Is the local church, that is on every corner of America, an effective witness to the kingdom of God. I don't have those numbers but I would probably have to say no, otherwise the millions of Christians in this country would be more effectual in changing the culture but instead the culture is changing those churches. Jesus says, we cannot serve to masters and in the case of modern churches, they serve several.
Money, that thing society runs on, fights over and worships is at the center of every church. Think I'm wrong, go to every church website and see if they don't have a link to give on it. Go to every service and they ask for money. Hear enough sermons and several will result in one being about the principle of tithe or storing up or harvest or something to do with finances.
According to Zip Recruiter, church staff salaries average around the $45,000 range with some pastors of mega churches exceeding millions of dollars per year. One pastor I researched has $760 million dollars of wealth built up in cars, mansions, private jets and more. Even if a church isn't a mega church with tens of thousands of members, even the smallest church must worry about funding. Building maintenance costs, utility costs, salaries, materials and more. The more programs a church starts the more people they get and the more money they get but they also spend more money as well.
It's a balancing act of member count brings in money, programs keep those members and more programs bring more members. The focus now is on membership numbers and how many programs they need to retain and get more members. It's a spiral.
Never once have I heard about Jesus passing an offering plate at one of His sermons or hearing of Him asking His disciples to find a place to build a building. Never did He worry about membership or programs to retain followers. Actually, He lost 5,000 followers after one sermon. If that happened today, that pastor would be fired immediately. Jesus didn't bat an eye over it though, He just kept on preaching the good news of the kingdom. Jesus never once mentioned in the great commission, go out and plant church buildings and sit every Sunday and listen to someone preach. No, instead He said go make disciples. Being a disciples means you follow Jesus, not some pastor or denomination. So we are to be disciples of Christ no matter where you live, work or go to school, in those places you can be a follower.
Too much like a Club
When I first started going to a church, I was dismayed at the whole membership thing. You could not be an actual member of the church unless you were Baptized there or had a letter from another church stating you had been Baptized at their church. It was like I was signing up for a club. There was a book with a member roster on it and everything. When I came up from the water and sat down after changing, I was handed a copy of the membership roster to take home. I was now an official member of the club. It just felt a bit weird how all that worked then and I'm really worried about that now. Why a membership? Again, it's to keep track of the numbers. Why does every store or restaurant have an app? To measure customer loyalty and to track product popularity. It's analytics. They analyze all that data so they can make an educated determination about menu items, times, promotions and more; and to keep you they offer a point system worth free product after so many purchases. They pay you for being the unwitting participant in their board room meetings.
Churches do the same thing. They create a membership so they can track how well they did over time. If they add a second service and the numbers for the new time are better than the old time then they know they are on to something. If they change music and attendance increases, they know. It's all about analytics, budgeting and program planning. Again, Jesus didn't have Matthew keep a record of everyone that attended the service so they can put you on their mailing list.
I can see it now, "Thanks for attending Jesus' sermon yesterday. We just wanted to drop you a line and invite you to His next event in Jerusalem. You may see healings, hear a spectacular message and you may even get fed some fish and bread. An offering will be taken! See you there. First come first serve with the seating." That would have been ridiculous now wouldn't it, then why do we have church like that now. "Men's conference on this date, come and see five well known speakers and eat steak." "Women, come to this event where we have the same amount of speakers and we'll serve sandwiches and water." It's crazy, and every church is in competition with the others. If the one across town has a youth program then all of a sudden all the churches start a youth program. If this does this then that one does the same or tries to do it better.
Have you ever come in contact with a Christian and instead of asking you, do you know God loves you and He wants you to be close to Him, they say, "What church do you go to." If you tell them so and so church, they instantly put on the salesman hat and try to sell you their church with all its programs and oh you should hear the sermon series the pastors teaching right now. It's a mentality that has been propagated by the church, to be in competition like every business is in the U.S.
Money and its Influence
So we should agree by now that without money, members and programs, a church would cease to exist. Their dependence on money has made them vulnerable to attack. One is worry. Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow but when you have a 10,000 sq. ft. church that needs power, water, gas and staff, then worry is inevitable. Another is, putting your trust in others to deliver you a truthful message. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide us, counsel us and lead us into all things that is of God. If we go and listen to someone preaching a message, yet it isn't the truth and we agree and follow that message then it is the blind leading the blind.
Here's a great example: Paul the apostle gets blinded by Jesus and his heart is completely changed. Now Paul is so on fire for the gospel and he runs off to preach the word to others. He doesn't come in contact with the other apostles for three years. So for three years Paul was preaching the exact gospel to gentiles through out the land with no teaching, writings or word of mouth. He was imparted the wisdom through the Holy Spirit and Christ. If Paul and others throughout the early history of the church could fully rely on the Spirit to deliver a cohesive and unified message then we should be doing the same. Faith has left the church and it has been replaced by doctrine, personal views and politics.
The fact is, some preachers will purposefully manipulate the gospel to line up with what their members want to hear. That's where we get the prosperity gospel and the always sinful gospel and so many more. With prosperity preaching, everyone gets what the flesh wants and it's OK, with sin preaching your quite the opposite as your always a sinner and will never be different. Charismatic preaching focuses on gifts of the Spirit and make a huge spectacle. Law preaching is based on following rules and none of these a fully right yet they have enough right that it makes them appealing.
So instead of truth, we get what the money says is good. Again, if the preaching draws in people and people bring money then there's a formula driven church and not a Christ driven one.
Solutions?
I'm not fully apposed to church but I am apposed to anything that comforts and coddles the flesh and if we get very truthful with ourselves most churches don't even talk about the term "flesh" let alone seek to not entertain it. Church shouldn't be about entertainment at all, it should be about discipleship. Church should be like an Emergency Room. When someone comes in hurt and damaged, they should be given the truth in love which is forgiveness of sins, cleansed by the blood and transformed by walking in His life. It's a simple message and 90% of current Christians aren't even aware of it now. They accept His forgiveness but deny the power to transform their lives from walking in flesh to walking in Spirit. Until they walk in the Spirit they aren't able to put to death the deeds of the flesh and they look, act and have the same fruit as those they are seeking to save.
If an ER was full of sick doctors and nurses, would you trust them to help cure your issues. No, and that's why there are millions of people that say, I'm not going to church ever again, because they were hurt by those in it. Hypocrisy runs rampant throughout the church and those outside looking in know that. If they don't see Christ walking in us daily then they won't know who He is. Most likely what they see is a person that looks just like them, defeated by life and circumstances. Instead they should see a person full of Christ living joyous, happy and peaceful lives in life's issues. Just like the three men thrown into the fire by the king, they had the fourth man living with them to walk them though the flames unaffected. It changed the king and the people of that kingdom. If we walk through life's messes and it doesn't affect us, then Christ is seen in us and it can change lives.
Church therefore should be a place for where truth is told and lived. The people shouldn't be huddled in fear of the world but rather they should be transforming the world through the love that lives in them. They should be out in the streets feeding the hungry, clothing the poor and being living Christ like one's.
The results of a church that is full of Christ, manifested in each person in that congregation, is a church with the power to completely change the community in which it's in. It should be a shining light on the hill, a place where the sick come to be healed physically and spiritually. It should draw people to it without a mailer, a bumper sticker, fancy programs, a concert each Sunday or having a preacher that makes six figures a year. It should be outside four walls to be where those that need help are.
Could you imagine a church where everyone met in a parking lot, prayed for two minutes at most then walked through the town, healing the sick and giving people Christ. No building, no overhead, no need of an uplifting sermon because they would be uplifted every day by Christ in them. It would be awesome!
Let us be the change the world is so desperately seeking. Let Christ live through us by faith to eradicate the enemy within us and all mankind. Let God's kingdom be established finally.
To God be the Glory
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