Apathetic Heart Challenge
Why is this happening? We can look at statistics and
speculate, but looking at the early church in Acts 2, we find simplicity and
priority: God’s word, worship, repentance, baptism, fellowship, giving, praise
and a work of the Holy Spirit. There is God’s part, and then there is
ours. I have highlighted 4 areas for assessment.
1. Beyond the “Sinner’s Prayer.” Many do not know what it is to take
up their cross, once they have prayed to “receive Christ.” We have discovered a
trend that many do not really know God or what it means to follow Him (Matthew
7:21-23).
a. What can be done to better obey the
command to disciple and be a disciple? (Matthew 28:18-20)
b. How can we shift from focusing on a
one-time decision to ongoing sanctification? (Luke 9:23-23)
c. How can we better teach faith plus works?
(James 2:14-26)
d. What is being done to consistently
celebrate and encourage new believers to baptism? (Acts 22:16)
e. Aside from sharing one’s faith, locally,
how can we create a more robust mission’s culture? (i.e.
sending, building, training or supporting) (Matthew 9:35-38)
2. Entertainment vs. the House of Prayer. More energy, time and funding seem to
go to attract and entertain: from guest speakers, smoke, lighting, short
messages and guest worship artists, church services appear more and more like
concerts.
a. How can we simplify, strip away and
bring the focus of church back to the power and sufficiency in God’s word?
(Matthew 7:24-27)
b. How can the church have regular
prayer services and/or incorporate more corporate prayer into
service time? (2 Chronicles 7:14)
3. The Flock
and Numbers. God counts everything – the hairs on our head, birds in the
sky and people. He leaves the 99 to go after the lost 1. Before, I did not
understand what brothers and sisters of God meant when they said things like,
“I’m not being fed, ministered, discipled or shepherded” at X, Y or Z church.
a. How can we better pour into
the faithful, mature and seasoned? (Ephesians 4:11-12)
b. How are the faithful being
acknowledged, affirmed and encouraged? (Romans 16, Hebrews 11)
c. Do we (really) know the flock by name and face?
(Exodus 6:14-25)
d. Does the flock (really) know its Pastor and vice versa?
(John 10:1-16)
e. What is being done to engage brothers
and sisters that are considering leaving/have left the Church? (Proverbs 12:15.
15:31-33; Romans 12:18; 1 Corinthians 12:27)
4. Teaching. Over the last decade, the Bible has
been picked for occasion, jumped around in, repeated and piece-mealed. The majority
in the Church only read what is taught in service. During the summer book
series/speakers tour, my husband and I befriended and invited a guest. He had
left the Mormon church and was visiting for two weeks. After the second visit,
we were conversing with him about the message, and he said, ‘I’ve yet to hear a
sermon here.’ There was nothing we could respond – he was right.
a. Can we utilize gifted (and
paid) pastors for teaching as opposed to outside speakers? (Ephesians
4:11)
b. Why are non-pastors and women teaching
from the pulpit? (Please know I am all for women in leadership, teaching
women’s events and women’s bible study) (Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 2:12)
c. How can we balance teaching to non-,
new and seasoned believers (milk + meat)? (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)
e. Is it possible to teach more consistently and completely?
i.e. verse by verse, chapter by chapter, regardless of season, to go through
the entire Bible (Proverbs 30:5-6; Revelation 22:18-19; 2 Timothy 3:16)
I have heard so many voice similar
concerns to the ones I noted above, but they remain silent and inactive.
Many share with me, “You can’t turn the Titanic.” That’s true, but we’re
talking about flesh, blood and spirit – God’s church. Earlier this year, during
a season of redirection, the Holy Spirit gave me: Matthew 16:13-19 – “I will
build my church.” I originally received this scripture during a SWAT trip to a
church outreach event in 2018. God is at work, and He will add or subtract,
according to His wisdom and will. It is the job of the Pastor to remain
faithful to teach and equip God’s people for the work of the ministry, using
His word and trust God with the results.
My husband and I love the Church (God’s
people), and our hearts break to see the temperature that is sweeping over, paralyzing and blinding it. Rick
and I want to be a part of the solution; for all to come to the saving
grace of Jesus; for people to obey the two most important commandments and to
tremble at God’s word (Isaiah 66) and fear Him (Deuteronomy 6:24; Psalm 34:9);
for the Church and their overseers to wake up (Romans 13:11); and for mercy on
those that think they are saved but are not (1 John). Are you asking yourself what your role is at and why your local church is doing what it does? Does finding a church building that offers activities within your schedule, intending to stay there permanently, bring you contentment? God will build His Church, with or without our help. What’s the state of your heart
for His Church, and what are you doing about it?
[1] Matthew 7:21-23 21“Not everyone who
says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me in that
day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many
wonders in Your name?’ 23And then I will declare to them,
‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
I profess I am a sinner, because I break God's standard; God’s standard is complete perfection; God is also just, requiring death for trespass; but God sent His son, Jesus, who lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay the punishment for sin; I believe He came back to life 3 days later
[2] SWAT – SWAT, Students
With A Testimony: men are paired or grouped up with other men, as is the case
with women. One by one, each group disperses into a location i.e. mall or large
event, to share the “gospel” – we are all sinners, separated from a perfect and
holy God; but He sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, pay for our
sins and rise from the dead, three days later; and if we believe this to be
true, our sins will be forgiven, and we will go to heaven (not hell) when we die
[3] I was raised catholic and attended church with my mom and
older sister. Because of what I knew about God and what I did, like go to
church, I believed I was going to heaven when I died. I thought I was a good
person, or at least, good enough. In 2002, my dad who practiced no religion put
his faith in Christ and shared” Him with me. Shortly after, I prayed the “sinner's
prayer,”[1 below]
but my life was unchanged. Intellectually, God made sense; practically, he was
a stranger. At this point, I now thought believing in Jesus and doing most of
what was commanded of me, sealed my salvation. In 2006, I moved out and went to
college at UCR. In 2008, I got into a relationship with an agnostic man. In 2011, I
got a second degree and a great job with the City of San Bernardino. I was
living to please myself and got everything I wanted. But in 2012, my boyfriend
and I broke up 4 years in, I was moving from place to place, job hunting and
the rain poured. I felt empty, and I looked up. I began reading the word daily,
attending church consistently and I began my first women's bible study.
Sometime between 2012 and 2013, the light-switch turned on, and my life was
changed. Faith is more than just knowledge; faith is believing in the knowledge
enough to bank all you have to stand upon it. This was when I finally made the
decision to fully surrender my life to Christ.
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