The Church in Crisis

Welcome to episode 241 of Grasp the Bible. In this episode, we will examine the Church in crisis. 

Key takeaways:   

• The reality:  Churches face both internal and external threats 
• The promise:  Christ is building the Church and he will prevail 
• The church’s foundation does not depend on: 
  • Gifted leaders 
  • Perfect doctrine 
  • Cultural acceptance 
  • Impressive programs or large numbers 
• For the five churches we examine in the Book of Revelation, we see a pattern and a promise. 
  • The pattern:  Acknowledge the problem honestly, remember what you've received, repent and change direction, return to faithful obedience. 
  • The promise:  This varies, depending on the church, but is made to ordinary Christians who overcome the challenges specified 

Quotable:   

Our job isn't to save the church—Jesus did that on the cross. 

Application:   

• How to minister in crisis: 
  • Start with prayer:  Our first response to church problems should be prayer, not criticism, complaining, or gossip. 
  • Demonstrate personal faithfulness and integrity:  Instead of focusing on what others need to change, ask what God wants to change in you. 
  • Speak truth in love 
  • Support godly leadership:  Church leaders need your support, not second-guessing. 
• Our job is... 
  • To be faithful in our generation.  
  • To pray.  
  • To serve.  
  • To love.  
  • To persevere.  
  • To trust God with results. 

Connect with us:   

Web site:  https://springbaptist.org   

Facebook:   

https://www.facebook.com/SBCKleinCampus (Klein Campus)   

https://www.facebook.com/SpringBaptist (Spring Campus)   

Need us to pray for you? Submit your prayer request to https://springbaptist.org/prayer/   

If you haven’t already done so, please leave us a rating and review in your podcast provider. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Grass the Bibles Podcast of Spring Baptist Church that walks through selected books of the Bible verse by verse, as well as spends time exploring biblical ideas and topics to help you understand and apply God's Word in your daily life. Pastor Dale Stein of our Klein campus will be leading each week's podcast. This is our 240th episode. I'm Marty Richardson, one of your co-hosts. Thank you for joining us today. Today we're continuing our topical studies. Pastor Dale, it's good to have you with us. Thank you. It is great to be back. So, Pastor Dale, what are we talking about today?

SPEAKER_02 0:30

We're looking at the church in crisis. And this is nothing new. Uh ever since Christ started his church, there have been scandals, problems. The death of the church has been announced for almost 2,000 years now. And yet we are still here. And today we're going to be looking at why that is. As discouraging as it can be, as we look at some statistics that talk about declining church membership and apathy towards a church, and in some parts of the world, outright hatred of the church. Um we need to be encouraged and realize this is nothing new. And the Bible specifically has very clear um guidance on how to handle these situations.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Wow, that sounds pretty heavy. Good stuff. Well, it is, it is. Let's get into today's study.

SPEAKER_02 1:36

We look tonight at the church in crisis. The church in crisis, and so last month another church closed its doors, and what was once a thriving 1,000-member congregation years ago is now an empty building. And this story is very familiar with churches, not only in America, but across the world as well, because we see things like declining attendance, we see leadership conflicts and issues, and we see churches drifting theologically. Few research shows that 6,000 to 10,000 churches closed annually in the United States alone. Denominational loyalty has collapsed, and pastoral burnout soars. Young people leave in unprecedented numbers, and on top of all that, we see a lot of moral failures, especially among these higher profile pastors. Culture is becoming increasingly hostility to the gospel message, and all this can lead some of us to wonder will the church survive? But I think we need to look back at Japan in 1637, because at that time the government launched a very brutal persecution that lasted for 200 years. And during that time, churches were destroyed, believers were martyred, and Christianity was declared extinct. And for two centuries, the world believed the church in Japan was dead. But then in 1865, when French missionaries built a church in Nagasaki, people began to wonder is the church coming back? And there were hidden Christians who came out and they began to join that church. And Christ had preserved thousands of them, and the gospel message was continually proclaimed throughout the generations. And so what appeared to be death was actually a testimony to indestructibility. And today that's our message now that no matter how dire the church condition seems, right, Jesus' building is the is the building that cannot fail. Not because we are strong, but because he is faithful. So we need to acknowledge, though, that churches face real challenges nowadays. There are external pressures put upon the church. Culture has shifted from secular to actively hostile, and our religious liberties are under assault. Christian businesses face lawsuits, and public faith is increasingly marginalized. Why is it that people can get up there at these awards ceremonies and other things and bash Christians and they don't do it to other religions? You ever wonder why? Why is it they feel okay to get up there and bash Christianity? You never see them do that to Islam, do you? I wonder why it's okay for us against us, but no other faiths. Or what about internal pressures as well? There are a lot of churches who teach what I'm calling theological confusion, right? They don't teach things that are according to God's word. Some churches have adopted a pragmatic approach, right? Prioritizing entertainment over a discipleship. And leadership failures are devastating the church's credibility. There are generational divides, there are worship wars, and biblical illiteracy is skyrocketing among professing Christians. And if we look at the numbers in 1972, 90% of Americans claimed some religious affiliation. And today barely 70% of the people do, and it's dropping. Among those under 30, all right, the religious nuns, no religious affiliation at all, they make up the largest group. And regular church attendance fell from 42% to 29% in just two decades. But these challenges, they are not new. Look over church history, it has survived the Roman persecutions, medieval corruption, Islamic conquest, communist oppression, and enlightenment skepticism. And that is because the church's survival never depended upon favorable culture, favorable political power, or human wisdom. But instead it depends on Christ's promise and power. And so we're going to look first of all at Christ's promise. And so let's turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 16, verse 18. So Matthew chapter 16, verse 18, and we're going to look at the promise of victory that Jesus made. In Matthew 16, 18, Jesus declares, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Jesus says, This is his church. He is the one who is building it. He is building one universal church with many different local expressions. And the gates of hell, those those refer to, that refers to death's power and organized evil. But gates are defensive. They are not offensive. Right? And so the church is on the offense. We are assaulting Satan's kingdom. And we will prevail because Satan's kingdom is not strong enough. On June 6, 1944, the German Atlantic Wall looked impregnable. But despite casualties and fierce resistance, Allied forces breached those gates. And once that beachhead was established, Hitler's defeat became inevitable. And that's the picture we need to have here. Through death and resurrection, Jesus established a beachhead. He breached hell's gates for us so that we can advance through enemy territory. Yes, we're going to face resistance. Yes, there will be casualties along the way, but the outcome is certain, and we know that Satan's kingdom is in retreat. So what's the foundation? What is the surety besides Jesus telling us? Well, we see in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 11, of what Paul says. He gives us the foundation that cannot fail. Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 11, no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. And so the word he uses here for foundation, it is the cornerstone. It determines the entire alignment for the walls of a building. And so the church's stability doesn't rest on what we typically think of that makes a church strong. For number one, the church's stability and strength does not rely solely upon a gifted leader. We've all seen churches that rise and fall based on the particular personality of a pastor. Churches will rise greatly, and then when that church, when that pastor leaves for whatever reason, the church declines. And then also when these pastors fall into sin, the church is devastated. But Paul reminds us that the leader of every church is not a human being. That leader is Jesus Christ. So it doesn't depend on gifted leaders. It also doesn't depend on perfect doctrine. Now, doctrine matters immensely. It is big, but even the most theologically precise church can lose its way if it trusts in doctrinal purity rather than in Christ. Look at the Pharisees. They had great doctrinal purity, but they missed who Jesus really was. Also, it does not depend on cultural acceptance. You'll hear the term we want to be relevant, right, to our community. We want to be known, we want to have this influence, and we want to maintain power in terms of politics. But church history and Christianity show that what has been most often needed during these persecuted times was churches who would not compromise with the culture. Also, it does not depend on impressive programs or large numbers. We can have a state-of-the-art facility, cutting-edge worship, dynamic programs, and massive attendance. But if Jesus is not the foundation, then it is all hay. It is all wood. It is all stubble that will burn up when tested. And so the security of the church rests in Jesus Christ. And what's great about that foundation is it never shifts, it never changes. You know, we all live here in Southeast Texas, and my wife's uncle has been a real estate agent for his entire career, 30-something years, and he is saying, you know what, if you're looking for a home in Texas or Southeast Texas specifically, you know, you're going to find three types. Those who have had foundation problems, those who do have foundation problems, and those that will. Why? Because of the soil here. It shifts, it moves, it causes problems with the home. But we know here that Christ is solid. His church does not change. Our mission has not changed. His teachings are still relevant today, and they will be relevant for all of eternity. Now, if we look like at medieval churches that were built over in Europe here, they're built on foundations that are 30 to 40 feet deep. And we can look at the architecture and how these things soar above the sky. And we wonder how could they reach such great heights and not topple over? But what we don't see is that deep foundation that is buried underneath the ground. That's how these structures have survived for 800 years through wars and through earthquakes and through storms and through revolutions because of the invisibility of the stability that is below the ground. And this is the church. Because when people on the outside look at us, they see outdated people who cling to outdated beliefs. But our foundation is the eternal and unchanging word of God. And we will last, the church will last and outlast every empire and every single type of ideology that opposes it. Now Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 16 through 17 that the church is God's temple. He says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 16, do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? And the word he uses for temple is actually the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle that was built back in the Old Testament here. This is the place of the Holy of Holies. And under the Old Covenant, God's presence would be in this one place where he would meet with the high priest. But then in verse 17, Paul goes on and says, if anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. And so this is how seriously God takes attacks on his church, whether it's from the outside in forms of persecution or from inside, corruption. And so to attack the church is to attack the temple where God dwells. It is to assault the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and God will not tolerate that. And so this should give us great confidence. Yes, we face challenges. Yes, we have weaknesses. But you know what? The church is simply not some type of human-invented organization that is just trying to survive. We are God's temple. We are indwelt by God's Spirit, and we are protected by God's power, and no one destroys God's temple without answering to him. And so this leads us to asking very good questions here. Number one, where is our confidence placed? Is it in Christ or is it in Christian culture? If American Christianity becomes a persecuted minority, would our faith survive? What would happen if this church lost its building, lost its budget, or lost its pastor? Would we cease to be the church? Do you view the church as God's temple or do you view it as some type of human organization? Because our answers to those questions, they determine how we treat it, how we serve it, and how much we are willing to sacrifice for it. There's lots of churches today that want to be relevant, they want to be hip, they want to be cool, and they think if they invest in the latest state-of-the-art entertainment and get some persuasive speaker, that'll draw more and more people in. But you know what? The world's got a lot more money than the church. The world can outspend you, the world can out-entertain you, and the world can out-motivationally speak you. This is not what we are called to do. And eventually what these churches realize is that people come and people go. As soon as they realize, uh, I'm not entertained as much as I used to be, they leave and go somewhere else. We can learn a lot also from the different churches in the book of Revelation, in chapters 2 and 3. So John addresses several churches in Asia and Minor, and we're going to look at a few of them now. So we're going to begin by looking at the church in Ephesus. And John reminds them that they have lost their first love. So take a look with me at Revelation chapter 2, verse 4. Revelation chapter 2, verse 4. Now Jesus commends the church for their doctrine and their work and their endurance. They tested false apostles. They did everything right except for one thing. In Revelation chapter 2, verse 4, he says, You have abandoned the love you had at first. In other words, they had right belief, but cold hearts. They defended the truth, but they lost their passion for that truth. You know, there was a couple who was married for 25 years and they did everything right. They had dinner together every night, they went to church together, and each one of them played their proper roles in their relationship. Each one of them had been faithful to one another in their vows. They never fought, but here's the problem: their passion is gone. They are in essence roommates with a marriage certificate. Technically correct, but emotionally empty. And that's what Jesus is saying about Ephesus. And then he says here, repent and do the works you did at first. He calls them back to passionate devotion and not just right behavior. There's a lot of churches today, evangelical churches, that are theologically sound but spiritually cold. They pride themselves on how much Bible knowledge they have and the doctrine that they hold to, but their worship is perfunctory and mechanical. And their evangelism, their sharing the faith with others, is practically non-existent. And so those churches become like Pharisees, right? They are technically religious and righteous, but they are so far away from God. John also writes to the church at Pergamum, and he warns them that they are compromising with culture. They face intense pressure to accommodate to their pagan culture. And in fact, John says that in Revelation chapter 2, a little further down where we just were, he said they live where Satan's throne is, but they remain faithful through martyrdom. But then Jesus reminds them in Revelation chapter 2, verse 14, you have some who hold to the teaching of Balaam. So what happened is that they tolerated teachers that advocated for compromise. A little participation on idol feasts, a little immorality, just enough accommodation to get along. You know, early in the fourth century, Rome shifted from persecuting Christianity to patronizing it. And church membership exploded as a result, but with its growth came compromise. Pagan practices were baptized with Christian names, and the church became wealthy and powerful, but at the same time, but also became worldly. And today we face similar pressures as well. And so what do we do here? We soften the language of sin. We don't want to tell people that they are sinners, which we all are, right? So we compromise our language. We don't mention hell or things that might make people a little upset or uncomfortable. We accommodate to the sexual ethics of our time. Be relevant, be the buzzword, inclusive. Right? Make everyone feel welcome, and everyone should feel welcome, but we should not compromise on the truth. And Jesus tells Pergamum to repent. Stop compromising. Okay? Hold fast to the truth even when it costs you cultural acceptance. And every generation faces this. Will we accommodate the culture to gain a hearing, or will we will we proclaim the full counsel of God regardless of the cost? John also addresses the church at Thyatira, and he points out that they are tolerating corrupt leadership. Jesus commends them for their love and their faith and their service and their growth. He says, but this in Revelation chapter 2, verse 20, but you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality. So someone in leadership was actively teaching and practicing immorality. And the church didn't confront it. They didn't exercise church discipline and they let it continue. Now there are a lot of high-profile pastors who, over the last couple of years, have fallen very publicly. A few years ago, there was Ravi Zacharias. If you ever heard him, he was a great apologist. And after his death, investigations into his life had surfaced that he had been engaged in patterns of sexual abuse spanning years. But this was hidden, and we can look back and wonder, how did we not know about this? Well, those who knew about it, they were silenced. There were few accountability structures there. And the entire ministry was built around one man's celebrity. And so, of course, the damage happened to the victims, and that matters significantly. But then his, all his work had been damaged also. His witness was damaged. It also embittered believers and it gave all the skeptics ammunition to go, see, you Christians are no different. You're a bunch of hypocrites. And so much of this could have been prevented with biblical accountability. And so Jesus says very plainly to the church at Thyatira, stop tolerating corrupt leadership. And what you need to do is take care of this, otherwise it will bring judgment upon the whole church. Now Jesus also addresses the church at Sardis. And he's like, you know what, you're dead, but you don't even know it. In Revelation chapter 3, verse 1, you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. They had a great reputation. They were known as having a thriving church. They probably had very good attendance, active programs, and respective leaders. But Jesus says, you know what, you are spiritually dead. All the external indicators were positive, but the internal reality was death. If you go to England, Day, you will find some beautiful Gothic church buildings. And also, there's other great buildings here with centuries of history and traditions and monuments to spiritual giants. But when you walk into one of those churches on a Sunday morning, you might see a handful or maybe even a dozen of elderly people sitting in a sanctuary that was built for 500 people. And they're going through different forms of liturgy and worship, but they're no longer touching the hearts of those who attend or anyone else. They are preserving traditions, but they're not living transformed lives. They have historic reputations. They have maintained buildings, but the life inside those buildings is gone. In other words, what are these churches have become, instead of living bodies, they have become museums. And many times churches that are in decline or have declined, they don't even realize it. And so the question we have to ask ourselves is how do we measure church health? By numbers and budgets? Lots of churches do that. Or do we measure it by spiritual vitality? Do we look at things like genuine conversions, transformed lives, passionate worship, and sacrificial service? Those should be our indicators of whether or not the church is being effective. And then let's also look at the church at Laodicea. They were lukewarm and self-sufficient. And so Jesus really had nothing good to say about this church. We see in chapter 3, verses 15 through 16, and I'll just summarize those verses, when Jesus says, You are neither hot nor cold, but you're lukewarm, and I will spit you out of my mouth. Now this was a very wealthy city. They had a medical school and a thriving textile industry. But the church had absorbed their the culture that was around them, the city's values. They had gotten a big head about their material prosperity. We're all doing well. The church has a great budget. We must be doing something right. So they depended on those finances. They were self-sufficient. They were comfortable, which led to mediocrity. And basically they were saying, you know what? I'm rich, I've prospered, and I don't need anything else. But Jesus paints a very clear picture about their true spiritual condition when he says that they are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked. Because their water supply came from a city that was about six miles away. And that hot water, by the time it came through pipes to their city, it was just lukewarm. And I mentioned here before that, you know, if you I'm a big coffee drinker, and in the wintertime, I like my coffee hot, really hot. In the summertime, I want it ice cold, right? But you ever drink like water that's like dark or coffee that's lukewarm? It's like you pick up a cup and you go to PM, oh, this is so nasty. It's it's a gross. You don't want to swallow it, you just don't want to spit it out, it's gross. And that's the whole point that Jesus was making to them as well is that you know what? You are making me sick because if you were hot, that'd be great. And if you are cold, then at least you would know it and you would wake up and see this, right? But you're lukewarm. You think you're hot, but you're really not. You're not on fire for me. And you know what? We in America, if we are not careful, we face the same temptations that the church in Laodicea did, right? We are very comfortable. We are wealthy, we are self-sufficient. We don't need a revival. You know what? Because we've got programs. Look at our church calendar. Find me a day of the week when we're not doing something up here. Right? But the question is, are we doing the right things? Are we making a difference for the kingdom? Are we seeing lives transformed? And so those are the things that we need, right? And so we convince ourselves that we don't need spiritual power because we've got programs. It's not, I'm not talking about just stringing up to church. I'm saying a lot of churches, if we're not careful, we can measure our success by look how busy we are. Look, we're doing all these things, and we need to guard ourselves against that. And so, if we look at the the at the pattern and promises with these five churches, Jesus calls them all to repent. Now, again, that means to be more than just feeling sorry. It means to change your mind and direction. Now, Jesus doesn't abandon these churches, he calls them back to faithfulness. And so the pattern that we see here is for them to acknowledge the problem honestly. They need to remember what they've received, they need to repent and change direction and return to faithful obedience. And then Jesus promises them that those who overcome, right? Those who overcome, he says here to the church of Ephesus, they will eat from the tree of life. To the church at Smyrna, they will have protection from the second death. To the church at Pergamum, they will eat hidden manna and a white stone, they will see a white stone with a new name. To the church at Thyatira, they will have authority over the nations and be the morning star. To the church at Sardis, they will have white garments and names, their names written in the book of life. To the church at Philadelphia, they will be pillars in God's temple. And to the church at Laodicea, they will sit with Christ on his throne. Now the good news is these are simply not rewards given for exceptional performance. Rather, they are the promises that are inherited for faithful perseverance. And so God calls us as his people to remain faithful, to persevere no matter what culture and politics and any other internal or external pressures bring. And so it's good to also look in our own hearts and to see here what church describes our personal condition. Maybe we have lost our first love. Maybe we are compromising with the culture. Maybe we are simply lukewarm. Because remember again, the church is made up of what? People, right? Not buildings, it's made up of people. So these apply to individual Christians as well. And the question then we have to ask ourselves is: are we willing to remain part of the faithful remnant? If the entire church drifts, are you willing to stay where you are and remain faithful? Even if you're in the minority, will you hold on to your biblical roots? Even though it may cost you popularity, will you be an overcomer in those situations? And so what is our response? How do we minister during times of crisis? Well, number one, prayer must be first. Everything we do must be bathed in prayer. But you know what happens so many times when crises come? What do we do? We complain, we gossip, and we criticize. But Jesus says we're always to pray first. We see here in Philippians chapter 1, verse 3, Paul says, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. And so Paul prayed, especially for churches when they struggled. The church in Corinth, if you look at the Corinthian letters, it was a mess. They faced division, immorality, and confusion. But Paul didn't just criticize, he also prayed. And so, what are some things that we should be praying for for our churches? Well, we should be praying for spiritual awakening and revival. Pray that God would stir the hearts of the people there to revive our passion for the lost and for our love for Christ. We need to pray for godly wisdom for our leaders. Pray for pastors, that God would give them wisdom and courage and endurance and boldness. Pray for persecution from false teaching. And so pray that God would keep us from theological drift, that we would not compromise the truth. We need to pray for unity among believers when issues come up that we would not fight and yet that we would get along with one another. We need to pray for effective evangelism and missions. We need to become so focused that we give up looking at our internal problems and we focus on the mission that God has called us to, to reach lost people and to share the gospel with them. And also we need to pray, we need to provide resources for the church here. We need to pray for provision, not for luxury, but for the resources that we need to fulfill the calling that God has placed in our lives. We also need to exercise personal faithfulness and integrity. Instead of focusing on what other people need to do to change, we need to ask what God wants us to change in ourselves. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, verse 3, why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log in your own? You know what? It's easy to critique the church. It really is. It's hard to be the church. It is easy to complain about lukewarmness, but it is hard to maintain a fervent devotion. It is easy to criticize the leaders, but it's hard to serve faithfully in unglamorous roles. Now we need to, again, watch our integrity. And what are some things we can do? Well, we can live consistently as Christians. We need to live out our faith Monday through Saturday and not just on Sunday. We need to attend church regularly and participate because you know what? You cannot strengthen a church when you are not there. Be here at church, support churches here through your tithes and your offerings. Use your spiritual gifts for ministry. Don't just consume, contribute. One saying I like here is that you know what? You don't come to church to sit, soak, and be sanctified. You also come to serve. Right? So give and make a difference there. And you know what? You need to encourage rather than criticize leaders. And I'm not talking just like paid staff people, I'm talking about all our different volunteers who lead our different ministries as well. Because they need your support and not constant second-guessing. You know, we also need to speak the truth in love. And you know what? Sometimes problems arise in church, and they do need to be addressed. We can't simply sweep them under the rug. But we see in Matthew chapter 18, verses 15 through 17, that Jesus gives us the example. Go directly to the person, bring a witness if needed, involve church leadership when necessary. And the Paul goes on in Galatians chapter 6, verse 1, to say that we should restore others in a spirit of gentleness. And so notice that the principles here. We need to go directly to the person involved first. We don't need to be gossiping. We don't need to gather a faction of people who will be on our side. We simply need to go to that person directly and privately. And if that approach fails, bring a witness with us. And then if that fails here too, bring in church leadership when necessary. And then we need to remember to speak with humility and grace. And why is that? Because we are sinners too. Right? We need to focus on specific behaviors and not personal attacks. Address the issue, not the person's character. And we need to seek solutions and not just recognize the problem. Because the goal is restoration and not destruction. Another thing that we can do here for good practice is to support godly leadership. Notice I'm saying godly leadership. Pastors and leaders who seek to do the will of God should be honored. The writer of Hebrews says this in chapter 13, verse 17. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls. Again, this does not mean just blind obedience to ungodly people. So what this means for us is that we need to be praying regularly for church leaders because they face situations, they face pressures you do not see. They experience spiritual attacks you may not experience. Lots of them carry burdens that you cannot understand, begin to understand, right? And a lot of people don't carry. Also, we need to encourage them in their difficult calling. And so work of ministry is very hard. And just the other day, I had a church member who I'll check in on every once in a while, texted me and she said, How are you? And I go, I'm fine. I'm thinking, what does this person want? And I go, Are you okay? And she goes, I'm just checking to see how you're doing, that's all. I thought. Okay. I'm thinking, how just how insensitive that was of me to think, why are you checking on me? And she's like, because I care about you, dummy. That's why I'm checking on you. And I'm like, I'm not used to people actually reaching out and doing that. Usually I'm the one going and doing that. And so it's like, that was such an encouragement. And what a difference that made in my day, just for her to text me and say, just check it in, see how you're doing. Right? That was a great encouragement here. And so we should also support their biblical initiatives, campaigns, and things like that that are grounded in Scripture. We should be supporting them. And you know what? We should give them the benefit of the doubt and when that is possible. And you know, we we don't need to assume the worst in people, right? We need to trust their motives until they prove until they prove otherwise. And if there are concerns, address them privately and respectfully. Go directly to that person, not out in the parking lot to meet with a bunch of people and go, can you believe that person said this? Right? So make sure, and because you know what? Church leadership is exhausting. Patters, uh pastors get criticisms from all sides. Pastor Mark and I are recently talking about an issue. I look to him and I go, you are gonna get shot no matter what happens here. So you just need to do the right thing and know that someone's gonna get mad at you, and that's okay. Right? It's gonna happen no matter what. And so pastors deal with impossible expectations. I I read a um, I was listening to a podcast recently, and Tom Rayner, y'all may have heard him, really big in the Southern Baptist world. He had conducted surveys, asking people in churches what the top ten responsibilities are for their pastors. He collated all his responses and he said, you know what? If we met just the top ten expectations churches have of their pastors, he goes, they'd be working almost 100 hours a week just to meet those expectations. And so, again, right, there are impossible expectations, and we bear tremendous responsibility for people's souls, and so what pastors need most of all is support and not second guessing. And so this week you can commit to praying for church leaders. Again, I'm also including our volunteers in here because they give so much time and they help us lead in such tremendous ways. And if you find something you think is wrong, instead of complain, volunteer to help fix it. And if you've been critical and gossip about church leaders here, ask for forgiveness and commit to six months of faithful attendance and participation before making judgments. And a great question to ask is that am I part of the problem or am I part of the solution? Now, all this may seem kind of dark, but there is great hope for the future. In A.D. 155, Polycarp was arrested by Roman authorities. Now, this man was an old bishop in a town called Smyrna. And he was actually one of the last living links directly to the apostles because he knew the apostle John. And the Romans offered him a very simple choice curse Christ and live, or confess Christ and die. And Polycarp said this eighty-six years I have served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me? And when he got done saying that, they lit a fire and they burned him alive. His death didn't weaken the church, it strengthened it. Because Polycarp demonstrated that the church's foundation is not cultural acceptance, it's not political power, it is not numerical strength, it is Jesus Christ who is worth dying for. The church has survived 2,000 years because millions of Polycarps, ordinary believers, remained faithful when their faithfulness was costly. They love Christ more than life itself. They trusted his promises rather than their circumstances. And the church will continue to survive, not because we're clever, not because we're strong, but because Jesus is faithful and his promises are sure. So if we're looking around and we're questioning our future, we might be a little pessimistic. We should not lose heart. We should not surrender. We should not give up or despair. Because we know that Jesus is the builder and he cannot fail here. So our job is not to save the church. Jesus did that on the cross. Our job is to be faithful in our generation, to pray, to serve, to love, to persevere, and to trust God with the results. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for saving us. And not just for the act of salvation alone, but what it brings along with that to be part of your family, to be the church, to be the place where your spirit dwells. And Lord, I pray that as your church, we would have no fear in this world, knowing this is not our home, knowing that you reward obedience and faithfulness. Lord, may we not compromise with the culture. May you watch over our church leaders and volunteers. Lord, may we remain faithful to your calling. Keep us passionate about it, keep the fire going in our lives, keep the vision ever before us of what happens to people who die and do not know you. May that be our motivator. And Lord, may we boldly proclaim your word without compromising on it. But may we do so, Lord, in ways that are loving and ways that are winsome so that people can see lives that have been transformed by the gospel message. And in doing so, may others choose to follow your son Jesus. And when that happens, that we would point to you and worship you and honor you for reaching down and performing a miracle of saving another human soul. And we ask this in Christ's name. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 41:18

Thank you for that. Now, as we tend to do when we're together, we like to take a moment at the end of our time together and just take a little bit deeper dive into the key takeaway or the big idea for today. So, Pastor Darrell, what is that?

SPEAKER_02 41:33

Well, I think a lot of people will find great relief in this, and that is our job isn't to say isn't not to save the church. Okay, Jesus did that on the cross. So that is the big idea. Our job isn't to save the church, because Jesus did that on the cross. Yes. So let's unpack that. Sure. When the church comes under attack, we want to defend it. Or we think that well, the church is in decline, so we need to save it. But here's the great news is that as we read through scripture, we can quickly see that the church's foundation doesn't depend on giving the leadership. So many times we say, if we just got the right leadership in here, the right head pastor, the right worship person, the right this person, then this would turn the church turn the church around. Or our doctrine has to be perfect. Now the Pharisees, I think a great doctrine. They were not effective spiritual religious leaders. Okay, so it doesn't depend on having the perfect doctrine. It also does not depend on cultural acceptance. There's always pressure. You know, you need to be more culturally relevant to your to your culture. No, it does not depend on cultural acceptance. And then sometimes we think, uh-huh. We just need better programs or more programs or more activities. And then that's what's gonna save the church. And it does not the foundation of the church does not depend on that either.

SPEAKER_01 43:10

Good word on that. And and I think I'd like to add this that just because the church is different today doesn't necessarily mean it's in decline either. Correct. What because what I what I find and you and I work in a hundred-year-old plus church, my my last church was a hundred and fifty years old. Everybody likes to look back to yesteryear and point to oh so much better. But part of me says, Well, so much better it would have had a higher impact. And then but that's the fleshy part of me, right? You know, being like fighting back. But I I think that we also you you you said this, it's gone to church, and sometimes he knows exactly what the church needs to be in the moment it needs to be. And so I mean, I still think we work really hard. You and I agree on that. You work really hard, you set goals, you match. Maximize things, you're the best you can be. But at the end of the day, it's God's God's domain. And I think you hit that square on the head. We need to do our our best because he's worthy of it. But oh, we were reading that that evangel uh the discipleship book. It's talking about evangelism. And had that moment. Our the the moment that said successful evangelism is not the response of the people, it's us telling them. Correct. And I think that kind of applies to the church. Our job is to be biblical and Christ-centered and let God sort out everything else.

SPEAKER_02 44:37

Yeah. And so that kind of goes into the application part, which is what I really want to talk about, because there may be some folks listening to this who attend a church that is in crisis. Maybe you're on the verge of shutting your doors because you're not getting enough income.

SPEAKER_01 44:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 44:55

Or maybe your church is caught in the crosshairs of some type of cultural issue where you're being pressured to uh compromise with culture. Or maybe uh church leadership is uh straying away from orthodox uh biblical teaching. And so how can can you, as church members, take an active and constructive role in helping your church? And I think that the number one thing that we can all do is start with prayer. Okay, our first response to church problems should be prayer.

SPEAKER_00 45:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 45:32

Unfortunately, oftentimes the first step is criticism, gossip, gossip, and complaining.

SPEAKER_01 45:39

I've never heard any complaints at a Baptist church before.

SPEAKER_02 45:42

Never. So unusual. Yes. But the best thing you can do for your church is pray for your church. Even if things are going great, pray for your leaders, pray for your congregation, right? Pray that God will continue his blessings, right? So prayer first. Number two, demonstrate personal faithfulness and integrity. Here's what I mean. So many times, what do we do? We point fingers at other people and assign blame and say, this is your fault. But instead, what if we focused, instead of focusing on what others need to do to change, ask what God wants of us to change. Maybe there are things in us that need to change. So ask God what needs to be changed in you. Next, speak the truth in love.

SPEAKER_01 46:35

That one's hard. That may be the hardest one on the whole list, man.

SPEAKER_02 46:39

Absolutely. Because let's face it, when something as important to us as the church is is under attack or it's slipping, now sometimes what we want to do is come out with guns blazing instead of speaking the truth to people. Again, being truthful, right? But again, there's this balance of grace and truth. So speaking the truth, but doing so in a loving manner and finding that balance. And then finally, supporting godly leadership. Again, I I intentionally put godly in there because there are some leaders in just about in your any organization that probably should not be followed. Okay, but if you have a godly leader, they need your support, not your second guessing. And believe it or not, godly leaders will make choices that you may not necessarily agree with. Does not mean that they are wrong, doesn't mean that they're stupid, doesn't mean they're uninformed. It simply means that using the discernment that they've been given from God and the Holy Spirit, they believe that the church should go in a particular direction. And if you cannot point to something biblical that says that they are incorrect or they have a wrong understanding of that, right? It may not be your cup of tea, but still they need your support.

SPEAKER_01 48:02

Good word on that. And and there is a fine line even there because we see throughout the Old Testament Um that sometimes you have ungodly leadership above you by no choice of your own, and they're just there. And God still wants us to to do what we know to do right. You know, what is it that old Billy Sunday used to say, God hits straight licks with crooked sticks? You know, um because sometimes even somebody who's maybe not where godly where you want them to be, but God's placed them there for a season for a reason. Sometimes teaching us humility to cling to our calling as a church member, our calling, you know, because faithfulness is one of the least exemplified things in our modern society. People aren't faithful to their marriage, they're not faithful to their job, they're not faithful. I mean, the only thing that people are generally faithful to, not even the church anymore, is sports teams. Yes. And and so I think sometimes, yes, we need to want have godly leadership, but sometimes God says, you know what, I've got this person here and I'm doing something with them, and they're not perfect.

SPEAKER_02 49:13

Right.

SPEAKER_01 49:14

You know, so that's a hard list, that's a hard thing for me.

SPEAKER_02 49:17

Okay. I'm so glad you said faithfulness because I've got a job description here for church members. Oh, okay, okay. I'm ready. Bring it. And I'm just gonna give you a bulleted list. All right. So you said faithfulness. That's my number one thing at the very top. Your job description reads as follows. Number one, be faithful. Ding, ding, ding, ding. Okay, number two, pray. Number three, serve. Number four, love. You're meddling now, man. You know, okay. Next, persevere. Okay, go through it. Don't give up and walk away when things get difficult. And then finally, and this is very important, trust God with the results. It's his church. Trust him to know the right thing to do.

SPEAKER_01 50:06

And he loves his bride more than we do.

SPEAKER_02 50:09

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 50:10

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 50:12

So there's your job description. Be faithful, pray, serve, love, persevere, and trust God.

SPEAKER_01 50:20

Excellent. Now, one little caveat. Let's or not caveat. This isn't even a bunny trail. I think it's a good way to wrap up for us. I I was reading a a study on churches, and it was a breakdown of the size of churches and how like 88% of all churches have less than 200 people in them. And 40 something percent have like less than 50. Can we just talk about the fact that size has nothing to do with an effective church? Oh my goodness. Because you know, we're in a large church and we do a lot of great ministry here. I mean, we do a bunch of great ministry, but we're a little bit anomalous. We're in Houston, there's thousands of big churches, but around the rest of the world, how it's okay. Like, can can can you unpack that a little bit just to encourage some people? Maybe they're listening and that the and they're they're feeling like, well, we're not growing by tens of thousands of people. God must not have his favor on us. How that's not true? Right.

SPEAKER_02 51:22

In church world, there is so much pressure. And I get it because the philosophy is, well, healthy things grow. And what do we do? Our minds automatically default to oh, numerical growth is growth. That's what we focus on.

SPEAKER_01 51:41

Quantitative.

SPEAKER_02 51:42

Yes. But the average church in America, I keep up with this data all the time. A few years ago, the average church was 100. The average church size right now is somewhere between 60 to 70 people. Yep. And as you said, Marty, we live here in Houston and there are churches with thousands of members. And so you think, oh my gosh, 60 or 70? That's crazy. No, we are the unicorn, we are the anomaly. And so we need to make sure we have our perspective right. And so the thing is, is that there is a lot of faithful and great ministries happening in our small and I'll use the word average, average size churches. And we need to get beyond this looking at numbers and look at spiritual depth. Those people who are in those churches, are they more devoted disciples of Jesus today than they were a year ago? Are they evangelizing? Are they doing missions? So numbers itself, they don't tell the whole story. There is amazing ministry in preaching and evangelism going on in our small churches. So we need to jettison this mindset of, well, if they're really good, they're going to grow. You know what? That is not up to us. And sometimes the Lord says, you know what? First of all, I'm not going to give you more people because I want you to take the ones I've already given you. I want you to take them deeper in their growth. Then if you're faithful in deepening, in leading them to a deepening relationship with me, then maybe if I choose, I will bless you with more. And if I don't, then you need to be okay with those that I've given you and you continue to lead them.

SPEAKER_01 53:25

Yes, yes. I I I think about um we've got a friend, he's a director of missions, which is kind of like an associational leader in kind of that East Texas area. And he, you know, he'll talk about you know these churches in the kind of middle of nowhere. And some of them are struggling, some of them aren't. But God cares about the people in the middle of nowhere as much as they he does the people in the middle of New York or in the middle of Houston. And I think that we forget, and I love that your list had faithfulness as the top. That's what he asked for. And and and I I think we we as a church, universal, if we put faithfulness first, I think we'd see a lot less leadership crashes. Yes. If if we looked at the men and women who lead our church and say we need a faithful leader first, somebody who's faithful to us and to Christ. Not in that order, Christ than the church. And so very, very good. Wow. That's that's pretty deep, man. Good stuff. But make sure you check out the show notes. And uh we we do this every week, and I for we we forget to talk about them from time to time, but there's there's notes at the bottom of each one of these, so you can always download those and and you might I might challenge you to download that uh those notes and uh look at your job description this week and say, have have I done these things well? It is good to take an inventory. Uh I'll I'll show you Pastor Daryl. Um I did cry I did one for Christ-likeness for myself that I take almost every week and go, okay, am I doing these things or not? It's good for us to look at those things and take an inventory. Anything else as we before we kind of wrap up? That's all I have. Well, it's been a good day, hasn't it? I think so. It has, it has. I've been I've been drinking coffee over here, so I'm slowly speeding up my talking, but it's it's been good. Thank you for joining us as always. We know you could do a lot of different things, and we are glad that you have chosen to study God's word, to look into it deeply, to see how you can be more like Christ. We know that God's word has changed our life. We hope the same for you. Join us next week as we continue to crash the Bible.