How can any Christian say that The Experience is not a waste? Just how?
Well, before you can determine that it is not a waste you must first define the priority of the Church, her Mandate. When politicians spend our taxes on frivolities we accuse them of basking in a culture of waste. Why? Because we didn't elect them to spend our taxes on frivolities. We expect them to spend them on people-friendly projects and not for self aggrandisement.
In the same vein, when the Church fails to build the Kingdom of God on Earth and minister to a dying world, but rather hold an annual festival of 'stars' who come to increase the respectability profile of the organizing church and also promote their own crafts, one expects apostolic Christians to sound the alarm.
Someone argues that souls are being saved at the Experience, as if to justify the colossal loss of money and priority. Well, such excuses aren't new. God would accept the saved souls and still judge the error. If a sinner is brought to Jesus by lies, the sinner will be saved because He professes Jesus but the liar would be hell bound. That is the God we serve. He will not break His word just to stroke any man's ego.
Beyond that, however, how many of these souls actually remain in Christ AFTER one year of Experience? Well, if you are only about soul winning and not salvation then this question may not meet you well. But the Church isn't just about "soul winning" (which actually is a word adopted by Evangelicals and Pentecostals and not by Jesus), but about saving souls. The expression "win a soul" was first used in the Book of Daniel which says that those that win souls are wise and will shine like the stars forever (paraphrasing).
Neither Jesus nor the Apostles ever used that expression. They were more interested in Salvation through the Resurrection Message. The expression "soul winning" has a deceptive appeal about it. It conveys the notion that winning someone over by an open display of change of mind (no matter how temporary) is what matters and NOT really a deep-seated conviction of the heart through the resurrection message. You see, words are important because they shape our thoughts and impel our actions.
A "soul winning" church is a church that can change your mind FOR NOW, a church that can win the argument FOR NOW, a church that can win the emotions FOR NOW, a church that can sway your opinion FOR NOW...and this is why soul winning is COMMON in Christian concerts, church open-space crusades, public evangelism etc. But afterwards, THE DOGS RETURN TO THEIR VOMITS. Who are we fooling? Definitely not Christ.
If our emphasis is on Salvation, then we would spend more time on the real Message and less time on Concerts and Open Space Crusades which only advertise our local churches BUT do not elevate Christ. What elevates Christ is the soul that is SAVED NOT WON!
It breaks my heart that the Church has lost her history, her message and her truths. We now rely on heavy budget concerts to do the trick, and the best we can do is WIN? No! Jesus wants to save the world, not to win it. Winners don't necessarily have a message. All they need is a strategy. But in this Kingdom, WE DO HAVE A MESSAGE!
Written by Olakunle Allison
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