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What's Going On?

We call it the Summer of Grace. It is our special time as a church to think about what we are doing and how we can do things better. What can we do to bring glory to Christ and grow?

A church is supposed to grow. That's its nature. When believers live out the role they are supposed to, the church not only multiplies; it also becomes an agent of transformation. That's the church we find described in the New Testament.

The church is a living organism, not just an organization. Living organisms naturally reproduce. Apple trees produce apples, cats produce kittens and believers produce new believers. That's what happens in a healthy church. There is reproduction and growth. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case here at Grace. And, to be fair, it isn't happening in a lot of churches today.

The Church in Crisis

Twenty years ago, church experts were predicting that an unprecedented number of churches would close their doors in the coming years, and it is happening today. We assumed that the main attack would come from outside the church, so we were completely surprised and unprepared when our most precious resource, our youth, began walking away from the church in droves.

I believe this has happened in part because our youth have associated the church with a powerless organization, instead of a living and dynamic organism. They saw their parents and others enjoying good fellowship, music and teaching, while leading a double life at home. They heard about the awesome power of Jesus, but rarely if ever experienced it. They heard about the importance of the Great Commission, but they rarely saw their parents involved in it.

Relatively few converts have entered the church over the past 25 years, as few believers even bother to share their faith. Most churches grow today through transfers from other churches.

Can we blame our youth for questioning the relevance of a church, that fails to practice what it preaches? How did this happen?

The Flight of the Church

In the 60s and 70s, an unprecedented number of people left the growing crime and evil in the cities and escaped to the suburbs. There they could pursue their quest for a better life and raise their children in a safe environment. It wasn't long before the church followed suite. The church I attended as a child left a thriving ministry in the city and moved to the suburbs. Apparently, they didn't want to change their ministry style or take on the new challenges of a growing African American community. It was safer to flee.

The church was in retreat. It began to see itself as a refuge from the world instead of a refuge for the world. We watched in horror, as they outlawed school prayer, legalized abortion, and tore down replicas of the Ten Commandments. We complained about how bad society was getting. But I don't think it ever crossed our minds that our hiding behind church walls had left a spiritual vacuum that only accelerated the moral collapse of our country.

Introduction to Series

So here it is: 2010. Churches are shrinking and dying. The mega-churches are growing, but mostly through a redistribution of existing believers who are looking for more programs and perks. But here's what is so strange: Churches are dying at a time when the interest in spiritual things has never been higher. With so many people seeking some sort of spiritual experience, why are so many churches in a state of stagnation? Perhaps a more pertinent question is why our church in particular has experienced so little growth?

That's the reason for today's message and the ensuing six messages which we are calling the Summer of Grace. We want to do something different than George did in our clip this morning. I think our course of action is obvious. We can continue on our present course of stagnation or we can bring ourselves in line with what God wants to do through His Church and experience new vitality.

Over the next seven weeks we'll be taking a closer look at various aspects of the New Testament church. For some of you this will be review. For others, it will be new material. My prayer is that in revisiting our purposes, we can mark the beginning of a new and dynamic chapter for our church. Maybe afterwards, we can better understand the rationale for some of the small, but painful changes we have had to make in recent months. It's all with the goal of becoming the church that God wants us to be.

Of course, no number of changes, programs and gimmicks are able in themselves to bring about real, healthy growth. To do so, we have to first examine ourselves in light of the Scriptures and then, based on what we find, exercise the courage to make necessary changes.

Looking at Our Historical Roots

Someone asked me recently why our church isn't growing. It's hard to put your finger on any one thing. It's pretty obvious that we are spinning our wheels, instead of moving forward. But then in nearly 30 years of existence as a church, we have never grown beyond 150 or 160 in attendance. Other churches have sprung up after us and have long surpassed us in size and influence. Why is that? Maybe it would help to first examine our historical roots,

1. An Emphasis on Teaching

Three things stand out about the history and nature of our church. First, from our inception, it seems our primary ministry was to existing believers. For example, we were known far and wide as a teaching center. There was a time in the nineties, when we hosted as many as three women's Bible studies every week. God used us to encourage and teach a lot of women in Cincinnati. Such a ministry can be extremely fulfilling, but those of us who are "teachers at heart" can get so tied up teaching and training believers that we neglect outreach and evangelism as a result. I know that first hand.

2. Isolation from the World

Second, in an effort to be doctrinally and morally pure, a lot of well meaning believers tend to isolate themselves from the world. It is easy to see the world as a threat instead of a place of opportunity.

One of the challenges I faced when I arrived 7 years ago was to move us from being a church in isolation to a church of infiltration. I think we have made a lot of progress in that area.

3. Distracted by Things

And third, we tend to be a very distracted church. Several weeks ago, we talked about the Parable of the Soil in Mark 4. Some of the farmer's seed fell on thorny soil. The plants sprang up, but were immediately choked out by the weeds. Jesus described the weeds as “the worries of life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for things.” The result was stunted growth and a lack of fruit.

That's a pretty good description of us as well. When a church gets distracted and forgets that its first priority is Christ and His Kingdom, it ceases being the church. It is just another religious club. Jesus told us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the things we need will be given to us as well.

Why No Growth

1. Lack of Passion - No Fire

Let me suggest some reasons why I believe we aren't growing. First, because we are a distracted church, there's a distinct lack of passion. There's no sense of urgency or enthusiasm. It's almost as if we were saying: I'm saved and going to heaven, and now its time to enjoy life.

2. A Twisted Gospel

In his book The Way of the Master, evangelist Ray Comfort believes that one cause of the current malaise in America's churches is a basic misunderstanding of the Gospel. An entire generation came to Christ with the expectation of experiencing His wonderful plan for their lives. While his plan for us is wonderful, as far as eternity is concerned, the way of the cross is by no means wonderful by human standards. In fact, Jesus urged those who would follow him to first count the cost.

Following Jesus involves hardship, self denial and sacrifice. He didn't promise health, wealth, and a happy life. Too many of us are so busy pursuing the good life, that we forget why we were called.

It also explains why worship or being with other believers is often secondary to our personal interests.

3. A Self-Centered Church

Much of today's Christianity is self-centered; not others-centered. Its about me and my needs. We look for the church that will meet our needs instead of finding ways to serve those in the church where God has placed us. We go to church because of our need for fellowship or the need for personal growth, not because we have a biblical obligation to serve others in the body. There is a reluctance to use our spiritual gifts. Some of us don't even know what they are.

Three Types of Christians

There's a misconception about our role as Christians. There is no such thing as an inactive believer. We typically break the Body of Christ down into three unofficial categories. First, about 90% of believers are considered “normal” Christians. They are people who haven't been to seminary or Bible school or can't play a musical instrument. Because most of us live extremely busy lives, it is easy to assume that we are the exception and therefore exempt from service.

The other 10 % is made up of two more groups. The second group is what we might call “engaged” Christians. They are people who are gifted and obviously have more time than most. They are there to do the work that busy Christians can't do. And then the third group is made up of the “professionals.” They are trained and uniquely qualified. They are the ones, with the help of the second group, that do most of the work. After all, isn't that what they're getting paid for?

Even in Jesus' day, He urged His disciples to pray to the Lord for the harvest that He might send forth laborers, for there were too few. That situation hasn't changed.

4. A Lack of Evangelism

If I was going to put my finger on the number one reason why our church isn't growing, its because very few of us are involved in any kind of evangelism. This has been a problem in Grace Brethren Churches over the years, because of our emphasis on teaching at the expense of outreach. Evangelism was desired, but not required.

Jesus called each one of us to make disciples. It's part of our job description. No one is exempt. It's not just for missionaries. In Acts 8:4, after persecution broke out in Jerusalem, the church was scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. But it didn't result in the death of the church. On the contrary, thousands more were added to the church because those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. They shared Christ with others and the church literally exploded. That's how a church is supposed to grow.

That's what is missing today. Believers aren't taking their role of disciple making seriously. How many of us have tried to share our faith with someone in the past year? How many of are currently praying for someone or some family with the goal of building a relationship and telling them about your hope in Jesus?

The Principle of Growth

Listen, in order for any church to maintain its present size, each member has to at least reproduce himself or herself. In order for that church to grow, each member needs to reproduce himself plus one more. That's not happening. Only 2-3% of believers today are actively making disciples. Think about it, if every one took the Great Commission seriously, this church would grow exponentially. We would outgrow our building in a few short years. And, might I add, money or a lack of funds would never be a problem again.

5. Assimilation

Next to evangelism, our biggest challenge at Grace Church is assimilating new people. We are a very friendly church. I've had any number of people tell me that. Even those who visited a few times and moved on. Almost without exception everyone is impressed with the way we treat first time guests. The problem however is getting those guests past the visitor stage and assimilated into the body. We recently lost a couple who complained that they were never able to break into the existing circles in the church. They felt like outsiders and eventually left.

Once a guest has become a regular attendee, we tend to drop the ball. I guess we feel like we've fulfilled our responsibility of welcoming the newcomer, so we pull back into our already existing circle of friends, and leave the new attendee feeling like a perpetual outsider. It's interesting - there have been at least two different people on two different occasions, who asked me the same question: Okay, now that we have been warmly welcomed as guests, what do we have to do to get to the next level of fellowship?

One of the best ways to incorporate new people into the church is through hospitality. It involves inviting them to join an existing circles of friends or by networking. That's when you invite two couples with the intent of introducing them to one another. Peter told the believers in 1 Peter 4:9 to offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. That involves using our living rooms, our patios and decks as tools for the strengthening of the church.

Look around you. If you see anyone who has been coming for a while, and you don't really know them yet, invite them over for a snack or a meal. It's not every week when strangers walk through our door. Make sure no one leaves because they didn't feel welcome.

Conclusion

The point of today's message is not to scold anyone, but rather to make us aware of some things that must change if we want to grow. That's what the Summer of Grace is all about. For George, it was literally doing nothing, which is something we want to guard against.

Challenge

Let me leave you with a challenge. No series of messages is going to make us grow. Growth comes when we begin to think and act like a New Testament Church. And the only way that will happen is if we make a covenant with God, that we make every effort to live out our faith, and to model for others in our body, how a biblical church is supposed to function. It is easy to talk about being a follower of Christ; its another thing to do it. I hope you'll join us in the coming weeks as we celebrate the Summer of Grace.