Being heard among powers and principalities

Broken Messenger's Brad Huston has reminded me why he's one of my favorite bloggers. In this post Brad explains how the church in the United States has gone off-message. While most Christians seem to think they're pretty mature, according to a recent Barna survey, the church in the U.S. increasingly focuses its energies on political and social battles:

If Christ’s church is to be the light of the Gospel shed abroad in a dark world, and that light grows ever dimmer, who bears the greater responsibility here: the church or an already darkened society? In an age where the Dobson’s and Robertson’s are decrying moral decay due to the prominance of a major political party, while the party they champion grows less distinguishable from the other and comes riddled with its own hypocrisy, we have chosen the lesser of evils and have called it acceptable.

But where is the concern over a lack of preaching a complete Gospel? Better still, why is it not being preached? It is almost as if the church has become a shop of curiosities where the real treasure is tucked away in the little backroom to be shown to those few who take the time to wade through the trinkets of political discourse and church culture long enough or be deemed "ready enough" to be shown it. Are we not to put that best treasure up in the front window to be proudly displayed for all to see: Jesus Christ and Him crucified?

As Brad points out, the real gospel is being preached, but not prominently in the great media marketplaces. Let's not let that discourage us, though. The prince of this world still carries strong influence among the powers and principalities of large-scale media. And Christians will always be tempted to listen to false teaching. Preachers, let's give them the truth anyway (2 Tim. 2:1-5).

Update: Swap Blog joins in the discussion here.

Update 2: Brad's post has prompted a rather strong and lengthy discussion in the comments section of Gratitude and Hoopla.