Crazy Love (Overwhelmed by a Relentless God) by Francis Chan – written for the American Christian. I’m pulling quotes from the chapter titled “Profile of the Lukewarm”.
On Luke 8 (the parable of the seed scattered on the ground):
I think most American churchgoers are the soil that chokes the seed because of all the thorns. Thorns are anything that distracts us from God. When we want God and a bunch of other stuff, then that means we have thorns in our soil. A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sins, activities, favorite sports teams, addictions or commitments are piled on top of it.
On lukewarm people in the Church (as described in Revelation 3:15,16):
Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives.
Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without it requiring too much of them.
Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but beside that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong.
Thoughts? Comments? Tell me if you agree or disagree.