Ministry Journey Blog

The simple answer is, not much. I have become increasingly aware of how much the world has changed the church. The church today resembles culture more and more, and unfortunately instead of changing the world, the church has been changed by the world. There is no question that this is backwards, and while we must minister to the culture we live in and while context matters greatly, it is my assertion that the church is losing its identity. Having grown up outside the church and having fallen in love with Jesus first, then connecting to the church, I admit I am limited by my own bias and experience. That said, here are five of the ways that the church has been changed by the world:

The church has become overly corporate. The church has become too corporate. In fact, most churches in the United States today look and act a lot more like a corporation or business than they do the body of Christ. This is not to say that some corporate values are not helpful or valuable to the church. Whether or not they are Biblical is certainly up for debate. Certainly the corporate world can teach the church much about systems, processes, policies and how to handle finances; however, the church has not used discernment as to which corporate values should be applied to the life of the church and how those values should be applied. We treat our ministries and programs as products, look at our congregation members and those in our community as customers, and seek to please rather than to lead.

The church is incredibly consumeristic. Evangelism has turned into church marketing. We have turned the church into a fast food restaurant, seeking to have a sleek appearance in our buildings, our worship services, and even our staff with culturally attractive hair and clothing. We are constantly trying to find ways to meet everyone’s needs so people will come to and stay in our churches. We inundate people with programs and ministries for every niche so that they do not leave us for the McDonald’s down the street. We want to be sure to offer the right kind of worship service, whether its one that ends in exactly an hour or its a worship service that is perfectly scripted. Entertainment and comfort have replaced theology. Instead of seeking service, we wonder what the church can do for us. The resulting desperation to do and be everything has done more than muddle our message; it has silenced our true mission.

The church is too democratic. Most reasonable people would argue democracy is the healthiest and best form of government we have in the world today. While democracy may be good, like any system or philosophy, democracy is not perfect. Somehow the freedom we are promised (and often feel entitled to) in our country has become the expectation in the church. Much like our government, we have become so inflated that we cannot function. We assume that the values of democracy should be the values of the church, but even a cursory examination of the life of Christ demonstrates that this is not the case. Our call is to sacrifice not to entitlement. Christians have divided themselves into liberal and conservative, sought to please everyone, and make sure every opinion is heard.

The church has become a capitalistic institution. For the record, Jesus was not much of a capitalist. In fact, Jesus was not much of a socialist either. The worship of capitalism in the church has given rise and prominence to the prosperity gospel, one of the great heresy’s of our modern culture. Our treatment of church members, employees, and others has become anything but gracious. Grace and capitalism are not always compatible, and the church is called to be a mission organization focused on service and not what it can do, earn or produce. The production of fruit is God’s business; our business is to trust God and to be faithful. Faithfulness focuses on process, not on the result. Capitalism is focused on production rather than relationship, and this is contrary in many ways to the gospel message.

The church is dangerously individualistic. We have lost sight of community in our world. Our focus is on our own individual needs, wants and desires. Our energy in the world today is poured into our own sense of justice, fairness and our rights as individuals. We have created laws, systems and expectations that emphasize the individual to such a high level that the narcissism that prevails in our culture today was a forgone conclusion. The church is by its very nature and definition a communal organization. Our own focus on individual salvation often neglects our need for community. Our arrogant assumption that we have anything to do with our own salvation has created a narcissistic faith for far too many. When we talk about faith and our relationship with Jesus, our word of choice has become ‘my’ instead of ‘our’ even though the call of the church is to be a community that expresses and lives out their faith together. Our churches have become a collection of lonely, isolated, individual participants rather than a community of faith.

The church is called to be different. Jesus is the light of the world and the church is his bride. It is time for the church of Jesus Christ to act more like his partner and less like a religious mirror of the world Jesus came to transform.