Coarse Correction: A Paradigm Shift in the Way We Do Church

By W. Leland Parker

This book asks the dangerous question, why are we doing the things we do? It also asks if it's working. Is it getting us where we want to go? It bases those questions strictly on what the Bible tells us and evaluates based on what can be plainly seen in the world. Humans aren't big fans of change, we like to stay on the same old road simply because we're used to it. This book will use the Bible to examine if that is a good enough reason. It will expose some paradoxical thinking that has become commonplace in the church.

With regard to our Christian walk, a well-known Christian leader says that "you can be pitiful, or you can be powerful, but you can't be both." Those are potent and inspiring words with which many people can agree. Except, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians, "For when I am weak, then I am strong." and that God's power "is made perfect in weakness." Hmm, I still believe there's some powerful truth in that leader's quote, but the Bible shows me that they are not the truth. The modern church loves powerful words, and yet the bible tells us in Proverbs that "a gentle tongue can break a bone." In fairness, most Christian leaders would shudder at the thought of people taking their words as biblical truth. It's not their intention to establish doctrine or coin a cool catchphrase, but human nature tends towards those things. Perhaps you've heard the call and response, "God is good … all the time." While that is certainly true, what the Bible actually says, in a number of ways, is that "the Lord is good," period. Adding the phrase "all the time" opens the possibility of Him not being good—as if it's conditional—when in fact "good" is His essence eternally. He cannot exist in any other state. It's like saying hot is hot all the time. Hot cannot be other than hot otherwise we would cease to call it hot. God cannot be other than good, otherwise, He would cease to be God.

I didn't write this book to throw stones at anyone; I endeavor to gently wake the church to her full potential before it's too late; before it's so far down the wrong road that there isn't time to change course. For some people that will take more than a little nudge. It won't be like a rally to the masses but more like a shaking of one reader at a time. What you read may seem like it applies to your friend or your relative or your pastor, but I wrote this book for you. The main person I hope to reach is you, the Christian believer who wants his or her life to be fruitful for Jesus Christ. He is the One to whom you owe everything, your Lord and Savior. I have written this book in service to Him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Mar 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9781667890807

Book preview

1. Choices

Very few things in life are as important as the choices we make. Simply put, choices define life’s course. The longer we live, the more obvious that truth becomes. For better or for worse, the earlier we choose, the bigger the impact; the longer we remain in it, the more entrenched it becomes; some choices require but a moment to irrevocably set us on a particular course. These are the three big aspects of decision-making: how early, for how long, and how big.

So here you are. You’ve decided to read this booklet. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.

What other choices have you made today? You got out of bed. You (hopefully) practiced some form of personal hygiene. At some point you picked up this booklet and started reading. It’s unlikely those are the only choices you’ve made, and probably not the most important— though only time will tell.

Time, after all, is perhaps our greatest confidant. From that very first breath from the first moment of fertilization, time is our constant confederate; always there, with motives uncertain. If our choices are sound, like a friend, time will surely reveal it. Conversely, our indiscretions will be equally exposed. It is said that time heals all wounds, but never has the word heals been used more loosely. It is perhaps better said that time grants perspective and evaluates our wounds.

On this point we can all agree, whether of our own making or of others, our lives are governed by choices; every man, woman, and beast will succeed or fail, live or die, because of them. So, let’s choose to examine that axiom to bear out its truths.

Because of its obvious nature, I’ll start with the topic of how big. One of the biggest choices you will ever make is whether you marry and whom. In many ways that’s the biggest one of all. Some might argue your choice of career is bigger, but marriage, at least in the all-in biblical sense, will influence everything else in your life. Of course, your level of commitment plays a part in any decision, but even the laziest of nuptials has financial and recreational course adjustments that make matrimony especially impactful.

Career selection is perhaps a more clear-cut choice. Meaning, you might choose to marry and simply lack the opportunity, whereas your choice of career is completely up to you even if you don’t get to pursue your dream job. The wrong career choice can prove insurmountable, but it’s still more of a solo impact that does not necessarily affect anyone else’s life. So, it remains behind marriage on our course correction map.

Then, of course, there’s your choice of faith. I didn’t list it at the top because it varies so greatly from person to person and at different times, but everyone has faith in something. Even though the degree tends to vary, and it might not be in God, consciously or subconsciously we all align our thinking with some form of life direction. This could be anything from astrology to pop culture, but if you adhere to it faithfully, that choice will be the most important in your life—even more important than your marriage or career.

In my youth I chose, as many young men do, the course of athletic prowess, sports. I wasn’t pursuing a career, but I wanted to prove myself as strong and able and rarely allowed an opportunity to test that slip by. ALL choices have consequences; good, bad, or somewhere in between. I submit the following example to illustrate the point:

"Some decades ago, I was in my freshman year of college. I had always been relatively athletic, and track and field was my passion. As it would happen, while wrestling around with two classmates (yes, wrestling) I destroyed my left knee, tearing the ACL and lateral ligaments, damaging the meniscus, and smashing the perennial nerve. In a flash, and a ‘snap,’ my life’s course had been permanently shifted. It took many decades for me to fully realize what a blessing that course shift was.

It is such trials that are key to renewing our minds and opening our eyes to glimpse what God may be doing in our lives; soberingly, it has a lot less to do with fixing our problems than it does with Him being with us, before, during, and after problems occur. Thus, we should stop running to God with our problems, but rather, learn to already be with Him when problems arrive.

(Excerpt from Stop Running to God with Your Problems)

As indiscretions go, this one was relatively mild, but the fact remains, I chose to get up from my worktable and horse around with friends, and I bear the scars today.

2. The Road of Life

As a framework to our examination of how early,