The Dilemma of the Twenty First Century Church

The Church has the formidable task of molding people's lives. God made the Church to last eternally. The Church must continue to fulfill its purpose and to guarantee a haven for the lost world to find a sense of faithfulness and fight the enemies of God. It must develop a real loyalty and adherence to God, in that it agrees and embrace Jesus without amends. It will invariably produce faithful obedience and rekindle the charges which Jesus has appointed with no mental reservations or purpose, but to fulfill the obligations, design, and mission forever (Matt. 28:19–20). "And upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). The local church has become a casualty. Denominations and teaching problems have mingled with spiritual craving have divided the Church into separate groups that decline to acknowledge Jesus as sovereign and supreme. The author will scrutinize what the Church is doing in the twenty-first century for a disoriented world. Does the same attitude exist today that the world had decades ago about the Church? Why is the Church the first to get off the boat when the ride gets rough? Where is the cry reverberated through the century for decency, delight, and reverence as the fundamental spiritual institution in history?

Society has abandoned the Church, which has led to moral decay. Humanity's values have attempted to triumph over God and the Church. The government has made efforts to destroy the core values of what we believe about God and the Church. Constitutional rights have become more prevalent than religious rights. We passed laws that guaranteed secularism. Those values that once held us together as a person, society, and country have taken on a new meaning. We no longer live godly lives as demanded by the word of God. God no longer lives in some churches. Materialism, drunkard pleasure-seeking, arrogance, conceit, defiance, sinfulness, moral perversion, and corrupt leadership have rejected the word of God, the law of the Lord, and the Holy One Himself. "When a society does not want to hear from God, every man does that which is right in his own eyes and feels that he is the ultimate authority, he becomes the ultimate source of truth" (Judg. 21:25). Attempts to expel the word of God from society have become a critical issue. It started in the public schools, and has spread to public places, courthouses, coins, the Pledge of Allegiance, and on to where today we are fighting battles about what we can even say in the Church and in public! It is no longer just about the separation of Church and State, but a separation of America from God. Humanity is tearing apart the woven fabric of God's influence on society.

My passion in ministry is preaching the Word of God to the people of God for the glory of God. In Acts 6:4 the apostles stated, "But we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." Ephesians 4:11-12 says, "He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." We are living in times when the world is attacking the absolutes, and in the days to come, the world is destroying biblical doctrines that are true. Humanity is setting their truths and enforcing them as they see fit. The Church must remind humanity of the need for righteousness to escape the wrath of God. The Church needs to regain a deep desire for its mission according to the word of God. Godly character and integrity are lacking in today's world. Too many Christians please man rather than God; this ought not to be (Acts 5:29; James 3:10). The Church has lost its influence to change the world in the twenty-first century. Satan is trying to make cowards of Christians by destroying their integrity and character. Dr. Anderson Henry Ruffin writes from a diversified background of many years in the ministry. Dr. Ruffin attended Alabama State University, University of Alabama, and Virginia University of Lynchburg, Virginia graduating with a degree in instrumental music and ministry.