WHERE TO START

Research and publications ranging from The New York Times to Christianity Today agree, Evangelicalism is vanishing from the American landscape. In his article, The Most Common Factor In Declining Churches, Thom S. Rainer notes, “Stated simply, the most common factor in declining churches is an inward focus.”

Some time ago Francis Chan preached on the unrecognizability of the American church (VIDEO HERE), stating, “Sometimes I feel like we’re playing a game. I almost feel like it would be like walking into an ice skating rink and seeing a bunch of people throwing fish at little hamsters that are running around. And you walk in and go, ‘What are you guys doing?’ And they go, ‘We’re playing soccer.’ And you just kinda go, ‘Oh. Where do I start with this.’”

Chan goes on to say, “I feel like that with church sometimes - especially in the Bible Belt. I’m serious. I’m sorry, but at least in California if we don’t believe in Jesus we’ll just say it. Here it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m a Christian. We get all dressed up and we do this whole… we don’t swear a whole lot. We don’t drink a whole lot. We come and read the Bible, sing songs, and go home.’ That’s church. Everyone’s cool with it. But when I’m alone… I’m going, ‘What are we doing?’”

Chan concludes saying, “But I read the Word of God. I read the Bible, and I go… ‘I don’t even know where to start.’ I look at the book of Acts and the church was unstoppable. It would be amazing to be part of something like that. Then you look at our churches and go, ‘They’re pretty stoppable.’ Just have the pastor leave. If he was a good speaker - bring in one that’s not as good and the church is dead. Cut the budget. Your band sucks and people leave. ‘You guys changed service times. I’m not coming anymore.’ I don’t even know where to start.”

Rainer’s number one indicator in declining churches: “There are very few attempts to minister to those in the community.”

James Frick once said, “Don't tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I'll tell you what they are.” Churches today will tell you that they are very community focused. They’ll show you their budget and how much they spend on worship services and youth programs. But as we all know, statistics are pliable and subject to interpretation. As Daniel J. Levitin notes, they can lead to absurd observations, such as: “On average, humans have one testicle.” Just because you spend a lot of money on doing Sunday church and youth programs, just because your church is “growing,” that doesn’t mean you're invested in the advancement of the Gospel. It doesn’t mean that your vision and mission are aligned with Jesus.

A pastor and friend of mine recently shared with me, “Cancer is a growth. It’s not healthy, but it’s growth.” You don’t herald cancer as a victory. When it comes to cancer you eradicate it with extreme prejudice.

The unstoppable church Chan refers to in the book of Acts wasn’t about Sunday productions or even youth programs. The church was about one thing - advancing the Gospel. That’s evangelism.

In his New York Times article, “The Decline of Evangelical America,” John S. Dickerson writes, “We evangelicals must accept that our beliefs are now in conflict with the mainstream culture. We cannot change ancient doctrines to adapt to the currents of the day. But we can, and must, adapt the way we hold our beliefs — with grace and humility instead of superior hostility. The core evangelical belief is that love and forgiveness are freely available to all who trust in Jesus Christ. This is the “good news” from which the evangelical name originates (“euangelion” is a Greek word meaning “glad tidings” or “good news”).”

Adaptation has taken many forms in the “evangelical” church movement in America. There are strains of the Emerging Church movement with a blatant jettison of orthodox doctrine (e.g. Jesus as the exclusive way). Doctrine, for the Emerging Church, is seen as a cancer to authentic relationships; therefore, doctrine is aggressively irradiated, eradicated and excised. But there’s another, much more subtle, movement that is responsible for the decline of Evangelicalism in America. This movement is the kind that Chan describes as producing churches that are “pretty stoppable.” They’re the kind that split over music, service times and a whole host of entertainment and convenience factors.

This is the church of Sunday production. Proportionally, the topsy-turvy budgets of these churches have little emphasis on international missions, community impact, or (and most importantly) the empowerment of the congregation for ministry (i.e. discipleship). These churches typically have a huge youth ministry budget and staff because their strategy looks something like this: If we can capture the attention of our youth - their parents will likely follow.

This flawed strategy sets the church up not only to fail but to create dysfunctional followers of Christ. Rather than equipping the parents to be the primary spiritual leaders in their homes, the church creates, and actually encourages, a culture of co-dependency. As a step-dad, I know what it is like to see young kids faced with the option of a home with structure, boundaries, and consequences vs a home-life with an emphasis on entertainment and immediate gratification.

Kids shouldn’t be put in a situation where they determine what’s best for them. That’s the role of a parent. That’s the responsibility we’ve deferred to the local church and its (qualified?) youth pastor. The bottom-line to youth ministry is “How many?” How many kids were at camp? How many decisions were made? How many baptisms? If you’re numbers are up over last year - you’re a success. If you’re numbers are down… well, then it's time for us to find a replacement. In Matthew 13 Jesus said, “Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.”

I’m not saying that the seed isn’t landing on some good soil now and again, but I think that has more to do with the grace of God than the strategic approach of most churches. I was born-again much later in life. God blessed me with the gift of faith in my 30’s. The only kids I ever met who were “on fire for Jesus” were the same ones going to bars with me on the weekends. The same ones sleeping around with anything with a pulse. The same ones asking me if they could borrow money for an abortion. The normative life-cycle of a Christian in America is something like this:

• Get saved as a kid because you prayed the magical “Jesus come into my heart” prayer.
• Run with all the kids who go to loudest, biggest, craziest youth group.
• Stuff all that in a box for 10 years while you're partying at college, living with your boy/girlfriend, and chasing your career.
• Now that you’ve got a couple of kids - look for a church where you’re entertained and comfortable. You know, the kind where your kids can grow up and repeat the whole cycle.

Therefore, rather than having mature, godly mentors serving in these crucial roles - we have the equivalent of the Chris Farley's and Melissa McCarthy's “leading” our kids. Leading them to what? What’s our philosophy of youth ministry? Bigger is better? Louder is better? Crude and edgy are “effective tools” of discipleship?

Wait a second, can you tell me what that word “discipleship” means again? The Apostle Paul described it something like this, “so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

As I’m typing this in real time, I get a text message from my oft-disgruntled 14-year-old step-daughter that reads, “Hope you’re having a great week! I miss you so much and am very thankful to have you in my life. I’m sorry that I don’t show it very well. I love you!” If, like parenting, church were merely a popularity contest, those whom we are responsible for would suffer greatly. Few have the courage, conviction, or resolve to persevere.

I think Chan’s question, “Where do I start?” is valid. In John 15:5 Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing.” Where do we start? The answer, quite simply, is “In the Beginning.”

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com