Dr. Ray Pritchard Christian Blog and Commentary

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What's Wrong with the American Church?

  • Dr. Ray Pritchard
    Dr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep Believing Ministries, an Internet-based ministry serving Christians in 225 countries. He is the author of 29 books, including Stealth Attack, Fire and Rain,… More
  • Updated May 10, 2014


Dr. Erwin Lutzer

Recently Erwin Lutzer, pastor of the historic Moody Church in Chicago, spoke at the "Understanding the Times” conference in Minneapolis. Here’s a short clip (less than 3 minutes) in which he pinpoints the problem in the American church:

What’s Wrong with the American Church?

In particular Dr. Lutzer says we focus too much on preaching that God loves us "unconditionally”:

Now, to the one who’s sitting in the pew that’s sleeping with his girlfriend, he says to himself, “I know exactly what that means. That means that it’s okay for me to continue to sleep with my girlfriend because, after all, God loves me unconditionally. That’s His job. That’s who He is.”

Unfortunately, much modern preaching leaves exactly that impression. If we want to share Christ effectively, we must give the Bad News before we give the Good News. It is the Bad News about sin and judgment that makes the Good News of Jesus so powerful.

I encourage you to listen to this brief audio clip and ponder Dr. Lutzer’s words of warning and wisdom.

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