5 Sure Signs of a Dying Church

Pastors

Carbonatix Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Carbonatix

6:00 AM on Friday, October 10

By Shane Idleman, Pastors

Due to the state of many churches today, I'm re-publishing this article from 2015. It's more significant now than ever before.

Church is boring for most because the power of God has vanished from many congregations ... there is a lack of desire to pursue Him in the pulpit as well as in the pew. Like Samson, they "know not that the Spirit of the Lord has departed" (cf. Judge 16:20). High attendance is not the gauge of success, faithfulness is. Granted, a healthy church should experience seasons of growth, but even cults generate large numbers of followers. Here are five simple ways to gauge the health of a church and a believer:

1. Is Prayer an after-thought or a priority?

Nights of prayer and worship are often replaced with Bingo and fundraisers. We're in a hurry to burn through a sermon, scurry through worship, and head to the nearest restaurant. This is a sure sign of a dying church. If churches are too busy to pray—they're too busy. "When faith ceases to pray, it ceases to live" (E.M. Bounds). We should never allow our relationship with God to suffer because we're too busy. "We must spend much time on our knees before God if we are to continue in the power of the Holy Spirit" (R.A. Torrey). Spiritual life and prayer go hand-in-hand. You can't have one without the other.

2. Is the church known for either emotionalism or dead formalism?

Unfortunately, Christians often embrace one of two extremes when it comes to the topic of revival and the Holy Spirit. At one extreme are those who embrace pure emotionalism and hysteria—"if it's odd, it's God" is often their motto. All weird behavior is excused. The other extreme resembles a cemetery. There's no living, vibrant spiritual life taking place. The church is dead, cold, and lifeless; talk of revival is either dismissed or ridiculed. Both extremes are characteristics of a dying church.

3. Is sin excused and holiness minimized?

In short, has the fear of the Lord vanished? Some time ago, a pastor of a large church in my area made an unforgettable statement, "We should avoid mentioning the fear of the Lord. It makes people feel uncomfortable." Just writing that sentence makes me feel uncomfortable. The fear of the Lord is mentioned frequently throughout the Bible as the beginning of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. "The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him…" (Psalm 147:11).

When pastors and leaders believe that God has given them the authority to change truth in order to keep it relevant and alive (as in the case of same-sex marriage), they are departing from God. His grace is big and bold enough for all, but grace doesn't replace truth - it reinforces it.

Fear can also motivate a person to repent. Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). Jesus spoke more on the fear of hell than on the glory of heaven. "That makes me both love Him and fear Him! I love Him because He is my Savior, and I fear Him because He is my Judge" (A.W. Tozer).

The present condition of the church (and America) leads one to wonder if this lack of fearing the Lord is contributing to her spiritually dead condition: "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked" (Revelation 3:15-17).

4. Is love a concept or a reality?

True love is a "choice" and a commitment that we make to do good to others; it is not a "feeling." If love is the greatest commandment, it should be our first priority. When our concept of love is different from God's, unity suffers. Strive to develop the type of love that protects and defends others. For instance, stop yourself when you're tempted to gossip or belittle others, and turn the conversation if someone is taking you in that direction. The Bible is clear: If you have not love, it profits you nothing (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:3). You can be well-read in all sixty-six books of the Bible, preach as well as Whitefield, Moody, and Spurgeon, and have a Ph.D. in theology, but if you don't have love, you have nothing. Make love, forgiveness, and unity top priorities. They will not rise to that level on their own.

5. Is there a love for the truth?

Ironically, churches that are "all about love" forget the other side of the coin: judgment is never mentioned, repentance is never sought, and sin is often excused. They want to build a church rather than break a heart; be politically correct rather than biblically correct; coddle and comfort rather than stir and convict. This leaves people confused and deceived because they believe in a crossless Christianity that bears no resemblance to Jesus' sobering call to repentance. Christianity only makes sense in light of the consequences of sin. The good news about Christ can only be appreciated with the bad news as the backdrop. There are times when the saints must be fed, and there are times when the sinners must be warned (C.H. Spurgeon).

Pastors must find the balance—preach the difficult truths as well as the joyful ones; preach the cross and the new life; preach hell and preach heaven; preach damnation and preach salvation; preach sin and preach grace; preach wrath and preach love; preach judgment and preach mercy; preach obedience and preach forgiveness; preach that God "is love," but don't forget that God is just. Ironically, it's the love of God that compels us to share all of His truth, including those things that are hard to hear.

Although disheartening, this trend away from God's truth is not surprising. The apostle Paul warned centuries ago: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine [God's Word], but according to their own desires...they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:3-4). If this isn't exactly what we see today, I don't know what is.

The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Christian Headlines.

Photo courtesy: Debby Hudson/Unsplash

The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.

Shane Idleman is the founder and lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Southern California and the WCF Radio Network. More can be found at ShaneIdleman.com. Free downloads of his eBooks can be found at www.WCFAV.org. Visit him on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to his new podcast, Idleman Unplugged. You can also follow Pastor Shane on the free speech platform Parler.

This content first appeared on Crosswalk.com and is used here with permission. To view the original visit: https://www.crosswalk.com/headlines/contributors/shane-idleman/five-sure-signs-of-a-dying-church.html
 

You might also be interested in:

Salem News Channel Today

Sponsored Links


September 26 - Phoenix, AZ
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts


November 2 - Detroit, MI
Zion Christian Church in Troy


October 6 - Los Angeles, CA
Pasadena Convention Center


November 5 - San Antonio, TX
Norris Centers – The Grand Red Oak Ballroom


October 8 - Sacramento, CA
William Jessup University


November 7 - Tampa, FL
The Palladium at St. Pete College


October 22 - Minneapolis, MN
Crowne Plaza AiRE


November 15 - San Francisco, CA
Fremont Marriott Silicon Valley


October 23 - Philadelphia, PA
Green Valley Country Club


November 16 - Denver, CO
CU South Denver - Formerly Wildlife Experience


November 2 - Chicago, IL
Chicago Westin Northwest in Itasca


November 21 - Cleveland, OH
Holiday Inn Rockside in Independence



Salem Radio Network Speakers

Larry Elder is an American lawyer, writer, and radio and television personality who calls himself the "Sage of South Central" a district of Los Angeles, Larry says his philosophy is to entertain, inform, provoke and to hopefully uplift. His calling card is "we have a country to save" and to him this means returning to the bedrock Constitutional principles of limited government and maximum personal responsibility. Elder's iconoclastic wit and intellectual agility makes him a particularly attractive voice in a nation that seems weary of traditional racial dialogue.” – Los Angeles Times.

Mike Gallagher Mike Gallagher began his broadcasting career in 1978 in Dayton, Ohio. Today, he is one of the most listened-to talk radio show hosts in America, recently having been ranked in the Talkers Magazine “Heavy Hundred” list – the 100 most important talk radio hosts in America. Prior to being launched into national syndication in 1998, Mike hosted the morning show on WABC-AM in New York City. Today, Talkers Magazine reports that his show is heard by over 3.75 million weekly listeners. Besides his radio work, Mike is seen on Fox News Channel as an on-air contributor, frequently appearing on the cable news giant.

Hugh Hewitt is one of the nation’s leading bloggers and a genuine media revolutionary. He brings that expertise, his wit and what The New Yorker magazine calls his “amiable but relentless manner” to his nationally syndicated show each day.

When Dr. Sebastian Gorka was growing up, he listened to talk radio under his pillow with a transistor radio, dreaming that one day he would be behind the microphone. Beginning New Year’s Day 2019, he got his wish. Gorka now hosts America First every weekday afternoon 3 to 6pm ET. Gorka’s unique story works well on the radio. He is national security analyst for the Fox News Channel and author of two books: "Why We Fight" and "Defeating Jihad." His latest book releasing this fall is “War For America’s Soul.” He is uniquely qualified to fight the culture war and stand up for what is great about America, his adopted home country.

Broadcasting from his home station of KRLA in Los Angeles, the Dennis Prager Show is heard across the country. Everything in life – from politics to religion to relationships – is grist for Dennis’ mill. If it’s interesting, if it affects your life, then Dennis will be talking about it – with passion, humor, insight and wisdom.

Sean Hannity is a conservative radio and television host, and one of the original primetime hosts on the Fox News Channel, where he has appeared since 1996. Sean Hannity began his radio career at a college station in California, before moving on to markets in the Southeast and New York. Today, he’s one of the most listened to on-air voices. Hannity’s radio program went into national syndication on September 10, 2001, and airs on more than 500 stations. Talkers Magazine estimates Hannity’s weekly radio audience at 13.5 million. In 1996 he was hired as one of the original hosts on Fox News Channel. As host of several popular Fox programs, Hannity has become the highest-paid news anchor on television.

Michelle Malkin is a mother, wife, blogger, conservative syndicated columnist, longtime cable TV news commentator, and best-selling author of six books. She started her newspaper journalism career at the Los Angeles Daily News in 1992, moved to the Seattle Times in 1995, and has been penning nationally syndicated newspaper columns for Creators Syndicate since 1999. She is founder of conservative Internet start-ups Hot Air and Twitchy.com. Malkin has received numerous awards for her investigative journalism, including the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) national award for outstanding service for the cause of governmental ethics and leadership (1998), the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award for Investigative Journalism (2006), the Heritage Foundation and Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity's Breitbart Award for Excellence in Journalism (2013), the Center for Immigration Studies' Eugene Katz Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Immigration Award (2016), and the Manhattan Film Festival's Film Heals Award (2018). Married for 26 years and the mother of two teenage children, she lives with her family in Colorado. Follow her at michellemalkin.com. (Photo reprinted with kind permission from Peter Duke Photography.)

Sponsored by:

5 Sure Signs of a Dying Church

Pastors

Carbonatix Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Carbonatix

6:00 AM on Friday, October 10

By Shane Idleman, Pastors

Due to the state of many churches today, I'm re-publishing this article from 2015. It's more significant now than ever before.

Church is boring for most because the power of God has vanished from many congregations ... there is a lack of desire to pursue Him in the pulpit as well as in the pew. Like Samson, they "know not that the Spirit of the Lord has departed" (cf. Judge 16:20). High attendance is not the gauge of success, faithfulness is. Granted, a healthy church should experience seasons of growth, but even cults generate large numbers of followers. Here are five simple ways to gauge the health of a church and a believer:

1. Is Prayer an after-thought or a priority?

Nights of prayer and worship are often replaced with Bingo and fundraisers. We're in a hurry to burn through a sermon, scurry through worship, and head to the nearest restaurant. This is a sure sign of a dying church. If churches are too busy to pray—they're too busy. "When faith ceases to pray, it ceases to live" (E.M. Bounds). We should never allow our relationship with God to suffer because we're too busy. "We must spend much time on our knees before God if we are to continue in the power of the Holy Spirit" (R.A. Torrey). Spiritual life and prayer go hand-in-hand. You can't have one without the other.

2. Is the church known for either emotionalism or dead formalism?

Unfortunately, Christians often embrace one of two extremes when it comes to the topic of revival and the Holy Spirit. At one extreme are those who embrace pure emotionalism and hysteria—"if it's odd, it's God" is often their motto. All weird behavior is excused. The other extreme resembles a cemetery. There's no living, vibrant spiritual life taking place. The church is dead, cold, and lifeless; talk of revival is either dismissed or ridiculed. Both extremes are characteristics of a dying church.

3. Is sin excused and holiness minimized?

In short, has the fear of the Lord vanished? Some time ago, a pastor of a large church in my area made an unforgettable statement, "We should avoid mentioning the fear of the Lord. It makes people feel uncomfortable." Just writing that sentence makes me feel uncomfortable. The fear of the Lord is mentioned frequently throughout the Bible as the beginning of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. "The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him…" (Psalm 147:11).

When pastors and leaders believe that God has given them the authority to change truth in order to keep it relevant and alive (as in the case of same-sex marriage), they are departing from God. His grace is big and bold enough for all, but grace doesn't replace truth - it reinforces it.

Fear can also motivate a person to repent. Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). Jesus spoke more on the fear of hell than on the glory of heaven. "That makes me both love Him and fear Him! I love Him because He is my Savior, and I fear Him because He is my Judge" (A.W. Tozer).

The present condition of the church (and America) leads one to wonder if this lack of fearing the Lord is contributing to her spiritually dead condition: "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked" (Revelation 3:15-17).

4. Is love a concept or a reality?

True love is a "choice" and a commitment that we make to do good to others; it is not a "feeling." If love is the greatest commandment, it should be our first priority. When our concept of love is different from God's, unity suffers. Strive to develop the type of love that protects and defends others. For instance, stop yourself when you're tempted to gossip or belittle others, and turn the conversation if someone is taking you in that direction. The Bible is clear: If you have not love, it profits you nothing (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:3). You can be well-read in all sixty-six books of the Bible, preach as well as Whitefield, Moody, and Spurgeon, and have a Ph.D. in theology, but if you don't have love, you have nothing. Make love, forgiveness, and unity top priorities. They will not rise to that level on their own.

5. Is there a love for the truth?

Ironically, churches that are "all about love" forget the other side of the coin: judgment is never mentioned, repentance is never sought, and sin is often excused. They want to build a church rather than break a heart; be politically correct rather than biblically correct; coddle and comfort rather than stir and convict. This leaves people confused and deceived because they believe in a crossless Christianity that bears no resemblance to Jesus' sobering call to repentance. Christianity only makes sense in light of the consequences of sin. The good news about Christ can only be appreciated with the bad news as the backdrop. There are times when the saints must be fed, and there are times when the sinners must be warned (C.H. Spurgeon).

Pastors must find the balance—preach the difficult truths as well as the joyful ones; preach the cross and the new life; preach hell and preach heaven; preach damnation and preach salvation; preach sin and preach grace; preach wrath and preach love; preach judgment and preach mercy; preach obedience and preach forgiveness; preach that God "is love," but don't forget that God is just. Ironically, it's the love of God that compels us to share all of His truth, including those things that are hard to hear.

Although disheartening, this trend away from God's truth is not surprising. The apostle Paul warned centuries ago: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine [God's Word], but according to their own desires...they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:3-4). If this isn't exactly what we see today, I don't know what is.

The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Christian Headlines.

Photo courtesy: Debby Hudson/Unsplash

The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.

Shane Idleman is the founder and lead pastor of Westside Christian Fellowship in Southern California and the WCF Radio Network. More can be found at ShaneIdleman.com. Free downloads of his eBooks can be found at www.WCFAV.org. Visit him on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to his new podcast, Idleman Unplugged. You can also follow Pastor Shane on the free speech platform Parler.

This content first appeared on Crosswalk.com and is used here with permission. To view the original visit: https://www.crosswalk.com/headlines/contributors/shane-idleman/five-sure-signs-of-a-dying-church.html
 

You might also be interested in:

Salem News Channel Today

Sponsored Links

On Air & Up Next

See the Full Program Guide