Should Churches Repent of Religion

I recently read an article in the Christian Post entitled "Christians Urged to Repent of Religion". The article was based upon a talk by JD Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, at the 2009 Advance Conference during the first week of June. The theme of the conference was the "Resurgence of the Local Church", with speakers such as John Piper, Mark Driscoll and others offering suggestions on how to "revitalize" local churches.

According to the report, Mr Greear painted religion as a culprit that might be choking the growth of the Gospel and Christianity in America, and said that "until Christians repent of religion, no program, energy or strategy will help them to grow". Finally, he urged the pastors in the audience to repent… not of sin, but of religion.

So, is religion really choking the Gospel, and should we repent of our religious activities? I know members of a few local religious groups who recently returned from mission trips to India, Russia, Peru and Israel. Our church regularly takes up a benevolent offering for those who have lost their jobs. I have other friends that work with those feeding and ministering to the homeless and shut-ins. Others are engaged in prayer, VBS and other ministries. Still others are faithfully involved in church positions such as parking attendants, greeters, and administrators which only indirectly aid in spreading the Gospel. Should these Christians repent of these religious activities?

This illustrates that our original questions cannot be answered without first defining what is meant by the term "religion".

Read the entire Repent of Religion article.