NEW CONVERTS CATALYZE LUKEWARM BELIEVERS

It was fairly early in my ministry - my second full-time assignment.

The church building had been built from lumber from several old 'company houses', but it was nice and suited our needs well. The parsonage was attached. Deb could come to church by going through a cave-like corridor between the two. 😊 It was in a small village with no stores; just the school buildings, a volunteer fire department and a funeral home.

The congregation generally ran around 70 in attendance and was a mix of coal-miners, teachers, retired couples and a few small business owners. 

The church had purchased some property on a main road to a much larger city, that had been deemed by denominational consultants as an EXCELLENT location for future growth and development! The property was already paid for!

But the congregation had fallen into complacency - the dreaded plight of many a church!

Just the newness of a newly appointed pastor generates some interest, so attendance picked up slightly upon our arrival. Since Debbie and I were younger, there was an influx of younger couples, people and families that began to attend. Within a year, the church was running over 100 in attendance!

A DISAPPOINTING SIGN:

The leadership of the church remained in the hands of an older group. Unfortunately, it takes years for a congregation to incorporate new people into leadership positions that can make a difference. This is a sad reality that inhibits growth, creativity and risk-taking in churches!

I had been told that a local radio station was interested in broadcasting our Sunday worship service live. I inquired and acquired the details to share with our ‘Official Board’.  They would simply place a transmitting device in our sanctuary and would charge us $20/week for this exposure.  I was over-the-top excited that for such a minimal amount, we would have this opportunity to be heard in our larger community.

But the board found the expense and inconvenience to be too high and rejected my appeal to ‘go live’. We’ll never know what could have happened if we had stretched a bit to gain considerably more listeners.  Sad!

I had made friends with a man a bit younger than me. He was single. We often got together to throw the frisbee and work on odd jobs. We became great friends and I hoped to one day be a spiritual influence in his life. Deb informed me that he was a very good-looking young man!  😉 After a couple of years, he began bringing a beautiful, young girlfriend with him to church. Within a short time, she made a commitment to follow Christ and even began attending our Wednesday night ‘Prayer Meeting’.

I must confess that this was not an exciting meeting. I would present a brief Bible study. Then, considerable time was spent sharing long lists of prayer requests; followed by a time of prayer where most knelt at their pew.

I was shocked when she showed up one Wednesday evening! She was a remarkably forward young woman and during my study, began peppering me with questions. Her presence and participation transformed the course of the evening!  She was SO EXCITED about her new faith! She had hoards of questions! She was hungry to know how to read the Bible! She wanted to know how to please God. She quickly outgrew the limited faith of her boyfriend – who never attended prayer meeting!

As weeks turned into months, her presence totally changed the atmosphere of our Wednesday night meeting! Her vivacious engagement ignited a fresh awareness of genuine faith in the older attenders who had drifted into complacency!

Unfortunately, when they ceased to be a couple, she didn’t feel comfortable continuing to attend.

Complacency quickly returned  -  it usually does.

I pressed the congregation, reminding them of this valuable piece of property that they owned. I tried to cast a vision for a new building less than two miles away towards the nearby larger city! An Assembly of God Church had built a new facility just two miles in the other direction and was already prospering due to the high visibility! 

After four years of investment and persuasion, we set a night for a congregational vote. Essentially, it turned out to be favorable with the equivalent of a 51-49 outcome.

You don’t enter into a fund-raising, hope-building major campaign based on a 51-49 vote. I set things in motion to negotiate a move at the end of that year.

_________________________

I was young and inexperienced!

Looking back, I can now observe that I left several of my appointments prematurely. But being a pastor is a lonely job! You don’t have a lot of built-in accountability. You rarely meet with a conference superintendent; s/he actually knows little to nothing about your specific congregation! Your own initiative is about all that drives you to seek out an accountability partner. You face discouragements and opposition regularly. ‘Church-bosses’ have a deeply entrenched power base that is formidable and rarely - if ever - based on a deep spiritual reputation! The result of this – for a pastor - can be overwhelming!

I knew – even in my youth and inexperience – that this could have exploded with impact for God! But I didn’t have the patience, experience and support to see it through! Regrettably, I moved on and the church still meets in that same old building today.

HINTS FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH?

 Acts 2:41-47 [The Living Bible]

And those who believed Peter were baptized—about three thousand in all! They joined with the other believers in regular attendance at the apostles’ teaching sessions and at the Communion services and prayer meetings.

A deep sense of awe was on them all, and the apostles did many miracles.

And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything with each other, selling their possessions and dividing with those in need. They worshiped together regularly at the Temple each day, met in small groups in homes for Communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness, praising God. The whole city was favorable to them, and each day God added to them all who were being saved.

One of the authors of a book I’ve been reading over the last two weeks - Shane Claiborne - reminds us that there are over 36,000 Christian denominations! This clearly indicates how severely broken the "body of Christ" is, and yet none of these denominations appear to be searching for common ground!

He writes:

"Jesus' longest prayer in John’s gospel was that we would be one as God is one (17:22). With more than 36,000 Christian denominations, we have a long way to go.”

Back in June, Debbie and I attended the Harvest Conference’s Tri-Conference sessions in Dalton, Ohio, It was led by our area bishop, Kay Kolde, who reminded us that the number of FM churches in America have fallen from 1050 to 825 over the past fifteen years [a decline that is mirrored in most – if not all – Christian denominations in America].

To add to this drama, I know that in 2012, when we left for China, the number of Free Methodists in America was around 105,000.  It startled me recently to discover that our number has now declined to a little over 69,000 Free Methodists in America AND CANADA!

Yet the Free Methodist denomination is rapidly expanding around the globe through vigorous evangelistic efforts!  Currently we have 1.6 million Free Methodists globally with a mere 4% of those being in the United States!

Now, before you get discouraged, let me assure you that these trends are not exclusive to Free Methodism; they are reflected in every Christian denomination in America.

Observations:

·         The Pew and Gallup polls indicate that about 20% of Americans attend worship weekly at least three times a month. However, a Washington Post breakdown of America’s faith habits reports that as few as 5% of the population regularly attends religious services.

·         Many denominations are finding it difficult to find enough pastors to lead their churches.

·         It is estimated that 15,000 churches closed in 2025.

Why do churches close?  

Well, the answer is easy: it’s because they’re failing at their God-given mission!

When we examine churches that have closed – or are about to – we tend to find that they’re:

• not growing by convert growth.
• plateaued or declining in attendance.
• not invested in their community.
• or, they’re in a state of internal conflict.

It is not a pretty picture for the American Church and consequently for our culture. The WOKE agenda has clearly infiltrated the Church and is undermining its desire and passion for being spiritually fruitful! 

And, by the way, WHO is driving the WOKE agenda?

Our spiritual enemy! 

In reading through Job he doesn’t hesitate to name this enemy. Satan was hounding believers in Job’s day and he hasn’t stopped!  Jesus didn’t try to hide from this conflict. He openly addressed it! 

Consider Matthew 4, where Satan Himself came to Jesus while He was fasting and praying for forty days in the wilderness.  He came at Jesus’ weakest moment and tempted Him in areas where He was most vulnerable:

• The temptation to eat
• The temptation to test His Father’s love for Him, and
• The temptation to gain all the kingdoms of this world and all their glory

But each time, Jesus quoted scripture to rebuke His enemy!

The result?

1.    Satan left Him alone!

2.    Angels came and ministered to Him! 

I wrote recently in a blog article that I posted:

“I never want to be a part of a church that is not a threat to Satan and his kingdom! We’re not propping up an institution! We’re the living body of Christ! We are His representatives intended to influence those who are lost and distracted! Broken churches lose their sense of mission!  ‘Conflict passion’ replaces ‘evangelism passion’!”

Studying the New Testament Church in its earliest days is a good way to find out how on-track or off-track we are as a church in the twenty-first century. 

What were the characteristics of the church when it began?

We’re talking about the church that exploded into the streets after receiving the Holy Spirit in that upper room where 120 people had prayed for ten days!  That was the day that Peter preached in the streets and the other disciples discovered that they could suddenly speak in languages that they had never studied! The massive crowd gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost, so people were present from many nations – and most of them heard the gospel that day! 

That day alone, 3,000 people became followers of Christ!  Then, Luke gives us a graphic description of how this church grew and operated in those early days!

1.    The first thing we need to notice is that the New Testament Church had NO BUILDINGS! So, in many cases, we have a HUGE advantage over the NT Church! Being generous with our building and property would send a pretty positive message that would likely draw people to us!

2.  Our second observation is that the New Testament Church studied and grew together in small groups! Since they didn’t have buildings, a lot of these gatherings probably took place in homes! 

Also, they didn’t have Bibles!  The New Testament was just coming together during that first century. If they were in the right place at the right time, they might have at least heard one of Paul’s letters being read.

What they did do, however, was to sit under the teachings of the apostles and their associates. 

3.    Our third observation is that they met together regularly for fellowship! All their activity was not spiritual in nature. They learned to love one another – as Christ had instructed them. This meant knowing one another and enjoying one another’s company!  Apparently they ate together a lot!  During some of these meals they even celebrated the Lord’s Supper as a part of their gathering!

This concept has almost been lost to the American Church! We only meet for church or an occasional Bible study. These believers became like extended family to one another! They enjoyed being together! They loved one another!

4.    Our fourth observation from this passage is that the New Testament had gatherings that were just for prayer!

Prayer aways has been and always will be the engine that drives the growth and outreach of the church!

5.    And finally, our passage mentions one last area  -  KOINONIA. In the New Testament, the Greek word κοινωνία (koinónia) is translated into English in several ways, depending on context. The most common include: fellowship, sharing, participation, communion, partnership, and community. It is a word for which we have no single replacement. Rather, it includes aspects of all of these we’ve just mentioned. 

But Luke – the writer of Acts – goes on to describe the implications of this word in verses 44-46:

And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

These new followers of Christ were:

• together – apparently this means common ownership of some things
• sharing their possessions with one another based on need
• having contact with one another day by day
• eating together with some regularity
• praising God together in all of the above!

There’s a pretty big hint here as to why the Church in America doesn’t resemble the New Testament Church as described in its earliest days!

Today’s American followers of Christ:

• rarely, if ever, share possessions with one another
• rarely, if ever, see one another during the week
• almost never go into one another’s home
• almost never enjoy meals together
• only praise God together during our once-a-week meeting on Sunday morning

There is one more VERY IMPORTANT factor that characterized the New Testament Church, and that was the constant incorporating of new followers of Christ!

Based on church reports: An average American church of 85 people [which IS the average sized American church] tends to report one convert per year!

This statistic tells us that there is a very low demand for training and discipling new believers in most American churches, because they simply are not seeing many new believers! 

The American Church has VERY LITTLE in common with the New Testament Church described in the early chapters of Acts!

The Book of Acts records the rapid expansion of the early Church from Jerusalem to the ends of the known world, showing both numerical growth and spiritual vitality.

I can speak most authoritatively about my own denomination – Free Methodism. There are distinct reasons why the American Church is shrinking while Christianity around the globe is exploding!

Our missions’ department has divided the globe into five areas: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. According to our World Mission page, we have an active presence in 99 countries [WHICH IS AWESOME!!!!]!

The Asian area has set a goal to see a million new believers this year! We observed earlier: "Currently we have 1.6 million Free Methodists globally with a mere 4% of those being in the United States!"

Here’s our assignment:

1.    How can we open our buildings to others in a way that promotes our caring for this community?

2.    How can we generate prayer groups and Bible study groups that will help us to grow as well as get better acquainted with one another?

3.    How can we create times when we get together for fun and pleasure so that we can grow in our loving and caring for one another? How can we plan occasional meals together that allow us to mingle and get to know one another’s families better?  [Eating together lowers inhibitions!]

4.    How can we generate prayer gatherings that are not boring but ARE genuinely effective?

5.    How can we retrain our brains to be more outspoken about our faith?

Are we content to just be a gathering of Christian people, or do we want to be a threat to Satan’s kingdom?

I have great difficulty believing that God is pleased with the American Church – with some exceptions, of course! I believe with all my heart that God wants something of significance to happen here, and there are signs that it has begun! It will continue and flourish – IF WE PRAY AND INITIATE A NEW TESTAMENT ZEAL IN OUR CHURCHES!

SATAN’S NUMBER ONE WEAPON AGAINST THE CHURCH!

It’s an easy answer: DISTRACTION! And churches can become distracted so easily! 

Good things can distract the church from its mission!  It happens regularly.

·         Building programs can easily become a distraction from our primary objective of going into the world and making disciples of all nations!  There’s a reason why pastors who oversee large building programs often leave the church shortly after it’s completed. Dissension and brokenness over the massive number of decisions to be made drain the people of unity and focus!

·         Satan will stir any pot possible to divide a church and distract it from its God-assigned purpose! For instance, a conflict between two key leaders can dampen the presence of God in worship and cause a major disturbance among the people who are part of the church.

·         Other major decisions about programming can become sources of frustration and discontent. If these are not quelled by open discussion and transparency, then discontent and suspicion can run rampant!

·         Election of leaders and votes on controversial issues frequently become oppositional and cause friction among the membership. The highest level of integrity must accompany this process with plenty of opportunity for discussion, questions and information sharing.  Leaders must exhibit Christian grace in their dealings with one another and with the congregation.

·         Expansion of staff can raise concern and questions that must be addressed. This will typically only occur within larger congregations where it is genuinely needed. But first attempts to hire help in a growing church can be vigorously challenged. Great patience must be exercised to help the people understand the need and be willing to accept another leader.

·         In smaller churches there can be strong feelings about the finances of the church. Certain individuals will focus on this area with great scrutiny. Of course, finances should be transparent and subject to frequent review by finance teams, auditors and leadership teams.

In most cases these kinds of concerns are not known to the vast majority of attenders in churches over 300 in size. However, in smaller churches there is a greater sense of ownership and control on the part of members.

Listen, Satan’s task is really easy! All he wants is to see the church be distracted from influencing lost and hurting people toward the Kingdom of God! He doesn’t care WHAT distracts the church; only that it BE DISTRACTED!!!!

Happy, comfortable small churches where the focus is on loving one another and living together in harmony are not a concern to Satan! He will essentially leave them alone! They’re not a threat to his kingdom. A church that registers no new converts year after year gives him no reason to oppose them or even distract them! THEY’RE ALREADY DISTRACTED!

I suppose the weapon that is next in line would be COMPLACENCY! When a church is happy and content with maintaining things as they are, they are not a threat to his dominion. He’s happy to leave them alone with their ‘we four and no more’ attitude!

But let new leadership arise that begins to teach about discipleship and evangelism and the enemy will take note and begin to make attempts to bring dissension, opposition and confusion.

He will stir up good, Christian people to use manipulative and deceitful methods to disrupt the body. He will catalyze bully-types to outwit, outmaneuver and over-speak milder, less confident people.

He will influence people toward gossip, secret associations and malicious and underhanded actions.

He will raise up bitterness, hurt, division, and general nastiness that demeans and discourages  others.

______________________________________

Church leaders must be on guard for signs of the above! Our mission is far too important to allow ourselves to become distracted! People are headed for an eternity of misery and we must intercept them with the saving message of Christ!

Leaders must be courageous in confronting and guiding the church body through these times of temptation and opposition. The pastor/shepherd role becomes highly significant at times like this by pointing out the reality that the church may be under attack and urging congregation members to seek the Lord and pray for the restoration of passion for God’s priorities to reign!

Lord of the Church: Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

 

We are weak but You are strong!

Keep us Savior from all wrong!

 

Help us to recognize the clear reality of being distracted from our God-given mission!

Help us to care enough about the lost to make whatever concessions and confessions that may be necessary to put us back in Your graces!

 

Help us to remember and realize that it’s NOT about us and what we want,

But IT IS ALL ABOUT YOU AND WHAT YOU WANT!

 

Grant us the clarity to see what is wrong with our attitude and perspective.

Correct us through intercession and Your Holy Word!

Speak clearly to us – through the fog of distraction – and encourage us to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord!

 

Jesus, we are Your body!

As Your Father sent You, so You have sent us!

We don’t want to disappoint You!

We want to be full of love and compassion – especially for the spiritually lost!

 

Have Thine own way, Lord,

have Thine own way!

Thou art the Potter

we are the clay.

Mold us and make us

after Your will

while we are waiting

yielded and still!

 

FOR THE KINGDOM’S SAKE, AMEN!

COMPLACENCY IS OUR ENEMY!

I'll be speaking about complacency this Sunday, so when I read the following words from Max Lucado's first book - ON THE ANVIL - they registered with me:

We're complacent to God.  Churchgoers pack the pews and sing to the back of someone's head.  Fellowship is lost in formality.  One, two, three times a week people pay their dues by walking in the door, enduring a ritual, and walking out [this book was published in 1985, who goes to church three times a week today?].  Guilt is appeased.  God is insulted.  [p.32]

This might not have impacted me quite so much except for what I read just moments before from Richard and Renee Stearns' book, HE WALKS AMONG US.  

There I read the story of Roth Ourng who is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia in the 1970's.  Needless to say, he was suspicious of World Vision workers who showed up in his community in the 1990's.  They set up a tuberculosis clinic, worked with the children in school, and taught farmers new agricultural techniques.  But Roth did not trust them.  

Eventually, he questioned the program director and demanded to know why he was there.  The answer: "We are followers of Jesus Christ, and we are commanded to love our neighbors."   Then the man gave Roth a Bible in the Khmer language.  

In Genesis, Roth discovered the God "I had always wondered about, the God who created the world."  Eventually God led Roth and a friend to a Cambodian pastor who explained the gospel to him.

Stearns comments: "When I met Roth, he was the pastor of a little house church with eighty-three members.  When I asked him where he had found so many members, he answered, 'After I discovered Jesus, I had to tell everyone I knew.  These are my sheep; this is my flock.'"  [pp.123-125]

This is the opposite of complacency!  Look at the love in those eyes!  

No pews - just passion!  

Lord of the harvest,

Help us to break the bonds of complacency and discover the joy of sharing You with our family, friends, neighbors and co-workers!

Help me to be responsible for many who will enter the Kingdom of God through doors that I open as a result of my love for You!  

FOR THE KINGDOM'S SAKE!

AMEN!

WATCH OUT FOR COMPLACENCY!

 I just read I Corinthians 10:1-13 (NIV - 1984).

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. 

Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel. 

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

This passage is full of Old Testament references.  Paul intends to use the ancients to teach a lesson to the moderns.  

The ancient Israelites who escaped Egypt with Moses as their leader were all given the same opportunities that Moses had been given:

• they lived under the cloud (and pillar of fire) that represented God's presence.
• they all passed through the sea and witnessed the miraculous protection and provision of God.
• they all received a type of baptism by passing through the sea and experiencing the cloud of God's presence.
• they all ate the same spiritual manna.
• they all drank the same spiritual water provided by their God - the Rock (a pre-image of Christ)!

However, God was not pleased with most of them and their bodies ended up scattered all over the desert.

Paul is clear in indicating that these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did (v.6).  

Then, he moves to specifics:

      1. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were...(v.7).

What does it mean to be an idolater?  In its simplest form, it means to put ANYTHING/ANYONE before God!  Paul doesn't illustrate, so I won't either.

      2. We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did...(v.8).

         

Paul doesn't extrapolate here except to remind us that 23,000 Israelites died because of their immorality [see Numbers 25:1-9].

      3. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did - and were killed by snakes...(v.9).

Again, Paul doesn't illustrate, but I'm thinking of Annanias and Sapphira (Acts 15:1-11), and the Israelites in Numbers 21:5-6, where they were rebellious with God and Moses because they were hungry and homeless.  Testing God seems to be failing to have faith in God's plan and refusing to trust God to work on our behalf.

      4. Do not grumble as some of them did - and were killed by the destroying angel...(10).

In Numbers 16:41, the Israelites complained that God and Moses had caused the death of 250 of Korah's men who had rebelled against Moses' leadership.  If you've read Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, then you know that the main sin of Israel during this period was complaining/grumbling.

Paul then makes it clear that these things were written down as WARNINGS FOR US on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come (v.11 ) [that's Jesus]!  

Then, in verse 12, he talks about complacency:  ...if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall.  

Paul ends his mini-message with words that many of us memorized when we were young.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.    (v.13)

There's the word for the day:

You cannot and will never face a temptation that can't be resisted!  God will ALWAYS BE THERE and He will always offer you a way to escape!  And in the words of Barretta, "You can take that to the bank!"