The Echo Chamber

The Church is in danger. To which, you might say, I know. Yes, Church leaders are in danger. To which, you might also say, I know. But if I asked you to describe the danger faced, I think you would offer many legitimate dangers, but miss one of the most devastating and dangerous ones in the Church — The Echo Chamber. What is that?, you might say. The Echo Chamber is a place we go to only hear those of “like precious faith”. And in the process, often, we can stop hearing outside voices. In fact, leaders can often highlight the fact (with pride) that they refuse to listen or allow outside voices. Once they succumb to that spiritual trap, I know they’ve entered the Echo Chamber — a place where we fail to listen to any voice outside a select few we trust. That’s what I’d like to talk about in this post.

I believe we need different voices speaking in the Church. The voices we’ve had so far have only brought us thus far. Clearly, we’re not making the impact we should. Clearly, we have issues that it’s highly important to address. And yet, it’s also very clear that it’s nearly impossible to address issues within the Church without being demonized. How can we justify the use of slanderous accusations against other believers? Even if we could justify those actions, which I don’t believe there’s any Biblical basis for, it still exposes a major issue — leaders today lack accountability. That issue is a fundamental flaw within our current leadership structures few, if any, are willing to address. Why? The Echo Chamber. 

“The Corinthians were carnal. But we are more so. The Corinthians were babes in Christ. But we are more so.”—Scott Wallis

When leaders and believers only hear from similar voices all the time, it creates isolation. That isolation leads to consolidation of groups of believers. What did the Apostle Paul call that? Factions or heresies. In fact, heresies to the Greek mind was different to heresies in our mind. To the Apostle Paul, a heresy was far more encompassing than what we would consider heresy. In 1 Corinthians 11:19, NIV, the Apostle Paul uses the Greek word, haireseis, to describe an issue he’s addressing in the Church — we use the term heresy. What issue did the Apostle Paul address in 1 Corinthians? In 1 Corinthians 3:1, NIV, we’re told, “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.”

The book of Corinthians was written to “babes in Christ”. It wasn’t written to spiritual believers. No, it was written for those believers who devolved into factions, schisms, and divisions of believers — we might call them, tribes. In 1 Corinthians 3:2, he plainly states his teaching in what he’s writing, pablum. We might call pablum pulse or baby food. The Apostle Paul says, “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready”. What was his reason behind writing 1 Corinthians? In 1 Corinthians 3:3, KJV, we’re told why, “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”

Today, that still describes much of the Church. We still delight in our schisms, factions, denominations, divisions, and tribes all of which were brought about by our envying and strife, carnality. At the core of that carnality was a single issue — heresies, which we would call false teachings. The Apostle Paul, on the other hand, considered the schism itself as a sign of the devolution of the Church. He recognized how far the Church had fallen from their spiritual state under his leadership to where they were when he wrote them. And it grieved him that they had fallen so far. But, and please hear me, there was still only One Church in Corinth not many churches. 

The Corinthians were carnal. But we are more so. The Corinthians were babes in Christ. But we are more so. In fact, I’m not sure if we even qualify as spiritual babies. That’s how far we’ve fallen from where we were as the Church in the Apostle Paul’s day. Why? It’s simple. We’ve got heresies, as they had heresies. And as I’ve said, that fact means more than just the false teachings among us, it still also means those divisions, schisms, factions, and tribes within the Church, which we have in spades. Those things are rooted in our isolation and consolidation among ministers and leaders, and a lack of new voices speaking in our midst. The Echo Chamber controls the narrative. 

As such, for the Church to change, it must be set free from that Echo Chamber. There must be a breaking through that takes place where a new sound can arise within our midst. That new sound will lead us to a new place in God. Then, we can move from the supremely place of the Echo Chamber and Star Chamber into the Throne Room. That’s where God longs to bring us — to His throne, for it’s upon that throne that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. God includes us in His plans and purposes. God invites us to participate with Him in His plans and purposes. Therefore, we must loose ourselves from the control of those who seek to bring us into the Echo Chamber where the uniqueness of our voice can be drowned out. 

That’s what the Echo Chamber does, it drowns out the voice of God. Instead, we settle for other voices. And in settling for others voices, we set ourselves up for future error. The error of order, conformity, and uniformity not unity. The unity in the Echo Chamber, which is not really unity but uniformity, is built upon sameness. The unity revealed in the scriptures are built upon two things: 1) the Holy Spirit, and 2) Faith in Christ. On those two hinges, unity within the Church is manifest. Whereas, the uniformity offered within the Echo Chamber is built upon manipulation, control, and domination — the rebellion of witchcraft. The Church must know the difference because today we’re offered the one, uniformity, and denied the other, unity. 

There can be no true unity within the Echo Chamber. Rather, there is only uniformity of speech, conduct, and lifeless morality. The Christian life is defined by the life it demonstrates — the life of Christ. The message of the Church is one of freedom in and through Christ. The morality offered in Christ is the royal law of love — love God and love your neighbor. Within the Church, it’s “love one another; as I have loved you”. John 13:34, NKJV.  Within the Echo Chamber love isn’t offered. No, it’s only position, power, and prestige that’s offered; it’s nothing more than the controlled order that it offers. And that control is predicated on unwavering allegiance to the powers that be — the Echo Chamber.

Dear Church, we must resolve to not allow ourselves to devolve further into that Echo Chamber, or the more ideologically hideous, Star Chamber. When, and if we do, we are rejecting the very gospel we claim to proclaim. The gospel is about freedom — “For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1, Christian Standard Bible. Jesus came to set captives free not make men and women further captives. Luke 4:18,AMP,  Ephesians 4:8,NKJV.  In Christ, there is freedom from sin, Satan, and self. That’s our message! That’s our mandate! That’s our mission! To set the captives free! Not to bring them into another type of prison — the uniformity of conformity — the only type of “unity” offered in the Echo Chamber.

Isn’t it time we leave our old ways behind? Shouldn’t we seek truth? Let us open the microphone to other voices so Christ may be heard! Let us bring others into our spheres for the purpose of blessing them, building them, and launching them into their divine purpose. God knows we need it. It’s to time take the Echo Chamber offline and bring Christ and His real Church online. That’s what the world needs — the love of Christ that allows it to be heard, listened to, validated…and, when necessary, confronted with truth in love. We mustn’t silence the voices in our midst. Rather, we must, not only allow, but pray for God’s anointed voices to be raised up to bring His wisdom to the age. 

Yes, we need John the Baptist’s, Elijah’s, Isaiah’s, and Jeremiah’s speaking to our culture. We need prophets who break the mold of our expectation bringing the lifegiving word of true prophetic declarations. The Church cannot survive another famine of hearing the words of the Lord. And now, our primary objective should be creating a vital atmosphere and environment where hearing God’s voice is encouraged, valued, and appreciated. Then, and only then, will we be delivered from the Echo Chamber the Church has devolved into since its inception 2000 years ago. 

May God help us break the mold and bring His light to a generation hiding in the darkness of night, sin, and transgression. Yes, may God deliver us from those Echo Chambers in our midst and bring about the unity revealed in scripture. Thankfully, we have His promise — “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah  4:6, ESV. Let us cling therefore to that promise and pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10, KJV.  That, and that alone, will break the power and silence created by the Echo Chamber.

Let us pray!

— Scott Wallis