Resisting Complacency in a Spiritually Thriving Culture

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Revelation 2:4

 But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.

(CSB)

The book of James reminds us that the struggles we experience in life have a purpose (James 1:2-4).  While not providing comfort to one experiencing a major trial in life, these Words in Scripture are true and applicable in our lives.  However, another role of struggles in life can be in avoiding complacency when we find ourselves in a culture that is spiritually thriving. 

While on the surface the Church in Ephesus was thriving as evidenced by its good works and taking a stand against the evil prevalent in its community, it had left its first love (Revelation 2:2-4).  Despite the good works of the Church at Ephesus, God views this leaving of its first love as falling away and needing repentance (Revelation 2:5).  The Church at Ephesus had fallen prey to spiritual complacency while appearing to thrive in its good works. 

The birth of the mega-church has led to the appearance of the church thriving in its community.  However, as we see the degradation of the culture with acceptance of murder through abortion, the perversion of gay marriage, and transgenderism leading to confusion over which public bathroom to use, it would appear the mega-church is not missionally thriving.  Romans 12:2 reminds us not to conform to the to the things of the secular world around us but to act as a transformative agent in the world.  I believe the Lord has this against many mega churches today,

1)      Declare the truth even if it is hard:  The mega church appears successful in our culture because of its large numbers.  While an arena sized venue filled every Sunday is impressive, God is not interested in big numbers but what is occurring within the heart of each person in that arena.  When pastors of these mega-churches lack the desire to preach hard truth, such as the hell, sin, or damnation the teaching misses the need for the Gospel and reconciliation to God.  (1)  Sure, as Pastor Joel Olsteen said in an interview, people feel beaten down in life, but their beaten down status is often the result of sin in their lives.  When this is the case, all the feel-good messages from the pulpit will do nothing to bring them up like confronting their sin and asking God for forgiveness.

2)      Focus on discipleship not numbers:  While encouragement and empowerment are part of the discipleship process, evangelism and establishment precede them.  Encouraging and empowering people through glitzy programs and eloquent words may attract big numbers but does not secure the eternal status of people with God by providing a biblical anchor in times of struggle.  People all over the world serve Christ under threat of death.  While the church in thriving cultures should encourage and support these people, the strength that keeps persecuted believers going is the security of their reconciliation with God through Christ and their foundation in the truth of God’s Word. 

3)      We are on the same team and not competitors:  I worked for nine years with one of the large tax preparation firms in the United States.  Income tax preparation in the United States is a lucrative business because every citizen earning income must file a return.  However, it is also a highly competitive business with each firm claiming to have more highly qualified preparers.  Unfortunately, in the quest to grow membership rolls, the church can also become competitive going against the words of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-23.  It makes no difference if a church has thousands of members filling arenas or a few members filling someone’s living room, the purpose of the church is to evangelize, equip, encourage, and empower their community.  Working as a team, the church can once again engage the culture in a transformative manner (Acts 17:6). 

The biggest danger of success in the church is the belief that it is somehow due to its beautiful facilities, glitzy and entertaining program, or its powerful and successful pastor.  This is dangerous for it introduces pride which starts an individual or church organization down the path to a fall (Proverbs 16:18).  Instead of allowing pride to enter due to success, the Church must continue to focus on its mission (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20) and attribute growth in numbers to adherence to this mission of God.  A culturally deprived world does not need mega-churches preaching a soft truth but churches preaching biblical truth and making disciples who engage with others making more disciples. 

1. Idleman, Shane. Joel Osteen: Preach God's Truth; Don't Avoid Sin, Repentance. www.christianpost.com. [Online] The Christian Post, May 29, 2016. [Cited: March 30, 2017.] http://www.christianpost.com/news/joel-osteen-truth-sin-repentance-160365/.