Francis Schaeffer And The Central Problem of the Church

Francis Schaeffer is quickly becoming one of the most influential voices in my life.  I was exposed to much of his writings in seminary, but now find myself revisiting them as I continue to grasp the intergration of Church, culture, and faith.  Schaeffer was way ahead of his time and his writings have proven to be classics in the sense that they transcend his time.  Schaeffer’s writings are very accessable for people of all educational backgrounds and I would highly recommend everyone read his works.  He will be a tremendous help seeing your worldview from an outside perspective and allow to think beyond it.  Here is one quote I came by today that was especially worth considering.

The central problem of our age is not liberalism or modernism, nor the old Roman Catholicism or the new Roman Catholicism, nor the threat of communism, nor even the threat of rationalism and the monolithic consensus which surrounds us.  All these are dangerous but not the primary threat.  The real problem is this:  the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually corporately, tending to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than of the Spirit.  The central problem is always in the midst of the people of God, not in the circumstances surrounding them.

Pay real close attention to the last sentence. It precisely nails why much of the church is futile in it massive array of campaigns, programs and events.  Why the church seems to spin it wheels in its engagement of the culture. Our western corporate mindset drives us to act, plan and measure with quantifiable metrics.  Our fight is not one of flesh and blood but one of the spirit.

ryan