I heard it as loud as a shout, but it was at the same time completely inaudible. God said to me, “Break and remake.” It then took me a little while to discern what God was saying. Then it dawned on me.
God was saying, “I will break down anything that is built in some other name than Mine, and I will remake my church by justice.” Certainly fits with Psalm 127:1, which says,
“Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labour in vain.”
In the 60 Minutes Australia program that screened last night, September 19, Hillsong Church was exposed for its culture of deplorable institutional responses to sexual abuse. Not only did the megachurch fail to promptly and properly investigate these cases, and refer the cases on appropriately including with law enforcement, but it also actively sought to protect the perpetrators, twisting theology of forgiveness and grace to further abuse the abused.
Hillsong Church—as well as a range of other despicable expressions of modern church, namely Bill Hybels’ Willow Creek, Mark Driscolls’ Mars Hill, James MacDonald and C.J. Mahaney’s Sovereign Grace, and we cannot not mention Ravi Zacharias’ International Ministries—have this also to contend with: just about every evangelical church in the world has taken their cue from these ‘heroes of the faith’, so much so that these same celebrity cultures have infiltrated the local church, because power has been made accessible, desirable, and even ‘cool’ and has become the measure of success for the church. Little wonder now that there exists in churches of all sizes now, pastors and church leaders who have grown entitled to ‘eat their sheep’, because if their ministries are growing, and everything’s working, then there shouldn’t be any complaint if there’s a little collateral damage along the way. (I know that this isn’t the majority of churches, but there are far too many churches, pastors, and leaders for whom the vulnerable exist as fodder for their machinations.)
I also think, that given we’re due for a reformation, according to Phyllis Tickle, that “Break and remake” could also testify to the concept that the reformation that is in train right now as we speak is a reformation of God not only breaking what is detestable in Divine sight, but remaking out of it something new, fresh, truthful, and glorious—justice for the abused and traumatised, and ultimately, safety and sanctuary for the vulnerable.
We’ll know that the reformation is in full swing when the culture surrounding Christian ministry is safe. How that will be achieved locally and globally will soon be revealed. Nothing other than safety for the vulnerable can be the measure.
Everything that the church does that doesn’t serve God’s purpose will need to be broken.
God will break everything not done truly for the Kingdom’s glory, and God will remake something beautiful out of that brokenness, which is a justice for the vulnerable, whether that be in this life or in the life to come.
God will break what was built that profanes the name of God, because what profanes the name of God is a broken humanity that breaks human beings through abuse and trauma.
God will remake the church out of the broken pieces, but God will only use the broken pieces that truly serve the Lord’s Kingdom.
God makes the most beautiful things out of broken pieces, especially as the Lord puts our lives back together. But lives should not be broken in the first place, hence it is better for anyone to be drowned at the bottom of the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to abuse and avoid being held to account. (See Matthew 18:6-9)
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