A Primer to Morning Prayer: Roller Coaster Theology

In the late 1970’s I made my way to Six
Flags over Georgia for the very first time. I stood in line for what seemed an
eternity to ride The Great American Scream Machine. When the rollercoaster pulled into the station I walked onto the platform, stepped into the car and took my seat. I pulled
the safety bar over my shoulders and down onto my lap and waited with bated
breath for the ride to start. It started with a jolt. We climbed the
first hill. We went up and up and up and up. Then, reaching the crest
of the hill, with hands held high, we went over the top and dropped like a rock
straight down the other side. It felt like we were going 987.5 miles per hour when we hit the bottom and zoomed up the next hill. It took us high;it took us low, and it threw us violently from side to side. My stomach jumped into my throat. Myheart pumped wildly. I laughed. I screamed. And I experienced a myriad of emotions. Then, seemingly, in just a few seconds the ride was over.The coaster pulled back into the station. The safety bar was released and I got off … exactly where I started. I had experienced the thrill of the ride, but nothing changed. Again, at the end of the ride I got off exactly where I started.

Sadly, when it comes to the Christian experience, many well-intentioned Christians and churches subscribe to the theology of the rollercoaster. They want to experience the thrill. They want to be emotionally charged by the pastor’s sermon, the worship service,
their small group experience, a book they are reading, nice facilities, wonderful programs, or some tangent they are pursuing. But at the end of the day, when all is
said and done, they really don’t want anything to change, nor do they expect it
to change. They simply want to get off the ride exactly where they started.
They crave familiarity. Yes, they’ll get off with their hair all mussed. They’ll bend over with their hands on their knees regaining their footing and catching their breath, all the while gushing about how wonderful the experience was. They’ll even seek out others and exclaim, “Wow! That was a great ride! You’ve got to try it!” But again, at the end of the ride, when all is said and done, they really don’t want anything to change, nor do they expect it to change. They simply want to get off the ride exactly where they started. They crave familiarity. They don’t come to change anything. They’re thrill seekers, and experiencing the thrill is all they are focused upon.

In Matthew 22:37 Jesus taught, “… Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” I want to draw your attention to the “all thy mind” part for a moment. Every person’s brain has two halves. (Some of you I have serious doubts about.) No! I’m just kidding!!! The left side of the brain controls
logic. This is where we get our ability to think analytically and to reason. The right side controls emotion. This is where we get our ability to laugh, love, and cry. The majority
of most men have set up housekeeping in the left side, and the majority of most
women, the right. And seldom do the two meet!

I’m afraid that many born-again believershave set up spiritual housekeeping on the right side of their brains. Doctrine, historical precedence, denominational affiliation, and church loyalty mean little to them. They seek that which gratifies. They attend their particular churchbecause they like the way the pastor preaches, they like the style of the
corporate worship services, they have an affinity with the members in their
small group Bible study, they like the location of the church, they like the
size of the church, they like the programs offered, and they like the ministry
opportunities afforded them.
However, seldom do they take the time to study and understand what they
believe doctrinally. To them it’s not important. Besides, the
theology of the rollercoaster says you don’t need to do that anyway. All you need to do is get on, buckle-up,and experience the thrills, ‘cause after all, you’re going to get off right where you started anyway. Nothingwill change.

Some of you are probably becoming offended with me right about now. You’ve been a Southern Baptist for many years, perhaps sall your life. You know what you
believe, why you believe it, and why you attend your church, right? Then please allow me to challenge you for a moment. Please answer the following question: Why do you attend your church? My challenge to you is to answer the question without using any of the following criteria to help formulate your answer: 1: Because I like the way
the pastor preaches. 2: Because I like the “style” of the worship service.
3: Because I like the people who attend. 4: Because daddy, mamma, granddaddy, and
grandmamma helped build the church, and my family has always attended this
church. 5: Because I like the programs and ministry opportunities the church offers. 6: Location. 7: Size of the church. Well, how did you do? Were you able to answer my question without using any of the criteria I disallowed? Chances are that many couldn’t. You subscribe to the theology of the rollercoaster. And when your church experience is built strictly upon the theology of the rollercoaster (emotions) you’re headed for trouble. You desire the thrill but demand the familiarity of knowing where you will get off when the ride is over.

Conversely, I’m afraid that many born-again believers have set up spiritual housekeeping on the left side of thei rbrains. Everything is analytical, logical, and has to “make sense” to them. (And we all know that God doesn’t always make sense to us!) Everything
must be programmed. They want a place for everybody and everything, and they want everybody and everything in their place! There is no room for spontaneity of the Holy Spirit in their world. And to others, they are as spiritually dry as chalk dust in the eraser tray of a blackboard. I promise you, The Great American Scream Machine isn’t on their radar scope!

So, what does Jesus mean when He tells us to love him with all our mind? He never meant that our walk with Him should be dull, boring, or mundane. I’m here to tell you there is an indescribable thrill associated with following Jesus. It’s okay for us to raise our hands, for our hearts to pound, to shout, to stand with our hands on our knees and for our hair to be mussed as we regain our footing and gush to others about Jesus. But amidst all the spiritual clamor, we must be well-versed enough in our doctrine, historical precedence, denominational affiliation, and church loyalty to insure that when the ride ends … we don’t get off right where we started!

Albert Einstein defined insanity as: Doing the same thing, the same way, expecting different results. I say it this way: If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got!

There are 46 Southern Baptist Churches in the Troup Baptist Association. Our
total membership is a little over 14,000.= Last year the combined total of baptisms for all 46 churches was 355 people. Do you know what this tells me? It tells me that we like the thrill, but we lack the will to formulate and implement a plan to reach our community for Jesus. It’s a whole lot easier to experience the thrill and just keep getting off right where we got on than it is to dare to shake things up by getting off at a different place on our spiritual journey. It’s the theology of the rollercoaster. God help us!

Brother Aaron
Director of Mission
Troup Baptist Association