Bringing a Spiritually Dead Culture to Life.

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Acts 17:6

 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too,

(CSB)

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the United States, a day set aside for reflecting on the many things we have to be thankful for.  On the humorous side we can be thankful that the campaign ads are over for a while even if the election did not turn out like we may have expected.  If you are reading this, you should be thankful that you are alive.  Even though it is not perfect, I am also thankful to live in the United States with its many opportunities.  However, as one who has accepted Jesus as my savior, the greatest thing for which I am thankful for is God’s gift of salvation through Jesus’ death on the cross. 

Unfortunately, in many churches the simplistic message of salvation through faith in Jesus death on the cross is not being preached robbing people of the opportunity to express thanks for God’s free gift of salvation.  Because of this, the culture in many parts of the world, and even parts of the United States is spiritually dead and in need of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.  Instead of the truth of the Gospel, many churches today preach a gospel acceptable to a dying and dead culture.  These churches preach,

1)      A feel-good gospel:  Jesus told the woman at the well that true worshipers of God do so in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23).  The truth part is the foundation of the truth in the Bible.  While most individuals that attend church would attest to believing every word it contains, do they show the same excitement when what they read is truth revealing some sin in their lives.  The Bible is a two-edged sword that cuts to the heart of any situation (Hebrews 4:12).  In an effort not to offend and lose members, many churches have abandoned biblically truthful teaching and replaced it with a feel-good gospel.  While this may temporarily preserve church membership and attendance numbers, the long-term result is weak Christians unable to persevere through challenges in life. 

2)      Management instead of spiritual leadership:  The focus of many churches today has changed from a biblical call to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) to management of a facility and keeping members by making people feel good instead of their spiritual growth.  This is the spiritual component of worship Jesus meant in John 4:23. Without teaching from a Biblically centered foundation with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit a church is spiritually dead and no different than any other self-help organization.

3)      Political correctness replacing truth:  I mentioned being thankful for the end of campaign ads but also understand the political process has simply paused and will restart as the 2020 elections are less than two years away.  While the church should be involved in the political process to express Christian values in culture through candidates supporting these values, it must not compromise the truth of the Gospel message.  The temptation to be politically correct in presentation of the Gospel message is itself a two-edged sword bringing division and eventual spiritual death to a church. 

4)      Lack of spiritual disciplines:  Pastors in many churches focused on management have taken on the role of CEO.  Unfortunately, with this role often comes the abandonment of spiritual disciplines, especially the discipline of prayer.  (1)  As the early church grew, it reached a point where the Apostles could no longer do everything and needed to delegate (Acts 6:1-7).  Instead of appointing themselves to the prestigious position of CEO, the Apostles recruited seven men of good reputation to manage the church, leaving the Apostles to fulfill the role of prayer and ministry of the Word of God.  Instead of assuming the role of CEO, pastors must focus on their biblical role of teacher and shepherd of the flock through practice of spiritual disciplines and shepherding a spiritually disciplined flock.

For change back to biblical foundations in culture, the church must itself return to worship of God in spirit and truth.  The pastor has the responsibility of shepherding the flock of believers and not acting as CEO of the organization.  My prayer is that God will raise up churches and pastors dedicated to making disciples and leave the management role up to the Lord. 

1. Martinez, Jessica. Has America's Form of Christianity Left the Church in 'Spiritually Dead' Condition? www.christianpost.com. [Online] The Christian Post. [Cited: November 18, 2018.] https://www.christianpost.com/news/calif-pastor-rebukes-passive-coward-churches-for-avoiding-hot-button-issues.html.