I recently had a conversation with a friend who is part of a church that has invested a lot into their worship. They have the newest songs, upbeat worship, a sweet powerpoint setup, full time worship staff, a praise team, and contemporary songs. In spite of all of that this church has basically lost all of their young adults and they want to know how to get them back. Faster songs is not a guarantee of a vibrant church. Less old songs and more new songs is not the newest discipling strategy. Powerpoint is not the secret to success…never has been, never will be. Those things can all be used as supportive elements of deeper and richer teaching and ministry but were never meant to be the primary means of discipling people.
Some say it is about doing a better job keeping them. Others say it is all about sending them. Here is what is first and the part we have missed – We have to teach people how to die. That isn’t my opinion…that is what Jesus taught comes first. He said, “Then [Jesus] said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” – Luke 9:23-25
Dying isn’t a very popular starting point but that didn’t keep Jesus from pointing it out and it shouldn’t keep us from saying it either. Instead, some have trained people to think you can basically be the same person you always have been, add Jesus to it, and “get to heaven” just fine. That is not what Jesus taught. He taught first we have to deny ourselves, die to ourselves and then follow him in order to embrace the abundant life that only he can give us. The temptation is to skip they dying part and get right to the “good news” living part. You cannot have one without the other. Do you want the Christians you know to have life through Christ? If so we have to teach what Jesus taught. If you skip the first two steps you end up with Moral Therapeutic Deism of the worst sort. You cannot just teach morality and ethics without the underlying foundation of spiritual transformation and identity in Christ and expect people to be more than people who might have slightly better behavior than non-believers.
In order to embrace Christ you have to first empty self by dying to life as you knew it. If you don’t teach that expect to develop Christians who can have one foot in the world and one foot in Christianity. It is hard to step out of faith if you have two feet with Jesus rather than just one. It is easier to step back into the world from on top of the fence than on the other side of it. Inadvertently, our lack of teaching has communicated that fence sitting isn’t all that bad.
Churches are dying because Christians aren’t. Once you start teaching that and embracing that, the church will have the right starting place to grow into the life God is calling the world to.
25 Responses
I think you are spot on, Matt! Good stuff…
Thanks Doug…glad it was helpful!
” If you don’t teach that, expect to develop Christians who can have one foot in the world and one foot in Christianity.”
Indeed. The world’s vision of ambition and security is poisoning the kingdom. The kingdom has a vision of those things as well; I’m just doing an awful job of presenting them as worthwhile alternatives.
so true…worldliness is everywhere. So hard to tell the difference between Christians and the world sometime. I am sure a lot of people would echo your last sentence there.
Matt,
I think in many ways, we are both hitting the same nail on the head today. Good post!
Grace and Peace,
Rex
Rex,
I appreciate what you had to say as well.
Thanks, Matt, for a good reminder. Easy to look for the quick fix, rather than go to the heart of the matter: the heart!
Now the challenge is to stop writing about it and go do something about it!
Amen, Matt. Definitely printing this one for multiple distribution.
Paul
Matt, how profoundly simple! “Churches are dying because Christians aren’t.” You helped me to create my next sermon series. Not sure what all it needs but I’ve got direction.
Ha! Bob, I know you will do something great with that. I would love to hear what you do with it and how people respond to that.
Very good.
Thanks brother.
Awesome post, Matt.
Appreciation that Mark. Have a blessed day! Will you be at the Harding Lectureship this year?
I’d say churches overall are dying among people because all we hear is how much gays, illegals and anyone else who isn’t southern and white is ruining the country.
Amen Patick!! A tough question that must be honestly faced is, “Do we really want the church to be light for all, or do we want to keep it ‘Southern fried with all the fixins?”
Awesome reminder. Wow. Once again, it’s the fundamentals that need reminding! Blessings…
Greetings in the name of JESUS CHRIST Matt you know if we really think of how thoes in the past in CHRIST time and all of the persecution against the Church in Jerusalem and throught the land how they fled to other countrys in that how they never never renounce there FAITH in JESUS CHRIST that we as a nation do not really comperhend how ????? the apostles of CHRIST continued to preach the resurrection of JESUS CHRISTuntil there death in some where stoned beheaded boiled alive very slowly fed to wild animals disemboweled wail alive crucified by the Romans dismembered of body parts wail alive, you know it should make one THINK very hard how bless we really are and that we should never never deni CHRIST at all cost even on to death for the sake of CHRIST Church,we as a people a human race and yes race is all people weather red yellow black or white they all are pressues in JESUS CHRIST because of who made us in HIS image and yes die for us on the CROSS of CALVARY,I myself think on this daily to WHO!s I am to ,is it self or is it CHRIST ,as for me and myhouse I WILL SERVE the LORD JESUS CHRIST because with out CHRIST I am LOST. WBS
I will touch on this in Tulsa next week as a part of my discussion. Great thoughts.
I really enjoyed this article and have preached on this subject many times. I was talking about this issue with another preacher just the other day and he actually said “No one wants to take up their cross.” I would love to use this article in our bulletin if that would be alright.
Certainly
Around 1963 Mad Magazine had a satire on “Do it yourself magazines”. I woman wrote that she enjoyed the 5 articles on taxidermy (Feb-June) but had one problem: “How do you get the animal to stand still?” Signed, Perplexed. “Dear Perplexed, Actually there were six articles. Please get hold of the January issue – it contains an important first step!” Too often my teaching began in February not January!