The Challenge of Doing Nothing

We're currently in a series called "My Father's Work," at Hope Church. It's been interesting to walk through this together. It's been provocative but in a somewhat mysterious way. I think it's because the series is calling us, with the prophets, to not just talk about the stuff of faith, but to do it. The prophets in the Old Testament suggest that God's people are full of words, lots of words. And the prophets indict the people that words are cheap, easy - full of bravado and gusto - but their words are empty of meaning, of action, of lives that back up the words.

This is a challenge isn't it? Churches are full of words. As a Bible teacher, I say a lot of words on a weekly basis. Churches have flowery mission statements and lofty visions. But do we actually do them? Yes - words are easy. Noble words make us feel good, but action, as any leader knows, is harder. It's easy to say words, it's harder to do them. This is one of the main cries of the prophets in the Old Testament. Isaiah said it this way, "these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." (Isaiah 29:13)

One of the concepts that has become a sub-theme of this series is the word "radical." We've referred to David Platt's book by this title. Radical it seems, is what a person who does the Jesus centered life, looks like. We're marveling at Katie Davis in Uganda who went, who adopted, and who is caring for a large number of children. We're amazed at the people who are "actually doing it." Radical? I prefer to think it's just Christian. What we're being confronted with is that it is possible that all this Christian business we've been a part of - is the business of words - words in the Bible, words in worship songs, words in mission statements. But is anyone actually doing it? It seems that to live the life of a follower of Jesus is being perceived as radical. I hope not. When we read the New Testament, these people lived it out, arranged their lives and priorities around serving God and doing the work of His heart. This has always been the model of Christian life. Not radical, Christian.

I saw that CNN published a Pew study recently that said in 2007, 83% of Americans under 30 said "I never doubt the existence of God." But in 2012, the same study resulted in 68% saying they never doubt the existence of God. We could talk about what those numbers mean forever, but one thing they mean is that younger people are less confident in their faith. And we know from other studies, that younger people are leaving the church in large measure. I think this "talking without doing" is one of the biggest reasons.

Younger people look at the churches they have been a part of and they see programs and pot lucks, choirs and meetings but not much change happening in the world. The church is not "going for it" not making a difference, not getting after it - in terms of serving the heart of God and really making a difference in the world. But they want to see the church make a difference, be more than just words, actually "do" the Jesus centered life. Imagine. And when they don't see this happening in the church, they take their faith elsewhere to be expressed in places that are actually making a difference. Their basic exit statement is "words, words, no action, no impact in the world, no difference making."

James 1:22 says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." Let's do it.