THE CURCH OF THE SELF-HELP

The Church of the Self-Help

It has not been long since the fad of “The Purpose Driven Life” has morphed into the “Purpose Driven Church”, and then again to the “40 Days of Purpose”, “The Purpose driven Marriage”, Purpose driven Child-Rearing”, and the list goes on ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Is this a marketing ploy? Is this a money making scheme?

I am naturally a cynical person but I am not going to impugn the motives of the authors in this case and say it is done for profit, or gain, (although this series has made its author very rich). I can imagine tables being turned over if Christ came to the lobbies of some churches that have turned into book sellers. Don’t get me wrong, I love books. I read many books. But self help books have never had much of an appeal to me.

Why is that you ask?

Well it is not because I am not in need of help. I certainly need help…but I have found self help to be empty and vain for the Christian. Human effort never accomplishes the work of God. I have moved four times to four different states since 2002 and the biggest challenge I have come up against has been finding a church that preaches Christ and him crucified, apart from the works of the flesh, and the work of man. Every where I have gone I have only found churches doing series on how to have a better marriage, how to raise good children, how to become successful and happy in your work, etc. All of these things are admirable and they certainly draw a crowd. But is that why Jesus died? To make marriages better? Certainly that may be a by-product, but is that the purpose of him going to the cross.

I submit that he came to seek and to save that which is lost. That Christ Jesus was in the world reconciling man to God. As a result of being reconciled to God perhaps we will become better parents, spouses, employees etc. But to hold out a hope of success in becoming pleasing to God through human effort is to make the work of Christ on the cross vain and empty. I am convinced that those who are exposed to the preaching of the cross will either leave in offense or they will be changed by the Spirit of God into the image of Christ. The successful Christian is the one who is being formed by God to more and more, day by day, resemble Christ. I am not one to lecture on marriage, or child-rearing. I have tried to be what I think God would have me be in these roles, but I must admit, I am not an expert nor a role model in either. By the grace of God I have seen some success in many areas of life, but this is not my doing.

So what am I saying? I am saying that we as Christians need to put aside human effort in the pursuit of these things and trust in the righteousness of Jesus Christ in whom all the promises of God in him are yeah and amen. I pray that the churches of this country will forsake the “self-help” gospel of humanism, and return to preaching Christ crucified and let God by his Spirit change his people by his grace and by his power which is always effectual, and whose word will always accomplish his purpose and never return to him void.