“In evangelical circles, there is a lot of hand-wringing about how we can “fix what’s wrong” in Christendom. For what it’s worth, I don’t think the problem is a lack of manpower or zeal. Perhaps it’s just that so much of what we do is misdirected. We are perpetuating an evangelical funhouse, with mirrors to the left and right, hoping these mirrors will reflect Jesus Christ. Some do. Others don’t. But even the best of these mirrors can only reflect a brighter source, not supplant it.”

Moths are not discerning.

Quick to confuse artificial light with natural light, moths make a lot of poor choices. They are attraced to glass, lightbulbs, and things that (at best) only simulate the environment they need. And ultimately, their lack of discernment costs them, as most expire to the ground.

Of course, men are not moths. Mankind is unique in all creation. But don’t we share the same inclination toward reflected / artificial light? Like moths, do we not buzz around so many heatless flames?

In modern evangelicalism, the flame of Christ is often subjugated to its (diminished) reflection. So often, we settle for reflecting our Lord; for approximating His Gospel. And it works (or seems to). People come buzzing to our latest program or initiative, emboldening us to try more. And as Jesus stands just to the left or right of what we’re doing, we’re OK with this, because we mistake His proximity for His pleasure.

As a church planter, I was sometimes advised to take a similar route.

Specifically, the encouragement was to adopt a “programmatic” approach to church growth; by offering certain programs, the theory was, people would then be more open to our message. In other words, the goal became to reflect Christ by emphasizing things just to His periphery: “If people come because of XYZ, they’ll stay to hear the Good News.”

How silly.

I look back at a few of the initiatives we tried, and cringe. The fruit they bore was what you would expect from an effort that (however ignorantly) subjugated Christ to something else. In any case, our church ultimately concluded: if the Gospel is the “power of God unto salvation,” then is it not the power by which God builds His church? Should we not trust the Gospel more than our own programs?

In evangelical circles, there is a lot of hand-wringing about how we can “fix what’s wrong” in Christendom. For what it’s worth, I don’t think the problem is a lack of manpower or zeal. Perhaps it’s just that so much of what we do is misdirected. We are perpetuating an evangelical funhouse, with mirrors to the left and right, hoping these mirrors will reflect Jesus Christ. Some do. Others don’t. But even the best of these mirrors can only reflect a brighter source, not supplant it.

So what to do?

We need to stop settling for the reflection. We need to be clear about what the Gospel is, and what it isn’t. We need to stop pandering to men’s appetites, stop enticing them via means that cannot save.

And we need to trust that the Gospel is what Scripture claims it to be: the preeminent means for His kingdom’s advancement.

Toby B. Holt is a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.