Striped Candy

A. W. Tozer once reflected on the sorry state of the contemporary evangelical church. Tozer observed:

"It is now common practice in most evangelical churches to offer the people, especially the young people, a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction. It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend a meeting where the only attraction is God. One can only conclude that God's professed children are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to meeting with a stick of striped candy in the form of religious movies, games, and refreshments. This has influenced the whole pattern of church life, and even brought into being a new type of church architecture designed to house the golden calf."

Tozer also commented:

"The striped candy technique has been so fully integrated into our present religious thinking, it is simply taken for granted. Its victims never dream that it is not part of the teachings of Christ and His apostles. Any objections to the carryings-on of our present golden calf Christianity is met with the triumphant reply, 'But we are winning them!' And winning them to what? To true discipleship? To cross-carrying? To self-denial? To separation from the world? To crucifixion of the flesh? To holy living? To nobility of character? To a despising of the world's treasures? To hard self-discipline? To love for God? To total commital to Christ? Of course, the answer to all these questions is 'no.'"

What is amazing is that A. W. Tozer died back in 1963.

A. W. Tozer died 48 years ago.

A. W. Tozer's words and his criticism of the sorry state of the contemporary evangelical church, and its striped candy mentality, however, are as timely today as they were a half-century ago.