I think Smith's article is expressing some genuine concerns that should alarm us also. But please remember... the Apostles didn't reach their world in one generation by settling down in a suburb of Galatia, building a mega church, raking in tons of tax free money, and trying to get the lost Galatians to "come to church".
No sir.
They had a Christocentric approach to the Gospel that had no buildings, big business bank accounts, or pulpits. The persecution they faced generated the conditions necessary for the Gospel to flurish. Such conditions continued for nearly 300 years in spite of the peace experienced by Christians in some regions. They set the world afire by preaching in the markets, preaching in the fields, preaching in the public forums, and preaching from house to house. Their's wasn't a "church building based" or "temple based" religion. It was PERSONAL and spread from home to home throughout the empire. They "house churched". And they LOVED. They loved like a family.
The "preaching" they delivered throughout Acts was in homes, synagogues, and the open air. In the OT prophets preached in the "Gates". Down through history open air preaching has shaped culture. John Wesley said he'd impacted the world more through his preaching by preaching on his father's tomb than in the pulpit.
There was a time when Christianity was deeply personal in our culture and found from home to home. But today it's like you have to jump through the hoops of a denomination or organization. Always meet (sometimes 4 to 5 times a week) and give big money to the churches efforts to become a "mega church". Generations ago pioneers settled on land, read their bibles in their homes, led their families in prayer, and the circuit riding preacher would visit maybe every two to three weeks. It was then that the countryside would meet at the chapel. They didn't go to church as much as we do... but they practiced their Christianity constantly. I think church wears us out and sometimes prevents us from "living" and thereby "living Christianity" outside of a church building.
Think about it... what breeds faster? Huge lumbering elephants or bunny rabbits? We need to move to a smaller, more intimate, more powerful, more informal, more SPIRITUAL format for reaching our world. We're trying to build churches! Not save the world.
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