What Is the Most Crying Need of the Church in America Today?

Justin Taylor has posted the answers of several prominent evangelical pastors and scholars to this question. These answers are worth reading. These are some of the best and deepest thinkers and preachers of our generation.

I suppose if I had to boil down my thoughts on this question to their briefest form, I would have to say what the church needs is depth. This would certainly be true if I were answering from a strictly SBC perspective. The church growth movement produced a generation of pastors and churches whose primary concern was breadth - how many people can we attract into the church.

This emphasis on breadth produced some serious consequences - whether intended or unintended. Churches became infatuated with methodology which had little theological reflection underneath it. Pragmatic approaches to ministry began to hold sway. Churches began to adopt corporate models rather than biblical ones for structures and practices. Worship began to look more and more like entertainment. Preaching began to sound more like self-help and motivational talks than passionate declaration of God's truth. To borrow a phrase from Barna, the audience became sovereign. Church membership was more socially driven than biblically driven. Discipline disappeared. Phrases like "seeker-friendly" and "non-threatening" took over our evangelistic vocabulary. The church became a mile wide and an inch deep.

Thankfully, the winds of change are blowing. Some of our prominent leaders are beginning to see the failed fruit of this infatuation with "growth." More and more of our younger pastors are men who value biblical exposition and substantial theological reflection. The growth of conferences like the Shepherd's Conference, Together for the Gospel, and Desiring God Conferences are evidence that there is a new desire for depth in the church. The phenomenal growth of ministries such as Desiring God and Nine Marks also demonstrate this hunger for depth in the church.

Yes, the church needs depth. It needs depth in its preaching. It needs depth in its membership process. It needs depth in its leadership. It needs depth in its worship. It needs depth in its witness. It needs depth in its relationships. It needs depth in its ministry to the community and the world.

The emphasis on "growth" produced the result of viewing the church as a company, pastors as CEOs, the gospel as a commodity, worship as rallies, and people as consumers - a shallow view indeed. Depth in the church demonstrates that we take God and His gospel seriously. We take sin and its consequences seriously. We take the church and ministry seriously.

Kingdom Dreams for Our Kids

Imagine you are a mother reading the following letter from a man who is proposing marriage to your daughter.

I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean, to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left is heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteous, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Savior from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?

That is part of a letter written on June 28, 1810 by Adoniram Judson (famous missionary to Burma) to the parents of Ann Hasseltine asking for their permission to marry their daughter. How does one respond to such a letter? If your dreams for your children are of the standard "American Dream" type, that letter is appalling and horrifying. But if your dreams for your children are shaped by the priorities of Christ's kingdom, the outcome might be different.

None of us would choose hardship and suffering for our kids. We love them and it is natural for us to want to see them comfortable and healthy. But the realities of life in Christ's kingdom must take precedence as we pray and dream about their futures. We must desire that their lives be used for the glory of God in whatever places and ways His providence directs. Oh how hard it is to write "not my will but Thy will be done" across our dreams for our kids!

God give us the grace never to let our desires and plans conflict with Yours in the lives of our children.

Sound Words on Preachers and Congregations

Thabiti Anyabwile over at Pure Church posted some excellent words about preaching and congregations while reflecting on the antics of Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Read the whole article. Here are a couple of my favorite statements.

If we (preachers) entertain rather than edify, we're not far from becoming the little monkey in the red suit that does tricks on the street corner for his owner. And it's awfully difficult to escape that arrangement once you start building the pulpit on an exaggerated personality like that.

If we (preachers) entertain people rather than instruct and edify, we will create a body of people who want the fleeting feelings of a moment rather than the meat of the word. They will want a glitzy god rather than the glorious God of Scripture. They will not think they have "worshipped" or served God until they have felt something or been moved in some way. That's emotionalism, not genuine emotion that comes from the truth.

Paul Tripp: Change Is a Community Project

Paul Tripp writes about the fact that Christian relationships in the body of Christ are essential for the process of change. In his chapter from How People Change entitled Change Is a Community Project, he offers several great insights about how God uses relationships to form us into Christ's image. Here are a few nuggets.

At one level we want friendships. At another level, we don't want them! In creation, we were made to live in community, but because of the fall, we tend to run away from the very friendships we need. Quite often, our longing for them is tainted by sin. We pursue them only as long as they satisfy our own desires and needs. We have a love-hate relationship with relationships! (p. 75)

Human beings long to connect because that is what they were made for. With the entrance of sin, this longing was corrupted and easily becomes idolatrous. Because of sin, we long to find all of our hope for relationship in other human beings. If we don't get what we want out of those relationships, we often do hurtful, sinful things. Our approach to relationships is often self-centered. (p. 78)

Living in community pushes us to die to ourselves. There will be times when loving others and allowing others to serve and love us will feel like death, but this is the pathway to real life in Christ. The more we understand our own hearts, the more we see that it takes a work of God's grace to transform self-absorbed individuals into a community of love. (p. 83)

The things we do to enjoy deep fellowship with God and each other are the very things that make us less self-centered and more like Christ. (p. 85)

Christian friendships do not simply help us bask int he sunshine of God's grace; they also help us to roll up our sleeves and strive after holiness. (p. 86)

It is refreshing to find a book from a Christian counselor which is so theologically sound. This is especially true in relation to the doctrine of the church. These excerpts above help you get a feel for the impact a biblical ecclesiology has on the issue of life transformation.

Dever on Improving the Gospel

Over at Church Matters, Mark Dever begins a series of five posts on improving the gospel. These posts are based on a message he gave at T4G earlier this month. In the first post, Dever discusses the current effort among some to "make the gospel public." In other words, some are confusing the social implications of the gospel (justice, poverty) with the gospel itself. Dever warns us that this shift ultimately causes us to lose the gospel and spend our time trying to change the social structures of a fallen culture rather than evangelizing those who are lost and in danger of judgment. Be sure to read all five of these posts!

Stetzer: SBC a Declining Denomination

Ed Stetzer, the director of Lifeway Research and noted missiologist, commented today on the most recent statistics from the SBC. His assessment was that the SBC is a declining denomination. His comments will no doubt create a wave of response in both official and unofficial channels. Read the comment thread in the post and you'll see it is already beginning.

Personally, I believe Stetzer makes some excellent points. It will be interesting to see some of his follow-up articles which further flesh out his assessment. I think he hit the bulls eye on some things which must be addressed in the SBC.

The 2007 ACP (Annual Church Profile) numbers reveal a drop in baptisms and in overall membership in SBC churches. Increases were seen in average attendance, number of churches, and giving. More details on the ACP can be found here.

For the first time in decades, the numbers demonstrate some decline in the SBC. This could turn out to be a blessing if it wakes up Southern Baptists to the real problems that are affecting the health of our churches. Perhaps we will begin asking the right questions which focus our best energy and thought in places which will have a positive kingdom impact on the SBC.

Here are some things which I believe we must address:

• The increasing tendency to narrow the criteria of cooperation to a position of uniformity rather than unity. In other words, insisting that we all agree on non-essentials as well as essentials. This was evident in the change of IMB standards regarding baptism and private prayer language. It is also evident in the current debates on Calvinism and alcohol. A good dose of Romans 14-15 would help us a great deal.
• The infatuation with church growth methodology which has produced a harvest of churches steeped in pragmatism and built on numerical success.
• The recovery of meaningful church membership rooted in the principles of a regenerate church and loving discipline.
• The recovery of a biblical understanding of the gospel itself which will shape our evangelistic and mission efforts and fuel what Stetzer calls a "great commission resurgence."
• The emphasis of the sufficiency of Scripture which will protect us from fad-driven approaches to preaching and ministry.

Others have said these things before and said them better. My prayer is that our denomination will indeed see the signs on the horizon and come together in the power of the Spirit to address these problems. I pray that God would be pleased to do a work of revival among us which will bear the fruit of renewed churches for the glory of Christ.

Moore on McLaren

Baptist Press reports on Dr. Russell Moore's comments after a speech by Brian McLaren at a Willow Creek Conference. Dr. Moore makes some very good points. The entire article is worth a read. Here is one poignant segment.

"McLaren's comments at Willow Creek are not themselves surprising," he said. "What is surprising is that a Christian conference, especially one growing out of a movement designed to reach 'seekers' for Christ, would invite him to speak. When McLaren questions the existence of hell and the hope of the second coming, he is not a 'new kind of Christian.' Such things are neither new nor Christian.

"They are instead a repetition of the voice of a snake in a long-ago garden: 'Has God said?' and 'You shall not surely die.' It is tragic that one of the world's most renowned evangelical churches would highlight this kind of Serpent-sensitive worship."

More Contextualization Silliness

I read this brief article today about a church in Ohio that is starting a satellite in a local bar. It is called Country Rock Church. The online ad for the new church stated, "Top regional bands, pizza, wings, rowdy fun & a short message." The initial sermon by the pastor was based on the mechanical bull in the bar where the church meets. He developed the analogy of how staying on the mechanical bull is a lot like learning how to get along in life.

There is a lot of this kind of thing happening today in the name of contextualizing the gospel to reach people who don't go to traditional churches. Go where the people are, identify with their culture, tailor your message to suit their lingo and their lifestyle and seek to reach them. Like Paul said, we are supposed to become all things to all men in order to save them.

Of course, there is always some contextualization required in sharing the gospel. Language itself is a contextual issue. Mexican people understand the gospel best in Spanish, for example. Certainly it is appropriate, even necessary, to contextualize the gospel so that it can be understood in a particular cultural setting. Yet, much of what we see today in the name of contextualization seems to me to be a dangerous cultural identification which obscures the gospel.

Top bands, beer, pizza, wings, and rowdy fun will certainly draw the country-rock crowd. But will pasting a "short message" on this line-up communicate the centrality of Jesus Christ? I seriously doubt it. When Paul spoke among the intellectual elite on Mars Hill in Athens, he quoted a couple of their well-known poets. This surely demonstrated his familiarity with the intellectual culture. But he proceeded to confront their culture with the claims of Christ. He didn't change the elements of the gospel which he knew would not play well with this crowd. He spoke of Christ's Lordship, resurrection, and the coming judgment. He told them they needed to repent.

The gospel confronts people of all cultures with their need to repent of their sin, believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and surrender their lives to Him in complete trust. Anything we do in the name of contextualization which obscures or diminishes that message is not gospel-friendly.