7
Deadly Sins of Church’s
Thom Rainer
I stood before some 700 church members on a
Sunday evening. My task was straightforward. I was to share with them the
results of a consultation my team members and I had worked on during the past
several weeks.
The presentation should have been easy and
uneventful. To the contrary, the time proved to be stressful and contentious.
When I pointed out even a small area of concern with suggested remedies, dozens
of members raised their hands to tell me how wrong I was, how the evaluations
of the consulting team were far off base.
The church in question had been in decline for
nearly two decades. Yet, from the perspectives of many of the members, the
church was healthy and thriving. From my perspective, the most obvious reality
I saw was denial.
Lessons from the Past, Lessons for the Future
Over the past 20 years, one of the richest
blessings in my life has been the opportunity to study and consult with
thousands of churches. I’ve seen hundreds of healthy churches that have taught
me valuable lessons.
Unfortunately, I’ve also seen thousands of
churches whose ministries are declining, whose members are discouraged, and
whose evangelistic impact is negligible. Recently, I reviewed many of my past
consulting and research projects to discern common characteristics of declining
and dying churches.
I found what I call “seven sins” that characterize dying churches. These issues
are not mutually exclusive; they are often directly related to each other.
Rather than being a source of discouragement, I pray that my elucidation of
these seven sins will be a tool to help you avoid the pitfalls that other
church leaders have experienced.
Sin #1:
Doctrine Dilution
One of our consultants sat in a Bible study
class of a church that had brought in our team for a long-term consultation
relationship. He had been told that the class included some of the church’s
strongest leaders. Much to his surprise, the entire Bible study was a debate on
whether or not a non-Christian might go to heaven. After much argument, the
conclusion was that God would indeed allow such a person into heaven.
When such cardinal truths as the doctrine of exclusivity become issues of
doubt, a church is in trouble. There’s little motivation for outreach and
evangelism if other paths and other religions are equal to Christianity.
Ironically, in our survey of unchurched persons across America, we found that
these non-Christians were much less likely
to attend churches with weak doctrinal beliefs than those with strong ones. “Why
should I waste my time in a place that does not have much certainty of belief,”
Amy, a 29-year-old unchurched person from Arizona, told us. “I can find plenty
of uncertainty in the world.”
Sin #2:
Loss of Evangelistic Passion
It is no surprise that declining and dying
churches have little evangelistic passion. In my January/February ’05 Outreach column, I highlighted one of the major
reasons for evangelistic apathy: Many senior pastors either don’t have or have
lost their evangelistic passion. Congregations tend to follow the passions and
visions of those in key leadership positions, particularly the pastor.
Sin #3: Failure to Be
Relevant
Unfortunately, many churches in America are out of touch with
the changing trends and values of today’s culture.
Some churches, for certain, abandon many of the cardinal truths of the faith in
their quest to be relevant to the community they serve. But even more churches
are woefully unaware of the realities, hopes, and pains of those around us.
Failure to be true to doctrines of the Christian faith leads to apostasy.
Failure to understand the world in which we live and serve leads to
irrelevancy.
Sin #4: Few
Outwardly-Focused Ministries
In a recent survey of churches across America, we found that
nearly 95% of the churches’ ministries were for the members alone. Indeed, many
churches had no ministries for those outside the congregation.
Many churches seem to exist only for themselves. While there certainly should
be ministry available for church members, often the balance between external
and internal ministries is heavily skewed toward internal. When churches seek
to care and minister only to their own, it’s a likely sign that decline is in
motion and that death may be imminent.
Sin #5: Conflict over
Personal Preferences
Some of the more vicious internal battles in congregations today
are not fights over defending the great truths of the Christian faith. Instead,
members have conflict over their preferred worship style, the way a room is
painted or carpeted, and the type of pulpit the preacher uses. Battles like
these are sure signs that members are more concerned about their needs than the
needs of the hurting and unchurched people who live and work next to them.
Sin #6: The Priority
of Comfort
A few years ago, my youngest son, Jess, was a high school senior
on the football team. Because he gave so much of himself in the Friday night
game, he often slept late on Saturdays. Around noon, he’d trudge down the
stairs, turn on the television in the family room, and collapse on the sofa.
One Saturday, I passed him as his extended body contorted on the sofa and
noticed that my football player son was watching HGTV. Curious, I asked Jess
why he was watching a home and gardening show. His response was classic—“’cause
the remote is broken.”
Many churches are in definitive patterns of decline because
church members simply will not move beyond their couches of comfort. It’s much
easier to do things the way we’ve always done them, rather than to get
uncomfortable in the world outside the walls of the church.
Sin #7: Biblical
Illiteracy
Only 3% of churches in America have a planned method of
instructing their members to learn the Bible in its entirety. While studying
the Bible shouldn’t be limited to a church setting, it’s imperative that
churches take the lead in these types of endeavors.
When only three of 100 churches even attempt to provide a way for their members
to understand Genesis to Revelation, biblical illiteracy is likely to occur.
And biblical illiteracy means that our churches may not be obedient to the
calls of Scripture because they don’t know what the Bible says.
Lights in the
darkness?
Our research shows that many churches in America are sick,
declining, and dying. Still, I remain an obnoxious optimist about the American
Church. I’ve seen many churches reject the darkness of these seven sins and do
something about their decline. They’re truly lights in the darkness.
I recently concluded a one-year consultation with a church that had seen a
reversal of almost all the negative trends in its congregation. The pastor
summed up the experience well: “We were not lacking in resources or know-how;
we were just lacking in obedience. When we made a decision that mediocrity and
complacency would not be acceptable, God began to bless us. It is just that
simple.”
