Anne Reed

AFA Journal staff writer

September 2014 – The American church has lost her identity, pastor laments
She is a run-away bride, distant and confused. Seeking her freedom, she has lost her way. Other lovers call, and she is tempted. Meanwhile, her husband waits.

Joseph Green, pastor of Antioch Assembly in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has a burden for the American church to see her restored as the faithful bride of Christ. 

“We don’t understand who we are and what we are supposed to be, based on what the Bible tells us,” he said.

Israel’s pattern
Green spells out similarities between the American church and ancient Israel. After being rescued from slavery, the Israelites established their own system of government. “God was their God,” he told AFA Journal, “and they had prophets or judges who explained to them God’s word, and [they] would judge according to His Word.” But eventually God’s chosen people began to envy the world, and they determined to have a king like other nations.

The early American settlers knew kingship – they had fled the British monarchy because of its accompanying religious persecution. Their founding priorities were reflected in the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religious speech and expression. In America, they had found freedom – “a land of milk and honey” where God was their King, and where they could express their love and commitment to Him without hindrances.

“Now, we have actually replaced God with government,” said Green. In Matthew 25:42-43, Jesus spoke about taking care of the least of these: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger needing clothes, the sick or imprisoned. “We have a generation of people who now believe it’s the government that’s supposed to take care of those needs … and they are more dependent on the government than on God,” he said.

The church and marriage
Green believes our attitude toward the church, government and marriage acts as a gauge that measures the depth of our relationship with God. “The Kingdom of God is supposed to influence the political system of America, not the other way around,” he said. Some prophets and men of God who had conflicts with the political leaders of their day include Moses versus Pharaoh, Elijah versus Ahab and John the Baptist versus Herod.

A political leader once invited Green to a forum supporting same sex marriage. When he declined, referring to his biblical beliefs, the man indicated he was also a Christian – a Christian who simply disagreed with Green.

Disconcerted by this well-respected leader’s claim, Green pointed out the Christian’s responsibility and obligation to the biblical standard of marriage. “God doesn’t give us the option to agree with Him on something as important as marriage, which is one of the pillars of human existence,” he replied.

Why the falling away?
Green believes biblical illiteracy is largely to blame. “I’ve had people who are Christians say to me, ‘You know, the Bible doesn’t even mention homosexuality.’” In addition, many adopt the world’s characterization of love that insists everybody’s opinion is equal. “The biblical standard of love is compassionately and truthfully explaining to them what God’s position is on things,” said Green.

Green identified hypocrisy as another key contributor to the church’s loss of influence and strength. When we go to church professing to be Christians without the rest of our lives reflecting Christian values and beliefs, this is a lack of integrity evident to onlookers. “We can’t be harder on homosexuality and ignore all those other sins that take place,” he said, “We have to stand for holiness and righteousness in everything we do.

“A man standing on the street corner saying, ‘I’m a drug dealer; I’m a thug’ has more integrity than some Christians. He’s living in agreement with what he is professing – that’s integrity.” 

The black church
Green especially grieves for the African American church. Last year, he wrote a widely circulated article titled “Why I am disappointed in the black church,” based on observations over the last several years.

It began when 2008 Democratic presidential candidate, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, rose to the forefront promising hope and change. Although Green was a lifelong Democrat at the time, he wasn’t quick to jump on the bandwagon. Instead, he researched and found that Obama operated outside a biblical worldview.

The great majority of black American Christians denied or ignored the reality of Obama’s unbiblical views on abortion and sexuality. In September 2012, under Obama’s leadership, the Democratic Party adopted a platform that reinforced abortion rights, and for the first time in U.S. history, gave support to same sex marriage. A vote to remove references to God was narrowly retracted.

Still, just two months later, 95% of black Christians voted to elect President Obama for a second term. Why?

Behind the politics
In his book Standing on the Rock, Green identified two felt needs to explain the black community’s mass support of Obama – reparation and identity.

First, Green acknowledge that revenge or reparation makes sense to the natural mind, but he insisted on its inconsistency with biblical principles. “We have focused on these negative things that have happened to us,” said Green, “and they are very real – what happened to us as African Americans.

“But we can’t hold grudges against anyone. Understanding forgiveness is vital to recovery. When Israel was rescued from 400 years of slavery, they didn’t seek restitution from Egypt. They didn’t have social programs. They called out to God, and God answered their prayers.”

Second, Green addressed the identity issue: Who am I, and why am I here? Human beings grapple with these questions throughout life. The longing for answers can be fulfilled only by “understanding our identity in Jesus Christ,” said Green. All things have been created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).

Restoring the church
As individual members of the American church, how do we find ourselves? According to Green, we need to “unite to restore America – worshipping God, praying and crying out to God to help our country, acknowledging that we are sinners and we need God.”

In the end, said Green, “We heal our community by leading them back to the Word of God, because that’s the only chance we have for a peaceful and successful community.”  

Related ministries
Urban Family Communications, a division of AFA, was born from a conviction that the black community deserves biblical truth. UFC is committed to the spiritual revitalization of urban communities.

UFC station listings and live streaming are available at urbanfamilytalk.com. UFC is featured in the April 2014 AFA Journal.

OneCry
OneCry is a nationwide call for spiritual awakening, a cry to the Lord to manifest His glory and work with extraordinary power. It is a call to the church to pray, to seek God’s face, and to turn away from sin, compromise and complacency.

OneCry offers a great wealth of resources for local churches and the body of Christ.