Abdication: a theme of our age?

Abdication is a big biblical theme, it is also a travesty whether that's in Genesis 3 or elsewhere in the Bible.  But it isn't just a biblical problem, it is a human trait as a result of the effect of sin on our hearts and that means it is a significant problem today in our generation and in our churches.  So where might we see it?

Pastorally - pastoral care involves more than just hours of preaching, it involves pastoring.  I am tempted to abdicate when I decide to just preach about an issue rather than meet with people to resolve an issue face to face.  I am tempted to abdicate when I resolve (retreat?) to spend more time in the office than with people.  Yes primarily pastors are to prepare to preach and preach and pray, and we must get the balance right.  But often I wonder if that can be a cover for abdicating from the hard work of conflict resolution, confronting sin, pastoral visiting and face-to-face discipleship.  Or maybe that's just me.

Great commission - Have we abdicated from our calling?  We all know what Jesus calls us to do, but am I so aware of grace that I am overflowing in joy that reaches out to others with the great news of the gospel.  Am I engaging with and building friendships with those around me that are gospel capable?  Am I aware of and looking to pursue gospel opportunities to share and speak about Jesus?  Or am I abdicating from this glorious and joyful calling?

Discipleship - I wonder if this is our biggest problem.  To what extent are we making disciples, living life with others, intentionally inputting into their lives, modelling the gospel to them, revealing our battles with sin and  our constant need of grace, but our awareness of the sufficiency of the atonement won for us in Jesus?  To abdicate discipleship is to reduce the church to a club that comes together to hear a talk on the bible, it is to assume even we preach enough some of it will stick.  We abdicate here perhaps most easily by thinking it is the churches paid staffs job to disciple others, it isn't they train and equip us to disciple each other.

Parenting - This is another of those areas where abdication is rife.  We effectively contract out our children's education to school, their leisure time to other professionals, and so on.  The danger is we carry that thinking across into church - we outsource teaching our children the wonder of the gospel to the Sunday School teacher, the youth worker and so on.  When the Bible clearly (Deut 6) says it remains the role of parents.  When everything about our week cries out to us that it is in their parents where children will most see the gospel lived out and where the most significant opportunities to teach about Jesus will arise.

Abdication is a very real danger for us as a church and its consequences are potentially disastrous for ourselves, our families, church families, and the lost.