Churches Need Rejuvenation

Churches are dying, why? Why is it that in every town you go to in Texas you will find at least 3 churches; one of which might be truly on fire and ministering in the way that Christ has commanded and the others dying? The church is called to minister through discipleship, honesty, love, forgiveness and biblical teaching. Yet, most churches that I have gone to are filled with politics and cliques. Churches are known for being snobbish and not loving; for covering up their problems and pretending to be perfect, when in reality they are humans that make mistakes and are forgiven for them.

I have been in the church my entire life and there have been several times where the church was the cause for heartache and loss of faith in my life. Discipleship and community were jokes in these churches! I look back now and wonder, if it was that bad for me, what is it like for someone who has not been in the church his entire life? What is it like for someone who does not know that the church is supposed to be more than a calculator of numbers? For someone who goes into these churches and is essentially assigned a number and that is their worth? I would walk away. I think that and want to scream out that there is more than numbers to Christianity; more than politics and cliques. It is a relationship, not a religion!

Church is a place where believers are supposed to come together, fellowship with and build one another up. They are to encourage each other so that each individual is more than a number and each wants to go out on his own and strengthen his relationship with God. The church is meant to disciple those who come hungry and teach them how to feed themselves. I know there are churches out there that are like this but I also know that you have to search for them.

Another thing that I have seen and been told about is the hypocrisy of those in leadership, those who teach and lead the body of Christ; the hypocrisy of Army chaplains that get drunk every night and cheat on their wives because they are in Iraq and will not get caught. The hypocrisy of youth ministers that lie to their youth groups, flirt with married women and ignore their families to the point their wives having an affair with a church staff member. How do Christians overcompensate for the hypocrisy that covers the church and its leaders? I have seen people give up and walk away, others sit and ignore it and a few that try to stand up and say “this is not Christianity, this is not Christ”!

It is a near impossible task to erase the actions of fake Christians from the thoughts of those who know no better, unless you show true Christ-like love. Christ-like love which welcomes all, no matter skin color, gender, age or occupation; love that shows in every action and shouts through every word. If Christ-like love was the basis of the majority of churches today there would be no need for massive number seeking. Instead, people would search for the source of love that overflowed from the church body.

The change that needs to take place is simple. No more cliques based on wealth, gender, age or occupation. No more snubbing those who look, act or dress differently. Instead, welcome them with open arms and show them who Christ truly is. No more allowing those in leadership to get away with hypocrisy and lack of responsibility. Hold them accountable! Without these changes the church will continue on the downward spiral that it is in and it will lose all influence in ministry and reaching those who need it. The church family needs to re-evaluate their priorities and re-establish their foundation in the Bible and Christ-like love.