In recent decades churches and denominations in the United States have been focused on winning religious battles while losing the spiritual war for souls.
What are some of the religious battles which have distracted and derailed churches and denominations from the greater spiritual war? Church politics, personal ambition and business modeled leadership have had a profound impact upon the direction of the Church in the United States. These battles are waged in churches and denominations on a daily basis and although one side can feel the satisfaction of winning and affecting others under their influence, in the larger picture the war for souls is being lost.
It is normal for local churches and pastors to feel that they are in a competition with other churches and pastors in their region. Pastors compare the size of their church attendance with other pastors and employ the latest techniques for attracting attenders to compare more favorably. Churches "grow" in numbers at the expense of other churches rather than lives being changed by the gospel. Denominations develop and hand down new growth strategies which apply pressure to "grow" so that denominational statistics will compare more favorably to other denominations. This approach to ministry burgeoned in the "church growth" era in the 1980s as churches sought to retain and add on to the religious awakening in the 1970s. The goal was to make churches more popular and approachable.
As the Church has focused on the business of larger congregations and buildings its message to the world has become mixed and muddled. An unchurched person often sees churches as social organizations which are desperate for members and sustaining funds. This sense of desperation pervades many smaller churches as they try to figure out how they will continue to exist as attendance dwindles. While advertising and promotions are cloaked in religious verbiage, at the very core unchurched persons are keenly aware that they are being targeted as consumers similar to the approach of competing national retail chains.
If these are some of the religious battles, what is the spiritual war? Well, of course, the war is between evil and good, God and the evil one, sin and salvation, light and darkness, faith and hopelessness. Most churches and denominations have these basic tensions at the core of their motivation but the basic message gets diluted or lost in the mix of motivations mentioned previously. What would it mean to refocus on the war for souls rather than religious battles? First, there needs to be a return to the basic understanding that the Kingdom of God is not about buildings or personalities, it is about people connecting with God the Father, through Jesus Christ and becoming more Christian (Christ-like) through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God changes lives, not pastors or churches. God may choose to use human intermediaries but the battle for souls is spiritual rather than physical. The Church's desperation needs to be for souls rather than members.
In Ephesians 6 the Apostle Paul said, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Then he lists the spiritual armor necessary to fight the war for souls - truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the word of God. We cannot fight this spiritual war on a physical plane. Our number one priority needs to be walking with God and obeying his leading rather than growing a human institution. Note that after Paul's list of the spiritual armor needed to fight the war for souls he says in verses 18-20 "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
Is it possible that the very core function of Christians and the Church is just to prayerfully live the Christian life and leave the religious battles to God? Could it be that if Christians and the Church focused on the war for souls we would realize that our current way of "doing church" might not match up with God's vision for his Church, the Body of Christ? God's goals are larger and longer than our human perspectives ever could be. God's desire for those created in his image is deeper and truer than even the most altruistic of human motivations. The more closely and clearly our hearts are aligned with God's heart the more we are willing to "lose" some religious battles as we join God in the much larger war for souls.
What are some of the religious battles which have distracted and derailed churches and denominations from the greater spiritual war? Church politics, personal ambition and business modeled leadership have had a profound impact upon the direction of the Church in the United States. These battles are waged in churches and denominations on a daily basis and although one side can feel the satisfaction of winning and affecting others under their influence, in the larger picture the war for souls is being lost.
It is normal for local churches and pastors to feel that they are in a competition with other churches and pastors in their region. Pastors compare the size of their church attendance with other pastors and employ the latest techniques for attracting attenders to compare more favorably. Churches "grow" in numbers at the expense of other churches rather than lives being changed by the gospel. Denominations develop and hand down new growth strategies which apply pressure to "grow" so that denominational statistics will compare more favorably to other denominations. This approach to ministry burgeoned in the "church growth" era in the 1980s as churches sought to retain and add on to the religious awakening in the 1970s. The goal was to make churches more popular and approachable.
As the Church has focused on the business of larger congregations and buildings its message to the world has become mixed and muddled. An unchurched person often sees churches as social organizations which are desperate for members and sustaining funds. This sense of desperation pervades many smaller churches as they try to figure out how they will continue to exist as attendance dwindles. While advertising and promotions are cloaked in religious verbiage, at the very core unchurched persons are keenly aware that they are being targeted as consumers similar to the approach of competing national retail chains.
If these are some of the religious battles, what is the spiritual war? Well, of course, the war is between evil and good, God and the evil one, sin and salvation, light and darkness, faith and hopelessness. Most churches and denominations have these basic tensions at the core of their motivation but the basic message gets diluted or lost in the mix of motivations mentioned previously. What would it mean to refocus on the war for souls rather than religious battles? First, there needs to be a return to the basic understanding that the Kingdom of God is not about buildings or personalities, it is about people connecting with God the Father, through Jesus Christ and becoming more Christian (Christ-like) through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God changes lives, not pastors or churches. God may choose to use human intermediaries but the battle for souls is spiritual rather than physical. The Church's desperation needs to be for souls rather than members.
In Ephesians 6 the Apostle Paul said, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Then he lists the spiritual armor necessary to fight the war for souls - truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the word of God. We cannot fight this spiritual war on a physical plane. Our number one priority needs to be walking with God and obeying his leading rather than growing a human institution. Note that after Paul's list of the spiritual armor needed to fight the war for souls he says in verses 18-20 "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
Is it possible that the very core function of Christians and the Church is just to prayerfully live the Christian life and leave the religious battles to God? Could it be that if Christians and the Church focused on the war for souls we would realize that our current way of "doing church" might not match up with God's vision for his Church, the Body of Christ? God's goals are larger and longer than our human perspectives ever could be. God's desire for those created in his image is deeper and truer than even the most altruistic of human motivations. The more closely and clearly our hearts are aligned with God's heart the more we are willing to "lose" some religious battles as we join God in the much larger war for souls.
Comments
Post a Comment