home > articles > culture > The Most Churched Place On Earth Is Also The Most Unevangelised

ALL ROADS LEAD THERE, BUT MY RECENT TRIP THERE REVEALED SOMETHING TROUBLING…

When the Apostle Paul arrived in Macedonia in the mid 50s A.D., the seeds of the Gospel were sown in Europe. Little could he have imagined that within a few centuries the leader of the very Empire which would do its utmost to destroy the Church would profess Christ as his Lord. But neither could he have foreseen how distorted his gospel, and those who claim to represent it, would become – or could he?

¶ Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
First Timothy 4:1-5

Kim and I have just had a delightful holiday in Europe. It  was a trip of ‘firsts’ for both of us. It was the first time in Germany (previous stop-overs in Frankfurt don’t count). We were incredibly blessed by the generosity of the Fellmann family, who live just outside Stuttgart. Over the past five years we had played host to their two daughters as exchange students in Australia. Apart from experiencing 245kph on the Autobahn, they treated us to two very special experiences which I will treasure. The first was a day in Wittenberg with a private guide. In 1525 or so, Martin Luther nailed his now famous 95 Theses to its university door. This act marks the beginning of the Reformation. Dr. Luther had recently begun lecturing at the university on Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. This study of Romans made it apparent to Luther that the Roman Catholic Church had become corrupt in doctrine and practice. They were teaching that salvation from sin was mediated to the faithful via the agency of the Church and its priests (the term ‘priest’ means one who mediates between God and man).

¶ For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
Hebrews 5:1

But the New Testament teaches that the believer only has one priest, Jesus Christ.

¶ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Hebrews 4:14

Roman Catholics still teach that only one of their priests can absolve a person of their sins. I was recently stunned to hear one of their Archbishops state their priests continue the priestly ministry of Aaron (hence their insistence on wearing special priestly robes and treating the elements of Holy Communion as a fresh sacrifice of Christ’s body and blood) which is a complete misreading of Hebrews 5:4 (which talks about Old Covenant priests not an endorsement of ‘New Covenant priests’)!

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
First Timothy 2:5-6

Knowing that this revolution began in Germany some 500 years ago, makes the present state of the German evangelical church even more sad. There are churches everywhere in Germany. They are often a part of defining the skylines of each major German city. These once full and thriving churches are now generally spiritually lifeless and with pitiful Sunday attendances.

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Revelation 2:4-5

Having spent the day in Wittenberg, learning more about Luther and his legacy, the Fellmanns treated us the next day to a bicycle tour of Berlin. This was one of the most precious gifts anyone has ever given us. Not only did we get to discover the tragic history of modern Berlin, I was indulged. 

 

DIETRICH

I have been profoundly influenced by three very special men in history one of whom is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. At a time when the German church had become seduced by one of the most evil men in history, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a young Lutheran pastor, was a bright light in the midst of that darkness. His prophetic voice challenged his peers and eventually caught the fatal attention of Hitler. If you ever get to go to Westminster Abbey, you will see his memory honoured with his statue among a very select company of international 20th Century Christian martyrs. He called the German Church to repentance and denounced Hitler’s appointed bishops as wolves. Our tour of Berlin involved a visit to the church in East Berlin where Bonhoeffer was a pastor responsible for discipling young people in preparation for their confirmation. 

After our official tour of Berlin was  completed, we were taken to the family home of Bonhoeffer which the Fellmanns had especially organised for me. I was able to sit at Dietrich’s desk, in Dietrich’s chair, in Dietrich’s study. I was able to reflect once again that here sat a man who ‘zigged’ when everyone else was ‘zagging’. Here was a man who did not prize his comfort above his commitment to Christ. Two day before Hitler took his own life, he gave the order for Bonhoeffer to be executed in April 1945. Stripped naked and marched across the snow covered yard of the Flossenheim Concentration camp, Bonhoeffer was hanged. Heaven’s gain was humanity’s loss.

 

BUDAPEST 

Fresh from this German experience, we travelled to Hungary and were looked after amazingly by Pastors Jozséf and Lila Gére. I spoke at three churches. The hospitality we received in Hungary was extraordinary. Never have we ever been so spoilt by ministry hosts. The Géres went out of their way time and time again – even driving to the remote village where Kim’s dad grew up and then fled when the Communist revolution happened in 1956.

Budapest was almost certainly our most surprising destination in Europe. Having been to Kiev shortly after the fall of Communism, I was expecting Budapest to be much the same. Considering that many of the buildings in Budapest date back hundreds of year (some even to 900AD!), it is a city being rejuvenated beautifully. We soon discovered that the warmth we were being shown by Pastors Jozsef and Lila, and Pastors Daniel and Monica Nagy, was not just isolated, we felt welcomed and accommodated by each Hungarian we met.

 

However, walking around Budapest and other parts of Hungary I was struck yet again by how much influence the Church once had and now no longer does. Just as in Germany, so in Hungary, people’s perception of what it means to be a Christian was grossly distorted. After spending a few days with our German hosts, one of them said to me, “I can see that when you ‘Christian’ and a German says ‘Christian’ we are talking about about two different things. For us, to be German is to be a Christian.”

Almost in the centre of Budapest is the Basilica. It is a huge and imposing building on the city-scape of Budapest. I’m sure that when it was built several hundreds of years ago, it was meant to be a means to glorify Christ. It has world famous frescoes and marble statues decorating its exterior. Thousands of people admire this ornate building everyday. 

Over the doorway of this Basilica is one of the most profound declarations of Christ: “EGO SUM VIA VERITAS ET VITA” – I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. While thousands upon thousands of people admire this basilica as a piece of art, I wonder how many are arrested by its inspiration: Christ? How many ponder the enormity, immensity, and eternality of this declaration by Jesus? My perception was, not many. This made me profoundly sad.

 

ROME

Germany, Hungary, Rome – each place held a fascination for me before we ventured there. Germany, once the spiritual engine-room of the Reformation, has now largely succumbed to a Christianity which has become formal, dry, and empty. Hungary has had nearly two millennia of Church history from its vibrant infancy to its heartless institutionalism. Tragically, this heartless institutionalism has left a deep callous over the spiritual hearts of most Hungarians. Rome, and its history, which forms a significant part of the backdrop to the Gospels, the Epistles, and especially the book of Revelation, was meant to be my highlight. However, Germany deeply moved me. Hungary deeply impressed me. Rome deeply troubled me.

On one of our train trips through Italy we sat with three Americans who highly recommended a particular Scooter tour of Rome. This tour especially appealed to me because it was on a Vespa, so we signed up. Our tour guide spoke in a rather matter of fact tone about the damage the various popes and cardinals had done to Italy over the millennia. I discovered from him that after the fall of Rome, which took place over the fifth and sixth centuries, the papacy had basically laid claim to the territory of central Italy. Not until 1929 did they relinquish their territory to become an autonomous state (‘Vatican City’) within the precinct of Rome. Yet, they still owned 400 churches within the few square miles of the city of Rome (which the tour guide was none too impressed about). When we went to an international church on Sunday, the American pastor told us that nearly all of these churches each housed millions of dollars of religious art – yet hardly had any congregations to speak of! 

I thought Springfield in Missouri had a lot of churches! But there area two big differences between Rome and Springfield. Firstly, nearly all of the Springfield churches place a top priority on evangelism. Secondly, Springfield has more mega-churches per capita than just about any other American city. While a Roman Catholic church in Rome might hold a thousand people, they might consider it a good Sunday attendance if they got fifty worshipers. Whereas, James River Assembly in Springfield boasts of a Sunday attendance of over 12,000 worshipers each Sunday – and it’s not the only Springfield church with those sort of numbers. This makes the city of Rome one of the most churched cities in the world – but sadly, one of the least evangelised cities in the world!

The Apostle Paul foresaw a time when people would claim to be followers of God, yet would merely have the “appearance of godliness” while failing to be actually transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Gospel.

¶ But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
Second Timothy 3:1-7

Jesus condemned the outward show of the appearance of spirituality while not even having a heart for God or a heart transformed by God.

¶ And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces
Mark 12:18

And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
Matthew 23:9

I know that there several church plants, and missionary endeavours, happening now in Rome with a motive to evangelise Italians. We attended one of them. The pastor had been there for over a decade and was clearly exasperated at the spiritual inoculation most Romans are blighted with. His church mainly draws in evangelicals from around the world who are mostly temporary visitors to Rome. I’m sure he would appreciate our prayer support, as would the other evangelical endeavours in Rome.

 

CONSIDERATIONS

The traditions, the garb, the jargon, the grandiose titles, the ornate buildings and furnishings embraced by the church have become an enormous impediment to the presentation of Christ and His Gospel. The rituals, ceremonies, man-made ordinations, and magical/superstitious pronouncements are all foreign to the Gospel and have ultimately led many courageous souls to call the church to repentance and reform – often at the cost of their own lives – which, for them, was simply following in the blood-stained footprints of the divine Saviour who also condemned the religious authorities of His day for making their traditions more important than God and His Word.

¶ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” ¶ And He said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
Mark 7:8-9

thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
Mark 7:13

He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
Matthew 15:3

 Sadly, heartless, formal (religious ceremonies and rituals which are meaningless to their practitioners), superstitious, clergy-laity divided, ‘Christianity’ doesn’t just involve priests in robes or ornate architecture housing priceless artwork. It can all too often happen without these delusions and distractions. We forsake Christ and His Cause all too easily – and it must stop. We need a genuine revival in the Universal Church. It is my prayer that God will raise up a generation of bold, courageous, winsome Kingdom builders who will put new wine into the supernaturally transformed skins of the European Church. It is, though, my humble confession and prayer, that God would save us from repeating the backsliding of our European brothers and sisters, and also raise up a fearless generation of Holy Spirit filled and empowered followers of Christ who, like Daniel who conquered the den, are not afraid of Kings, Emperors, lions or henchmen. A generation of young people who will be grounded in the Word of God not merely the traditions of a denomination. I pray that they might be a generation who echo the words of one of the first national-impact reformer, “Here I stand, I can do no other!”

Amen.

Dr. Andrew Corbett
October 2018