The Church has made a critical error it that it has gleefully chosen to cross pollinate itself with the world. And, in doing so it has not passed along its best traits to the world but it has been tainted by worldly traits. As a result, the Church no longer stands pure but displays characteristics and attitudes that are not natural to it. At the same time this cross-pollinated Church isn’t aware of the effects of its cross-pollinated condition. What it considers normal and natural is strange and destructive to those who experienced and remember a purer Church before the cross pollination occurred. The “flower” doesn’t look like it did before. It responds to a new kind of environment. Its beauty has been altered.
To those who were part of the cross-pollination process, it is attractive. To those who knew the Church before the process, it is tainted by characteristics which cause it not to be as beautiful as before, and certainly not improved upon. Cross pollinate long enough and the original is gone. The New Testament church has been cross pollinated almost out of existence. We are living with a cross-pollinated church which vaguely resembles the original.
When a crop is perfect, the scientists at the Georgia Coastal Plains Experiment Station in Tifton, GA will strive to keep it from cross-pollinating with other varieties. When it can’t be improved upon, it is protected. Every stalk of corn in a large field will have a bag put over the tassels so cross-pollination from another variety in a distant field cannot take place. The Church, when built by Jesus, is perfect and should be protected from cross-pollination with the world. But, the bags have been removed and every worldly characteristic imaginable is being brought into the church by every wind of doctrine and practice. The cross pollination has occurred and the byproduct is a strange mixture of the true church and the world.
When the world infects anything spiritual in nature, including the Church then its purity and effectiveness is hindered and the byproduct is suspect. False doctrine and worldly practices will denigrate the Church as well as one’s concept of who God is and what He expects.
Cross-pollination and compromise are essentially the same, except that Cross Pollination can happen to one so slowly that they are unaware it has happened while compromise is something that one decides to do looking for something different to emerge from it. The basic difference is that with cross-pollination one actually acquires some characteristics that assume their place in the body and automatically bring certain responses because of the presence of those acquired traits. These traits become part of the system and cannot be over ruled. Compromise involves voluntarily, and consciously assuming the activity and opinions which are desired in order to bring about certain desired responses. One can decide to cease to compromise and also reject those things which were procured by compromise. If the desired results didn’t produce what one wanted, they can turn away from something that was not a trait acquired through cross pollination.
After a period of time, usually a generation or two, the traits that have been absorbed and which bring certain responses, are not seen as compromise. They are seen as a natural thing to do. Those traits assume their place in the body and are not seen as something different or beyond the pale of the accepted practice of many years. As the characteristics of the world become part of the DNA, the original is denigrated. Some of the evidence of this is found in the fact that the respect for the place of worship and for Who is being worshipped is damaged.
God becomes just another participant in the plethora of activities that a recent past generation would never have imagined would ever take place. The holiness of God is not in view. If it were, rock bands with mind blowing and ear shattering volume would not be there as well as strobe lights, smoke, and other activities borrowed from the rock concert scene. The view of the Pastor is denigrated as well. He is “just another one of the guys.” He is just like us so what he says has little more value than something we would think to say. His position as God’s called person to lead the flock is brought down to the point that people can “take him or leave him” with no though of what is actually happening. He has become a necessary part of the system that will just do his thing and retreat so that the process can continue. The prophetic voice of preachers of the past is not what is wanted in today’s environment. That is why people are asking, “where are the kind of preachers we had in the past who were real prophets?” The cross- pollinated church is not producing them today. They have been absorbed into the system and seem quite content to stay there. This is a statement referring to the majority. There are, thankfully, a few who are bucking the trend and remaining true and these are the ones who will be left standing when the others fall because, I believe, that God is not going to put up very long with things as they have developed. But the “church” is completely happy with the current direction because cross-pollination has changed its DNA to the point that the current process and direction is natural for them. They have no point of reference which will make them desire anything else. The wilder and more “off the wall” a person is and the more “open” the church becomes to any activity, the more it is liked and viewed as just the thing to do.
Yes, the cross-pollination of the church as spoken of by A.W. Tozer, has and is occurring at warp speed. May God help us by intervening with a huge dose of conviction and correction. That’s the only thing that will stop the downward plunge of the Christian Church today.
