Too many church leaders are clueless about what makes the church relevant …
Recently I was having an enjoyable conversation with someone I know personally who is a Prayer Partner and good friend to the Scott Free Clinic ministry.
During the conversation he wanted to illustrate a point, so he mentioned that the Second Amendment to the Constitution is important to him. He then stated that’s one reason why he thinks a greater focus on mental health is important. The inference was that he thought many of the mass shootings are the result of people suffering from mental illness. To that, I explained that that issue has been (and continues to be) studied, and the fact is that many “shooters” do not suffer from a mental illness, and mental illness is not the root cause of their horrendous acts (as just one reference check out this data reported by the Michigan Psychological Association here). It is true some shooters were diagnosed with a mental illness, and their mental illness did contribute to their behavior, but I explained to him there’s a greater root cause for all such kinds of behavior.
He inquired to what that root cause could possibly be, if not mental illness.
It’s sin and evil.
He was somewhat taken aback by such a notion, and reactively commented, “Then everyone would need the Lord!”
BINGO!
That’s THE point sound church leaders have been trying to make since the church first began … people need the Lord! Reconciliation with God, and transformation by Him into the likeness of His Son, is the single greatest need of every human being who has and does (and will) exist!
Although I’ve been a pastor for more than three decades (as well as a counselor), the ministry I currently lead has a primary focus on providing comprehensive Christian clinical counseling. We understand the very real NEED for this kind of ministry and service to exist — millions of people need what we’re trying to provide. But even so, with every person we minister to, we also address their spiritual needs.
That’s because we are first and foremost spiritual beings who also have bodies, and wonderful minds created by God, and no shortage of emotions. To fail to minister to the physical, mental, and emotional needs of a person is terrible, but to fail to minister to their spiritual needs is a complete and utter failure.
Too many church leaders are missing that point.
Too many church leaders, in an old and tired attempt to make the churches they lead be “relevant,” try to offer anything and everything other than a focus on Christ. Too many church leaders are stuck in an old, ineffective pattern of trying to “meet felt needs” as a way to appear relevant to today’s culture. And so it’s more common to hear sermons about tips for a better marriage, or how to be successful, or how to achieve your goals, or how to manage your time or money, than it is to consistently, persistently preach the Gospel — the greatest need of humanity.
That’s not to say the church shouldn’t preach about marriage, it should. It is to say the church should not be preaching formulas for being “successful,” it shouldn’t. That’s not to say the church shouldn’t preach about living a life of integrity and values that we learn from Christ, it should. It is to say the church needs to do it’s job, which is to preach Christ and make disciples.
Leave the clinical counseling to clinical therapists.
Leave business development to business leaders.
Leave personal development to the leaders and coaches who work in that area.
Leave what is NOT the mission of the church to those people who have a mission to do all the other things the church really should not be doing.
And guess what, survey after survey show many people — especially Millennials — want the church to focus more on the things of God and His kingdom than to preach, teach, and otherwise attempt things that are irrelevant to the mission of the church.
For many, again especially Millennials, NOT making Christ and His kingdom central is what makes the church irrelevant to them.
Do you want to lead a church that’s relevant to people today? Then be a biblical church that makes disciples by preaching and teaching Christ, and make that your central focus.
Scotty
P.S. Church leaders, if you want to dig deeper into simplifying church to its mission, check out the book, “Simple Church,” which you can find on Amazon here. And if we can be of help to you, keep in mind Scott Free Clinic offers FREE consulting to churches to help churches become disciple-making churches or improve their ministries. For more information about our consulting services, you can email me directly at dr.scott@ScottFreeClinic.org.
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