By Ben Carver

What are your expectations on Sunday morning when you enter your church and sit in the pew?

Do you expect a political message from the pulpit? Perhaps a soft sermon about an amiable God who just wants you to be happy?

It seems that some churches and denominations have drifted further away from preaching about repentance of sin and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Instead of hearing a message of salvation from hell, more and more Christians in the pews suffer through ambiguous messages about a tolerant, nondescript deity or listen to their pastor peddle a political agenda from the pulpit.

Evidence of this movement away from biblical preaching and teaching is found in the plethora of denominational lawsuits, congregational splits and church chaos resulting from denominational decisions. For example, this summer the Presbyterian Church (USA) spent time in Detroit at their General Assembly affirming homosexual relationships, divesting from companies working in Israel and renewing their vows on their extreme pro-abortion position. Instead of devoting time to discussing important questions such as, “Why are so many biblical churches fleeing our denomination?” or “Why are we failing in evangelism and discipleship?” they focused their time, energy and efforts on pushing a liberal political agenda and affirming a morality foreign to scripture and the historic teaching of the church.

Another example is found in the Anglican and Episcopal churches. Local churches in the Diocese of South Carolina have boldly taken a stand and rejected the political liberalism and immorality contaminating The Episcopal Church USA. Unfortunately, their biblical fidelity has resulted in legal issues and entanglements; 80 percent of the parishes are now of an Anglican affiliation and following Bishop Mark Lawrence and others are with the national church’s Episcopalian coalition that rallies at Grace Church under Bishop Charles vonRosenburg. The problems locally are only a microcosm of the national situation: Nationally, TEC spent $18 million last year in litigation with local churches and estimates are that they have spent $40 million in legal battles during the past decade.

As a local minister I can easily see why many people are quick to dismiss Christianity and the church. Politics, political agendas and political correctness saturate the media today: Sunday morning worship should be an escape from this instead of a platform for politically correct views.

Pastors are called to be ambassadors for Christ, not spokesmen for political parties. Moreover, churches should be a place where individuals and families are refreshed and renewed as biblical truth is proclaimed winsomely and unapologetically. The message of Jesus Christ was not politically correct in the first century and it is not today. Christ affirmed the truth of the Old Testament, including the moral law and called sinners to repent and receive forgiveness for sin. For example, Jesus treated the woman caught in adultery with mercy and grace, but she was reminded to flee from sin (John 8:1-11).

If his reminding the adulterous woman to flee from sin occurred in 2014, many today, including some pastors, would accuse Christ of being intolerant, old-fashioned and culturally irrelevant: Her choice of who to sleep with is up to her and is part of her private life. Moreover, confronting sin and immorality causes division and Christians are supposed to value peace and unity. Right?

Christians are to value unity and peace, but not at the expense of truth.

Sacrificing truth leads to a perceived peace and a superficial unity that crumbles during tumultuous times. Jesus Christ calls us to be men and women of peace in a world of conflict, but we only accomplish that as we look to Christ who was crucified for our sins. We cannot downplay, dismiss, or deviate from the truth about sin and redemption. Only as we acknowledge our sins and our need for Christ can we find salvation and share that good news with others in our community.

Consequently, the challenge for churches — and particularly pastors — is to reclaim a bold, urgent proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastors should preach as if their parishioners’ eternal destiny hangs in the balance — because it does!

A healthy prescription for this malady comes from J.C. Ryle, a 19th century Anglican minister who addressed similar problems in England during his ministry. Ryle wrote:

“We have hundreds of ‘jellyfish’ clergyman, who seem not to have a single bone in their body of divinity. They have no definite opinions … they are so afraid of ‘extreme views’ that they have no views … We have thousands of ‘jellyfish’ sermons preached every year, sermons without an edge, or a point, or corner, smooth as billiard balls, awakening no sinner, and edifying no saint.”

Ryle’s words remain an accurate description of many churches today. During this time of thanksgiving, we should be grateful for Ryle’s bold example and applaud ministers who continue to preach boldly today. People desperately need to hear a message that has “an edge” to it: They don’t need to endure more “jellyfish” sermons that either placate parishioners or promote politically correct positions. Ryle asserted that those “jellyfish” sermons produce “jellyfish” Christians who detect spiritual truth as well as “colorblind people distinguish colors.”

In light of Ryle’s perceptive commentary, let me give you a religious homework assignment for Sunday morning.

As you leave your place of worship this Sunday morning for brunch, ask yourself this question: “Was that a ‘jellyfish’ sermon?” If the answer is “no,” then perhaps you should encourage and thank your pastor for his faithful ministry. However, if your answer is “yes,” then you may need to ask your minister a few more specific questions to find out why.

Benjamin T. Carver is the pastor at Shem Creek Presbyterian Church (A.R.P.) in Mt. Pleasant and the author of “Redemption in the Minor Prophets.” You can learn more about the Gospel mission of Shem Creek Presbyterian Church at Facebook or by contacting him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..