So many churches in America today no longer teach their members how to have a scripturally sound, solid, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, victorious Christian walk. They are not seeking practical spiritual application that will produce a vital, victorious, personal walk with Jesus Christ, by His Spirit.

     In our day, there is something tragically missing from church pulpits, Christian books, Christian television, Christian Radio, CD’S, DVD’S, Internet, U-tube, Blogs, Twitter, Face Book and personal conversation.  Over the past 44 years of my salvation, I have watched the steady decline of this missing ingredient. During this past decade, it has practically faded into obscurity. 

     What is so direly needed has been replaced with everything imaginable: motivational messages, postmodern philosophies, emerging church apostasy, emotion arousing worship and, most deceiving of all, foreign spirits masquerading to perform counterfeit manifestations attributed to the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, some within the church have responded with “packages” that all sound alike and tell us what we should do, along with naturalistic “how to do it ” steps. There are moralistic appeals to dedicate your life to Christ and strive to do better. Ministers talk about “impacting” lives and better living by social and moralistic activism. There are messages on commitments and dedication, but the proclamation of this vital, missing ingredient is scarcely, if ever, mentioned.  Without it, there is a blatant disregard for genuine, scriptural salvation and scriptural sanctification.

     Occasionally, some toes may be “stepped on” to cause congregations to believe they have heard serious preaching of God’s Word. Most preachers today all sound alike, especially on Christian radio and television. Like stage actors, they bring their cloned messages with little to no scriptural content or real spiritual life. The true, age old gospel of Jesus Christ is not given.  Instead, they preach a predictable, mechanically contrived, content-less dramatization of offense-less, inspirational, motivational fluff. 

     The gospel we need to hear proclaimed is one that is life empowered through genuine repentance, genuine grace, genuine faith, bringing about true salvation by genuine rebirth. It’s the gospel that will issue you into the true sanctified, faith motivated, love generated, Scripture illuminated, flesh crucified, Spirit-filled, victorious Christian life. But, before we can delve into what this is and what scripturally and spiritually breathes life and liberty, we must agree that something is wrong and agree on what that something is.  

    There are church movements afoot today calling for reformation to restore what has been lost from the church—but will the reformation movement, with its call for the church to return to Puritan principles and doctrine, fix it? Valiant as these movements may be, they still miss the vital ingredient. In the past, there’s been no lack of prophecy preaching, but that hasn’t fixed it. The same goes for messages on spiritual gifts, healing and prosperity—still no fix. Mega church mentality, motives and methods haven’t brought it. Maybe the answer lies in the recent surge in apologetics with its ever growing intelligent design teachings? Maybe this can be turned into a science and, by such, put creation teaching back into the schools. Necessary as some of this is, it has become center stage for intellectualism and philosophical leanings that are affecting churches, even causing members to believe that because of this emphasis, they are elevated to a spiritual plane, to the extent that this emphasis can become a substitute for the missing ingredient. For its good intentions, it can be found actually substituting a pseudo-spiritual air of what they believe is deepened spirituality, But, this again leaves Christianity with the vital ingredient ignored.  

     Something is still missing. Maybe what the church in America needs today is to be found in Pentecostalism or charismatic movements?  But again, the best of  intentions are so affected by faulty theology that it brings distortion and confusion, not only regarding Christian sanctification, but with the very heart of the gospel—the genuine doctrine of salvation.  

     True, it is better to have a thing and call it wrong, than to call it right but not have it. But, this doesn’t justify faulty teaching and all the confusion that comes with it. Granted the charismatic movement has brought back some needed spiritual truths, but the problem is that truth out of balance will always be error. So then, what is missing? What is it that was prevalent 100 years ago, even 50 years ago, which has virtually become non-existent