Will The Real Christians Please Stand Up?

Two costumed characters have a juicy discussion.

"You're dressed up as the Fruit of the Spirit, right?" asks the man in a superhero costume.

The character wearing a cluster of giant grapes covered in a white sheet replies, "My faith is weak. I'm just a white chocolate covered bunch of grapes."

For those unfamiliar, the fruit of the spirit is an incredible term from the Bible in Galatians 5:21-23. Of course you can't actually dress up as the fruit of the spirit. You have to live it out through following Jesus.

Which character do yo identify with? Do you look for opportunities to honor God with your life? Or, are you in a spiritual looking costume, but with no power? Do you know all the religious right things to say, yet the fruit of your life is an undisciplined mess? If so, this allegorical letter is for you and your church.

Church Falling

Will The Real Christians Please Stand Up?

To those that call themselves disciples of Jesus Christ, those whom I love dearly yet grieve over. May God give us insight to make a sober judgment about ourselves, and may he give us a spirit of repentance.

IT IS GOING TO FALL

Ezekiel 13
10 Because they lead my people astray, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,
11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth.

- So many members of the church have tried to whitewash themselves and the church with all sorts of human tradition (flimsy walls) that you have become an in-denial, ineffective church. God says in verse 11 that "it is going to fall." Do you want to know why your church is falling, or are you too comfortable on the couch to do anything about it?

- The church is not dealing with real issues because accountability is gone. The proof that you are falling should be evident in your declining membership and in-denial attitude. Recently posted on the church web site was this startling comment:
"Commitment to God, each other and the lost are being rebuilt with better materials."

If that were true, more people would be more committed, discipling each other to the Lord more and sharing their faith more. And this done not out of compulsion, but by a sincere love for God, each other and the lost. Yet sadly, disciples work for God less, less and less.

- Leaders are afraid to lead because they don't want to lose any more people. But people are leaving anyway.
- It's more acceptable for you to "all just take one step forward" than it is for you to give up everything and follow Jesus. But which is Biblical?
- There is little drive to teach disciples to obey everything Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:20). The more popular thing to preach and teach is only servitude and sacrifice rather than obedience, despite 1 Samuel 15:22 "To obey is better than sacrifice." Consequentially, there is little fear of God in your midst, and members are lulled into a false sense of peace (when there is no peace).

- The majority of brothers that I have spoken to in falling churches have ignored my many verbal warnings or they do nothing about them, even though love "always protects" (1 Corinthians 13:7). Those that do listen usually express more concern for me, as if I'm going to fall away because I don't just be quiet and trust the Lord. But the truth is just the opposite; I fear that many in such churches have fallen away.

- One veteran house church leader I know was continuing to teach discipleship and total commitment. He was taken out of leadership for "being dangerous to people's faith." Then a slander campaign was started. Other leaders accused him of lies. But what was really happening was this, struggling brothers would come to him for help. He would help these brothers. But some situations were so serious that he told them to also get together with the so-called top church leaders. When the struggling brothers did so, they would then shrink back and not admit any deep issue to the top leader. So now the veteran house church leader is marked in multiple cities as a liar. This leader, told not to lead anymore, is now meeting in house church on Sundays. Some may say he has left the church. However, brothers in his city still flock to him and his wife for discipling.

- One leading brother thought he was being discipled by an evangelist. Yet the brother admitted that he is rarely called higher in this casual relationship.


WHILE THIS HOUSE REMAINS A RUIN

Haggai 1
4 Is it time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?

Below are just a few examples of the ruin I have seen:

- At a party in a public place one summer, an experienced staff member/sector leader did not share his faith with any non-Christians that we encountered. Neither did the three other brothers there that I observed. Then when I shared my faith, the others pretended to be distracted rather than join me in the battle.

- Financial giving to God continues to decline in your falling church. People only give and sacrifice for what they believe in. If you don't believe that God will change the world by working through your church, why would you put money into a powerless organization. You don't recognize your church as the body of Christ anymore. The concept has become merely a slogan. The proofs that your people don't believe in financial giving:
1. Church groups and regions merge together as money for staff erodes, despite pay cuts.
2. Your group has one paid staff couple for 300 members, and not enough money to hire another leader.
3. The financial goal for your world missions contribution has been drastically lowered, even as the needs overseas increase.

- One summer your church hosted an "Evangelism" Conference, yet in every general session, there was no call to evangelize the world, or even your own towns. The even became just some time to spend in a nice hotel.

- Hundreds of people have left your church. This would be understandable if people left because you taught something biblically challenging like John 6 (eat my flesh). But the reality is that no challenge of consequence has been issued, yet people are still leaving. And you don't notice right away because you're not in anyone's life and no one is in your life. This should be evidence that you and your church are not teaching the whole truth anymore.

- In your church, two thirds of the members are consistently late for Sunday service. This continues despite occasional reminders from a deacon or an elder. On a recent Sunday, you take account and exactly 18 disciples are present at your church starting time, and this on a non-holiday weekend, in a group with 300 members "on the role."

- Many single sisters go for years without being asked out on a date. Yet when one of them consequently starts dating a non-Christian, it's a big scandal and a surprise.

- Divorce has gone from none that you knew of in five years, to six divorces in the past year.

- You try to lead numerous Bible discussion groups in which no other disciples show up to help you in the work. On more than a few nights, visitors were the only ones to show up. On many occasions, it's just you and your family.

Such a thing has happened to me in the past, and it was then that we began to do family devotionals on how we must remain faithful even if all fall away.

- It is a common occurrence in your Bible discussion group for first time visitors to be on time for events, while disciples stroll in 15 to 40 minutes late (with no apology). The visitors usually look around self-consciously and ask, "Are we the only ones coming?"

- You host a Bible discussion group in which nine visitors are present before the majority of disciples show up late. Private calls for disciples to repent are later met with a garden variety of defensive answers, including, "I'm not in sin. You are in sin," or "I'm not prideful. You're prideful!"

- Experienced brothers attending a leaders meeting try to teach you that only the elder/evangelist in your church is responsible for shepherding the flock. Everyone else just needs to look out for themselves.

- One married couple in the church admits to you that they don't have a clear understanding of what discipling is, and they wished someone could explain it to them. Between the two of them they have four years in the Lord.

- One experienced couple regularly chooses to send their child to sports camp rather than the annual church teen camp.

- In videos and conferences, your church flirts towards unity with non-committed "Christian" groups. This is despite their scattered traditions of baptizing children, autonomy, acceptance of smoking, non-discipling attitude, praying Jesus into your heart, etc.


THE FINAL CONDITION IS WORSE THAN THE FIRST

Some may say, "But my church isn't as bad as all that because people have gotten baptized recently." Hiding behind new conversions in an otherwise messed up church can be quite deceiving. The danger of being baptized in a falling church can best be conveyed by looking at Matthew 12:43-45

"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."

- Here we see a person who is newly cleaned. That seems great at first. But if the person doesn't have the support from a healthy fellowship, there's an increased likelihood that they will be sitting ducks for a major counter attack by not only the original evil that enslaved them, but also an additional seven evil spirits who attack as well. In Jesus' own words, "the final condition of that man is worse than the first."

- In many cases I have seen, zealous teens or other new converts have been baptized, but they are then released into a loose fellowship of "disciples" who are seeking first the world, not the kingdom. These new members come into the church bright-eyed, hoping that with the newly deposited Holy Spirit in them, the whole church will get more fired up and more seeking and saving of the lost will take place. Yet in most cases, inevitably what happens is just the opposite. The new members come to find a fellowship in which the following characteristics run wild:

1) Idol chit chat is the conversational norm
2) Mature disciples never (or rarely) share their faith in public
3) No one is involved in their life, discipling them to the Lord
4) Trying to set up Bible studies with the lost is more of rare occurrence... who has time for that?
5) Dreams to evangelize all nations fade away to more urgent desires; "Who should I start dating and settle down with?"
6) Training, correcting and rebuking (2 Timothy 3:16-17) becomes a lost art that has long been out of style. Encouraging is redefined as, "just smile a lot and don't make waves."

The list could go on an on, but you get the point. New members incorrectly deduce from the lives of "mature" disciples that you can live a barely committed life for Jesus yet still be accepted into the fellowship and invited to all the best socials, parties and religious events without any real disruption to your life of comfort. This is in sharp contrast to Jesus' call to deny yourself (Luke 9:23). The shocking differences between what the new member was called to change in the initial Bible study series against the obviously idol life of the members wears of quickly. Soon, it's no shock at all. Everybody's doing it.

Such an environment is a breeding ground for all kinds of sin and an open invitation to live a double life. Here come the demons.

- As your church settles into such a pattern, the challenging yet faith building scriptures that members used to detail and emphasize in the old days are now downplayed or even ignored. After a while you start to wonder, "Do the new members really have Jesus as their Lord? Are we even making a disciple first before we baptize them?" Before you know it, you've lost all desire to do a discipleship study with anyone because you yourself aren't holding to this standard of Jesus. How can you expect anyone else to?


WHEN A COUNTRY IS REBELLIOUS

Proverbs 28
2 When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.

- Due to lack of real authority in your church, most are now rebellious, yet secretive about it. Members are busy doing "their own thing."
If your response is, "Surely not I, Lord," then ask yourself how many new people heard about Jesus from your mouth in the past three days?
It's not a quota system, but the point is that Jesus is no longer Lord in your life or in your group. You have disregarded the head, and embraced people-pleasing.

- There is no order, only "peace" when there is no peace (Ezekiel 13:10). This is evident in many ways. An easy way to note this is how the vast majority of members are not on time for anything, despite 1 Corinthians 14:40 "But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way."


MEN WHO MUST GIVE AN ACCOUNT

Hebrews 13
17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

- Obedience has become an oddity. The leaders presented a computer lesson to the your church. In it was a list of things that members were to do. One of them read something like: "Discipling relationships (choose your own)."
Yet you ask people before and long after the presentation if they have picked a discipling partner yet. The common answer is, "No." There are a few that have said "Yes," but when you press further, most either say they don't really get together, or they just hang out sometimes. I don't have anything against hanging out, but if that's all you do, you have become a club, not a kingdom. Sadly, your reminders that the word "disciple" is used four times in the New Testament as a verb have had little impact.

- Most members have an unforgiving attitude about issues in the past, and use it as a license not to follow today. It's time to get over it and forgive, because, "if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:15).


OVER YOU IN THE LORD

1 Thessalonians 5
12 Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.

- It is biblical for multiple people to be "over you in the Lord." Over/under discipling is Biblical, yet members are afraid to teach this, let alone ask someone to be over them in the Lord. As a result, "Israel had no king, everyone did as he saw fit" (Judges 17:6). Even well respected leaders have abandoned the biblical model of over/under relationships, as if it were a bad word. One leader in a house church leaders meeting even say, "We shouldn't call ourselves leaders anymore. We should JUST be friends." Despite your protest, the rest of the group loved it.


THE MAN RUNS AWAY

John 10
12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

- So many who call themselves Christians operate like hired hands, and have abandoned the sheep. The flock is scattered.


I HAVE NO REMEDY … WOMEN RULE OVER THEM

Isaiah 3
6 A man will seize one of his brothers at his father's home, and say, "You have a cloak, you be our leader; take charge of this heap of ruins!"
7 But in that day he will cry out, "I have no remedy. I have no food or clothing in my house; do not make me the leader of the people."
8 Jerusalem staggers, Judah is falling; their words and deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence.
9 The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.
10 Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.
11 Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them!
They will be paid back for what their hands have done.
12 Youths oppress my people, women rule over them.
O my people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path.

- Just like in verse 7, no one in your church wants to lead boldly, not even the leaders.
- v8 God's people stagger and fall as a result.
- v12 Women are leading spiritually because the men are tired of conflict. This practice is particularly evident today by:
a) How outspoken and opinionated many women act at your "leaders" meetings and Bible discussion groups while the men sit quietly and wonder when the meeting will be over so they can watch the big game.
b) The way women influence the men behind the scenes with nagging complaining, rather than first going to God with their plea.

This is a sharp contrast to a married woman's biblical role, to be taught by her own husband at home. This is simply not happening in the majority of homes in your church. Why? Because the men have rebelled against God. Battle weariness has turned into complacency. And the whole family suffers for it.

1 Corinthians 14
34 women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.
35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

- You pretend the above verse is not in the Bible, or try to explain it away with non-Biblical teachings and traditions that Dr. Phil and Oprah would be proud of.


REBUKE HIM

Luke 17
3 So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

- Members are so afraid of this scripture that rebuking has become a taboo behavior. Forgiveness is emphasized, as it should be, but not rebuking. Jesus did both, and commands you to do both as well.
When was the last time you rebuked someone? The common answer is, "Years ago." And the few exceptions where rebuking is attempted are met with prideful and defensive responses like, "You rebuked me in an unloving way."


YOU HAVE SCATTERED MY FLOCK

Jeremiah 23
1 "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD.
2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the LORD.

- Those that are still leading in your falling church preach lukewarm, non-challenging, feel-good messages that double as suggestions. When challenging issues are incorporated, they too often are packaged so subtly that they are forgettable. This scatters the flock, including you. Contrast that with Jesus: "Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you" (John 5:14). The biblical expectation of being sold-out for Christ has sadly become a thing of myth and legend.

- Accountability is looked down on as a bad dream rather than a Biblical reality as in Mark 6:30. "The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught."


BECAUSE YOU ARE LUKEWARM

In order to truly love God and your neighbor, I call every member of Jesus' church to repent in these areas:
- Study out what a disciple is
- Embrace over/under daily discipling relationships
- Hold someone accountable to Jesus
- Allow another disciple to hold you accountable to Jesus
- Leaders, start leading spiritually. Husbands, this includes you in your own home.
- Women, stop leading the spiritual men
- Rebuke your brother when he sins
- Appreciate being rebuked
- Obey your leaders
- Give house church leaders authority. Don't consider them "just servants."
- Give deacons authority. Don't consider them "just servants," or merely a "nice role model."
- Teach to obey. This is more than just "teach." It calls for accountability.
- Share Jesus with at least one new person a day
- Read the Bible daily
- Pray continually

Remember what is at stake here. You are on the verge of becoming a dead church, the kind that Jesus spits out of his mouth in Revelation 3:16
"So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth."


THERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN

Once you repent, be prepared. Most of the leaders you share these concerns with will tell you to be patient. Apparently, they think it takes three years for disciples to repent. Lowering the expectations simply lowers the level of commitment way below Luke 9:23-25. Carry your cross daily, not once ever few years after you've taken time to heal. Meanwhile, has Jesus spit your church out of his mouth as you abuse God's grace, and ignore all his warnings about falling away? See Romans 11:11-24, Hebrews 6:4-6, Hebrews 10:25-27, 1 Corinthians 3:17


WISDOM IS PROVED RIGHT BY HER ACTIONS

Under the guise of leaders being "patient," people continue to leave and withdraw to their own lives. You will see this with your own eyes as commitment continues to decline, and sin escalates in your autonomous churches.

Some will counter, "What about the abuses of the past?"
As for the abuses of the past, of course they are not okay. That's no excuse though not to lead. This is a case of leaders being afraid that the people hold a grudge over past sin. Coddling sin helps no one. It only fosters more unforgiving attitudes in your church.

Actually, the most remarkable thing about the past is that you understood the biblical concept that the church is to be a kingdom of priests (1 Peter 2:9-10). Contrast that with now. Like it or not, there are clergy members and lay members in your church, with drastically different levels of commitment. When that happens, Jesus isn't Lord anymore. It's no wonder that you operate under confusion and vagueness, as a dismembered body, distracted by personal hobbies and unconfessed sin.

John chapter 6 shows that Jesus didn't waffle on giving the people challenging ultimatums ("unless you eat my flesh..."). You and your church however are so far removed from that. Everything has become a suggestion, option, or recommendation. That's not leadership. That's human tradition, best left to the pulpits of false prophets as well as Oprah and Dr. Phil.

Galatians 4
16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

- I hope not.

May you take no offense at this, but rather appreciate the truth, in love, and be called to action by the Spirit.

Joe Chiappetta

Illustration is a telephomic on Verizon Pocket PC by Joe Chiappetta 2007, drawn in Mobile Painting program