The Tryptophan Has Worn Off And The Turkey Coma Is Over...So Let's Have A Highbrow Roundtable!

It was a throwaway line during a Q&A session with author Philip Yancey.

Let me back up: A couple of years ago, our staff attended a breakfast with the author who was in Dallas promoting a new book (which, by the way, turned out to be his worst effort, IMHO). Said breakfast was underpromoted which meant we got an abundance of swag and a lot more personal attention during the Q&A session. Someone in the audience noted that the author got to see a lot of churches on his book tours and wondered if he'd made any general observations regarding the state of the church in America.

Prefacing a comparatively lengthy discourse, the author said something along the lines of, "I think the biggest difference in the church in America these days is that, while my generation grew up in a Galatian church, this generation faces challenges in growing up in a Corinthian church." Now, that's from memory because, while I remember writing it down I have no idea where I put that scrap of paper.

And that throwaway line stayed on my brain's hard drive until a recent class I'm teaching asked me a similar question. Part of my answer began with, "I heard Philip Yancey say once that..." Granted, I didn't take the idea for myself, but I did sorta "big time" my class by name-dropping.

Anyway, for those who don't keep track of such things off the top of your head, a major issue Paul addressed in his letter to the churches in Galatia was--in simplest terms--the mixing of "law" and "grace." Or, more simply, "good works" and the role they play in the life of a believer. A major theme in Paul's letter to the church in Corinth was that they were allowing the culture to have too much influence in the life of the church.

What Mr. Yancey was implying was that the church, when he was growing up, struggled with the reality that it was very important to look good in the eyes of others rather than transforming your life inwardly and letting that reality show. Really, it was behavior management rather than a heart revolution. He said that the church that our kids are growing up in struggles with the outside influences causing compromise within our hearts and minds.

Now, get your coffee ready, okay, patrons?

What I'd like to do right off the bat is concede that you may or may not agree with Mr. Yancey. It's certainly open for debate. But for our purposes here, let's assume he's correct in his observation...at least on a general level.

And I'd like for you to chat about your observations from your church growing up and what you see going on in our churches right now regarding influence.

Don't worry, I'll weigh in tomorrow.

But it's open forum here at The Diner today.

*turns sign around that says, "Yes, We're Open!" Sets chairs underneath the table & brews the coffee. Rubs his hands together like he's trying to start a fire with sticks, giggles with excitement, and waits on customers*