The Church doesn’t take marching orders from the world – Johnson

“The world cannot and must not determine and dictate the Church’s agenda. We will resist, refute, and rebuff it.”

This is the unequivocal message that the general secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union (JBU), Karl Johnson, delivered to Christians around the world as they watched the live-streamed Resurrection Sunday service of the St Catherine-based Gregory Park Baptist Church on April 12.

Johnson urged Christians to reject any attempt by the world to define the standards of the Church or to use its yardstick to measure the Church’s value, worth, and dignity, especially in this turbulent environment.

He said that the COVID-19 pandemic had spawned the usual pontiffs and blame-gaming critics across the world and that, as is customary, the Church had become easy prey, providing fodder for the narrative of many a critical finger.

The JBU general secretary said he was surprised and offended by some of the comments and views making the rounds about the Church – especially one that accused the Church of becoming ‘a self-serving money-grabbing institution that has lost its relevance’.

However, he admitted that some of the aspersions were understandably warranted because some church leaders had placed themselves in questionable positions that incurred cynicism, animosity, and lack of respect for the Church as a whole.

Nevertheless, Johnson categorically and passionately insisted that in the face of all the negative views, God’s people must not become consumed or crippled by how the world perceived them to the extent that they “lose sight of their missional identity, calling, and imperatives”.

The Church, he said, must stand its ground and assert its identity as the representative of Jesus Christ.

“This life in Christ resists the lures and temptations of a world that is trying to tell us how to live, even while they have shoved Jesus Christ on the periphery, not wanting to hear anything from him. We can’t take our marching orders from what the world said we should be doing,” Johnson asserted.

“As Christians, we are resisting the world’s measure of our value, worth, and dignity. We are resisting their measure of success and quality of life. We do not need to become preoccupied with acquisitions and possessions to live a fulfilled life. We are not going to be swayed by their fancy advertisements. We are not going to be entrapped anymore. We know the futility of pursuing fame and recognition, we know the danger of trying to become friendly with a world which pushes Jesus to the margins …, yet trying to tell God’s people how to live.”

Johnson declared that the Church’s understanding of itself and its mission must be based on Jesus’ model. This model, he explained, requires the Church to be different, to see and do things differently, and to focus on what matters most.

BUILDING JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

According to Johnson, what matters most is not the offering of a self-centred ego-tripping life that disregards the most vulnerable in the society. Instead, the Church, he said, remained resolute and committed to building communities of justice and righteousness.

The Baptist preacher said that wherever oppression, marginalisation, and exploitation remain rampant, the Church must always make its presence felt and must stand in solidarity with the forgotten and overlooked and risk its reputation to ensure that the needs of the struggling and vulnerable are not ignored.

He cited some pertinent examples: “While the Church applauds the rule of frequent handwashing, it must think about those who have no water to wash their hands; while the Church moots and mouths with evangelistic fervour about social distancing, the Church must think about those who are forced to huddle in squalor, with no space for physical distancing; while the Church commends the efforts of first responders, it must think about who takes care of the families of the first responders while they are on the front line.”

Johnson ended his sermon by expressing hope that the world would emerge from COVID-19 with a new economy based on equality and equity, especially in the distribution of resources, and one that focuses on justice, truth, and righteousness.