The Tiger Church

The Tiger Church

1/27/15

The title of this article would project one of aggression, protection and authority but in truth the article shall present a life form that has no teeth, stability or power within its walls.  Once again God has laid it upon my heart to share another portion of His Church that is struggling with truth versus worldly trickery.  This article will also give examples of what happens when a protected authority figure succumbs to the physical venues that are presented to it and what happens when the truth finally comes out.  The aftermath of these failings are horrendous and embarrassing, so much so that one may never rise again to the status once honestly recognized by the entire world.

A few decades ago the golfing world was suffering greatly.  Television viewing, ratings and popularity of the sport were grinding to a slow halt.  The golfing world was looking towards someone who could set the stage on fire again and to bring back the traditional flare of the game once more.  They received this gift in the form of an American person named Tiger Woods.  His popularity immediately restored the old game’s life back into the world setting and even those who did not watch golf before were panting over this new figure. 

Tiger took the golfing world by storm and was soon signing autographs by the thousands each week.  Talk shows, radio shows and many other sporting companies all vied for his attention and offered him astronomical amounts of money to endorse these companies.  On the golf course tiger began to perform excellent, making the cuts in every tournament and doing quite well when Sunday evening rolled around.  He started winning tournaments and his popularity grew accordingly.  Tiger won his first major tournament and then another and another, it seemed like no one would stop his successful rise to the top of the golfing world. And according to his colleagues in this world he was a phenomenon and one who had all the answers to the golfing struggles around the globe.

Tiger’s domination of the golfing world eventually spilled over into the general talk of the world and his popularity had now been visible into the non golfing world.  It seemed like nothing would ever touch the empire that he had built for him and his family and it was quickly becoming known that he was basically untouchable.  Until, a certain evening when a breaking news report appeared across the screens around the world that he had a minor fender bender after an argument with a family member. At first many blew off this scene but as the hours and days passed by it became clear that something else was brewing with the setting.

After the main story broke of what exactly happened that evening, the world suddenly became numb and could not believe what it was hearing over the news and airwaves.  The tabloids went crazy, the jokes began to appear and the internet was filled with the pros and cons of the decisions that he made in his life.  A public apology statement was released with a short yet highly publicized statement then graced our eyes for the next few weeks.  Tiger’s personal life was now public and the damage control specialists were very busy for the next few months.

The consequences of these activities hurt Tiger and his family and struck a fatal blow into his immediate life.  He took some time off to be with his family and to deal with the impending issues that almost everyone around the world knew about.  Many opinions of Tiger had now changed and even today some of those opinions have not reversed.  When Tiger returned to the golf links everyone was anxious to see what was going to happen with his playing, and up until this day his play has not been like it was previous to the personal tragedy within his life.  Some of his sponsors left him and have not returned.  Tiger has won a few more tournaments since the blow up but has not even come close to the construction of his trophy palace he once glittered.  He has tried to rebuild his family and even began a new relationship yet the status he now holds is nothing compared to what he once was.  The fall was great and it was hard and not many people missed it.

We are currently in the midst of another icon being accused of horrendous acts towards other human beings.  This person served as a typical father figure when I was young and has had countless affects upon billions of people around the world for many decades.  Yet Mr. Cosby is now under scrutiny for some of his actions in the distant past.  When I was growing up I remember watching “Fat Albert” on Television as much as I could and learned many things concerning friendship and accepting people from that program.

After I reached my high school and college years I avidly watched the “Cosby Show” which was another popular weekly program that I learned many other skills that I try to employ with my own children.  I loved this program and I related to some of the issues that were addressed in this program.  I can probably speak for many other kids and parents that would concur with my conclusions about this program.  Mr. Cosby was very influential in many lives around the world and was in high demand for speaking engagements, all of whom wanted to learn from the wisdom that he projected towards the world.

Today the entertainment business along with the millions of other people who have looked upon Mr. Cosby as an excellent role model for life are scratching their heads and searching for answers as to why this person would be accused of such heinous acts against women.  The accusations against him have totally tarnished his career and also caused many of the companies that have endorsed him to leave.  Demonstrators have launched protest marches against his appearances and even some of his shows have been cancelled due to the accusations.  To cast such doubt on someone who has been a part of your life for a very long time hurts and it is easy for one to feel betrayed coming from such an important figure.

The majority of these accusations that have been announced occurred many decades ago and are now not subject to any type of prosecution according to our laws.  Yet, the pain and suffering from these women still smolder within their lives and with the public revelations their families share in these sufferings.  Since these accusations cannot be prosecuted the entire truth of these events cannot be fully known and unless some major details occur, the public shall never know either.  Whether or not these horrific circumstances occurred or not the pain of believing that the possibility of them even occurring shall never leave the people whose lives this man affected, directly or indirectly.  These newly enlightened details will shape the ideas of other past, current and future stars’ lives and hopefully will learn how not to act towards others.

In both of these examples it is easy to get caught up in the specifics and leave out the overall picture.  Humans are famous for accomplishing this feat and love to tell about it when discussions arise.  We must remember that the entire picture must be taken into consideration when events are brought to our attention.  Teenagers are famous for believing their friends before the entire truth comes out about a specific event; it would be a gross negligence on my account if I left out adults from the equations as well.  We as humans need to be a part of each other’s lives and to have a complete relationship with them at the same time. However, if our actions violate this relationship with others in any way, those violations will stay in the forefront of their minds a lot longer and mingle into conversations more readily than sharing the truths that they witnessed.

I take the Church as an example of both of the above examples as a case study.  Can anyone identify with recent activities of the Church that would incriminate them?  It does not take too much effort not to find something that fits within this category and for some personal accounts could flow readily.  The goal of the Church is to witness to the world and to show and tell them that Jesus loves them and that God has provided a way for us to have eternal life through Him.  We do not hear much of that message coming from the press, the news sources or even the people who attend church services.  If Mr. Woods had been focused upon his family and on his career the amount of distractions would have been miniscule instead of a priority and the chances of his blessings being cut down to size, they might have been greater than anyone could have imagined.

In the second example those allegations came at a time long after the events had occurred.  Under threats and violent intimidation were these people subjected to, not including the acts of these events in the first place.  But now that time has passed and any thought of prosecution did the people finally come forward and make their complaints known.  And while not much besides public ridicule can be accomplished the memories and hurt will still reside within those people and for those who looked up to this man as a role model for decades to follow.  One also has to wonder about what future effect this has on people as well, in that if a person finds someone who is truly a good person and wants to help others, the first person may not open up fully to them because of the doubt that has been cast previously by this example.  Do we see this today?  Oh, yes on a second by second basis.

The Church falls into this example because of its dark and secretive past that she has committed.  If you read church history it does not take one long to realize that the Church has done some pretty graphic acts in order to proclaim its existence.  As I stated above, the purpose of the Church is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the dying world, period.  No where does it say for the Church to abandon the people or to hurt them in any way.  No where in God’s Word does it say to rape children or to allow the Church to force people to perform heinous acts with the leaders of the Church.  And nowhere does any law of God demand that these acts be committed so that the people can be sanctified in the eyes of God through these acts.  These types of activities were popular in the early stages of Church development and through the Middle Ages and Reformation eras and it would not take too much research to find these acts in the modern Church as well.  No matter when these acts occurred, it brings anger, hate and total separation from God and to be honest, who could blame these people for doing such.

All of the actions that the Church has committed over the centuries I cannot ask for forgiveness to these people that were subjected to these acts.  And even if I could it is not my place to do so.  I can stand up and apologize to the world for these horrendous acts that have been laid upon the people, but it does not matter one ounce if the Church does not recognize them and asks for forgiveness, first to God and to those groups who she has dealt a heavy hand towards.  So far, the Church has not done this and from the looks of things has no desire to do so either.  So, Christians run along trying to figure out why the Church is no longer relevant in the world, scorned, mocked and ridiculed at every turn, and for the most part muzzled when it comes to revising, updating and creating new legislature in the world’s nations.

The acts of the two people above were strictly choices and it has effects on many others afterwards.  The acts of the Church was also voluntary choices and look at the endless accounts of responses to these events afterwards.  The legacy that the spiritual Church has built has far outweighed the physical legacy.  It is known that all people physically die but it is the spiritual death that matters so much more.  The spiritual death is eternal and can never be reversed and if the Church has painted a destructive picture onto the hearts of people, then that separation from God shall continue in the spiritual realm as well.  It seems like we cannot get away from these horrific events that the Church has committed and is committing today.  And the question remains if we are witnessing any changes from within the Church because of these past actions, and it is easy to answer this question.

Remember when you were a kid, or even an adult, when you got caught doing something that you were told not to do and your parents grounded you or spanked you?  None of us liked to be disciplined when we were young and none of like to be written up for something we have done incorrectly in the adult world.  All of us knew that our actions would face consequences and depending upon the severity of our actions it could have meant a long term corrective measure that was laid down.  It is this aspect that we must be concerned with, the long term consequences of the actions of the Church.

I have stated this many times that the Church is represented by you and by you alone.  It is not the denomination that you associate with nor is it the building that you sit in every week.  The Church is you and your life, period.  If you represent Christ in a vile manner guess what, the world may like you but the definition of Christ shall not.  The Church is not to take away from the human but to give from Christ.  It is through this gift that the Church lives and breathes; the only question is what are you breathing into the dying person, life or death?

In all of the examples that has been shared with you in this article, they share one thing in common.  Each example provides us with a human event that a person or group has done to another.  It is these acts that give the person or groups of people reason to doubt.  It is bad enough that people place their entire trusts upon humans and then get their hearts crushed by unfortunate circumstances.  All of us have had disappointments with humanity and that trend shall continue and that is why it is so important that we place our trust in God alone.  Yet, we cannot do that because the very thing that God established on this earth to protect us from the world is committing the exact same crimes.  It is these crimes that commonly bind us to the world and when this occurs, all hope is lost eternally.

God wants everyone to understand that He loves us and that He has placed laws in place to protect us from all worldly harm.  He also has placed people in the world who love Him and want nothing more to share the truth with those that are hurting and need Him.  But there is no way that this is going to be possible if we continue to accept our own sinful ways.  The Church is doomed if we do not repent for our past, our present and for the future ridiculous things that we may do.  Then and only then will we be able to turn the Church around and allow God’s message to flow from our hearts again.  Restoration is needed within the Church and the time is now to allow God to perform this process. 

We cannot afford to wait any longer for if we do then God will have to show His Church exactly how bad we have become in His eyes, the hard way.  God shall not stop at His Church either, the nations will fall into this category as well, for it is the people that God sees, not just the physical nation.  I urge each and every person to search their heart and to allow God to show you exactly what He wants to remove.  It is unspeakably important that we allow God to do this now and not later.  Restoration on a voluntary basis goes a lot smoother than the alternative involuntary route, trust me I have been there, more than once.  We no longer have time to be “The Tiger Church” but God’s Church.  God love us and He wants to bless His children, but if we do not change quickly, our world that we have acquired shall fall, and fall hard indeed.

DLB