Dr. Steve Harper gets it right on the state of the church …

Here …
https://oboedire.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/in-sight-another-way-to-look-at-it/
Quotable:

Here are a limited number of examples where I believe God is pruning us…
—Christianity is being separated from the impression that the true version of it is largely located in one political party,
—Christianity is being pulled from the grip of “media Christians” who use their platforms, institutions, and ministries to allege the country is going to Hell in a hand basket, and they are the only ones who can “save the nation,”
—Christianity is being pruned of dualistic thinking which (among other things) allows one group to claim it holds the copyright on orthodoxy,
—Christianity is being purged of a top-heavy institutionalism that concentrates power in too few and consumes too much money on ecclesial maintenance,
—Christianity is being taken out of the hands of “old guys” (and yes, much of it is GUYS), who hang on too long and block the emergence of a new generation of young leaders,
—Christianity is being salvaged from those who blur the life-giving distinction between doctrine and opinion, losing sight of the fact that the issues we must face are shaped by hermeneutics, not by the false charge that only certain Christians “believe in the Bible,”
—Christianity is being cleansed of the public impression that it is made up of people who are mean-spirited, judgmental, and arrogant, and
—Christianity is being emptied of concepts that allow quantification (“more is better”) to be definitive in determining its authenticity and vitality.
These cut-backs are threatening to any living on the part of the branch that will be removed, and we can expect the soon-to-be-pruned branch portion to put up quite a fight when the shears begin to do their work.

Dr. Harper has also been hosting online reflections on my book We Make the Road by Walking. You’ll enjoy his blog – full of gentle wisdom.