim boldly and bravely!
You are so needed young hero, and all is against you, but God the Father is for you, and since he is for you, none can stand against you. Prayers are out for you young judges, that you would be raised up, equipped, and fired up to the core with genuine drive, passion, fire, and incredible faith for your Lord, your Savior, your Comforter whom says to you: Go forth and make disciples of all nations! Lead the revolution, lead the young and old back to the truth!
Amen.
