Matthew 16:24-25

What is wrong with the church, especially the church in the west? There is probably no more impotent, powerless, church with the exception of the European church, in all of Christendom. Conversions are almost a thing of the past. We seldom hear of miraculous occurrences. We rarely hear of true deliverances. We most likely never hear of the dead being raised to life. But we build bigger churches. We buy more property. The church in the west is steadily declining. Masses of people claiming to be born again stay away from the church and reinvest in other pursuits while church membership continues to decline.

Rather than being the salt and light to this dark world Jesus told us we were to be, we are more likely to conform to this world, acquiescing our place of leadership and accommodating ourselves to the prevailing culture. We have put more value in being successful than being faithful. We want people to know our names, or our church’s name than we want them to know the name of Jesus. We are in attendance in worship and Bible study when it is convenient but will press our way into work religiously. Something is wrong with the church. What is it?

I think the church’s problem is the same as that of society in general. We lack true commitment. We like to think we are committed, but when that commitment is tested we find ourselves woefully lacking. “Whether we are talking about career, marriage, or faith, studies detail the steady demise of commitment. In 2008, more than half of people ages 20 to 24 had been with their current employer for less than a year. It only indicates that young adults are still floundering when it comes to embracing a calling. Marriage, especially, has suffered. Young adults are marrying later than ever probably as a result of a desire for adventure, career advancement, and prolonged adolescence. Lack of commitment is also hitting religion—hard. Studies suggest that the iPod, iPhone, iPad generation is choosing which aspects of the faith to adopt to create their own unique spiritual playlists. What we have seen is an almost uninterrupted march toward self-focus, affecting all of our institutions but especially crippling work, marriage, and family. The basic building blocks of society simply erode without commitment.”

Chuck Colson writes, “By abandoning commitment, our narcissistic culture has lost the one thing it desperately seeks: happiness. Without commitment, our individual lives will be barren and sterile. Without commitment, our lives will lack meaning and purpose. After all, if nothing is worth dying for, then nothing is worth living for. But with commitment comes the flourishing of society—of calling, of marriage, of the church—and of our hearts.”  A couple of weeks ago a good friend of mine wrote, “Commitment is not borne out of convenience, but sacrifice.” We are ultimately powerless because we do things out of convenience and avoid at all costs sacrifice. But Jesus called us to sacrifice. If we have desire to see the church of Jesus Christ rise up out of her lethargy then we need to be like Jesus. He said that we had to do three things, deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow him.

1. Self-denial – Commitment to the point of giving up our hopes, dreams, possessions, even our very life if need be.
2. Taking up our cross – The cross was an instrument of death. Death on a cross was not pleasant. It was painful and humiliating. Even if obedience is painful and humiliating, we should be willing to endure it for Christ. Sacrifice!
3. Following Christ – It is not easy to follow Christ. There are so many paths from which one can choose. We will not say we’ve turned our backs on Jesus, but the truth of the matter is that when we compromise in any way we betray him

What is wrong with the Church? We have been more committed to our reputations and our quest for an elusive definition of success than we have been to being more like Jesus. We have forgotten that “wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:13-14)”.

What is wrong with the church? We want the trappings and trophies of success but none of the sacrifice that of necessity precedes it. We have somehow missed that though the fields are ripe for the harvest, they are plentiful, but few are chosen.

What is wrong with the church? We are concerned for our own welfare without regard for the welfare of others. We seemingly overlooked that if we cannot claim to love God whom we have never seen, but hate our neighbor we whom we see all the time.

What’s wrong with the church? We want power, influence and money, but we don’t want God. We have forgotten the words of Jesus when he asked, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?”

It’s time to ramp up our commitment level. It’s time to begin to truly sacrifice all that we think we are and all we hope to be for the sake of the Kingdom. Can you wrap yourself around that kind of commitment?

Would you still follow Jesus if it meant losing your closest friends?

Would you still follow Jesus if it meant alienation from your family?

Would you still follow Jesus if it meant the loss of your reputation?

Would you still follow Jesus if it meant losing your job?

Would you still follow Jesus if it meant losing your life?

It’s not too late! We can turn it around. We can change the future regardless of the downward spiral of this present darkness. We can be the church that Jesus called us to be. All it takes is a determination to be more like Jesus everyday.

© All Rights Reserved – Dr. James H. Logan, Jr.