Is the 21st Century Church Grounded, Gazing, or Greatly Empowered?

I am blessed with many vivid memories of my childhood.  I remember the first time I looked through a pair of binoculars.  It was a cheap, pop-up pair that my dad bought me at what used to be called the Ice Capades, which was an older version of the traveling ice-skating programs we see today.  I was fascinated that just by looking through the lens it appeared that I could reach out and touch the skaters.  I literally spent hours gazing through those binoculars until my dad would make me put them away for a while. 

Another memory is not so pleasant.  I remember I hated being sent to my room for misbehaving.  My parents called it “being grounded”.  It meant I couldn’t leave my room until they were convinced I had learned my lesson.  In the late 60’s we didn’t have T.V., computers, cell phones, video games, or any of the other “in room” entertainment devices of today.  So, being grounded meant staying put with nowhere to go and nothing to do.

When I read Acts 1:6-11, I see the beginnings of the early church being tempted toward being grounded or gazing.  Verse 6 says, “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, (the risen Christ) Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”  That is a grounded question asked by disciples with a grounded mindset.  It has been forty days since Jesus rose from the grave.  He spent His time appearing to His followers, speaking to them about the glories of a kingdom that would reside in each one of them once the Holy Spirit came. 

But here they are thinking in physical rather than spiritual terms.  They were seeking what amounted to a political solution to their plight.  They wanted Jesus to remove the iron boot of Roman rule and establish an earthly kingdom where He would rule on the throne of David and restore the glory of Solomon.  They longed for the good old days when Israel had conquered its neighbors and the whole world came to Jerusalem to pay homage and to seek wisdom from Solomon.  

Many in the church today have the same grounded mentality.  They spend much time talking about and longing for the good old days when the church was the center of the community and ministers were considered to be wise community leaders. The church had a tremendous amount of influence from Hollywood to Hoboken.  People lined up on Sunday to go to church as the whole town shut down in honor of the Lord’s Day.  During the week, people lined up to see Charlton Heston bring Moses and Ben Hur to life on the silver screen.  Movies with titles like, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Robe, and Quo Vadis won hearts in the theaters and Oscars at the Academy Awards.  It was a time when the Gospel was, as Paul told Timothy, “in season.”