Pastors, are you putting your church members in a catch-22 position?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary not only gives us the definition of the phrase “catch-22,” it also gives us the origin of the phrase.

First, the definition:

1. A problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule.
The show-business catch-22—no work unless you have an agent, no agent unless you’ve worked —Mary Murphy.
also : the circumstance or rule that denies a solution.
2 a: an illogical, unreasonable, or senseless situation.
b: a measure or policy whose effect is the opposite of what was intended.
c: a situation presenting two equally undesirable alternatives.
3: a hidden difficulty or means of entrapment : CATCH.

Now the story about the origin that also helps us understand the definition:

Catch-22 originated as the title of a 1961 novel by Joseph Heller. (Heller had originally planned to title his novel “Catch-18,” but the publication of Leon Uris’s “Mila 18” persuaded him to change the number.) The novel’s catch-22 was as follows: a combat pilot was crazy by definition (he would have to be crazy to fly combat missions) and since army regulations stipulated that insanity was justification for grounding, a pilot could avoid flight duty by simply asking, but if he asked, he was demonstrating his sanity (anyone who wanted to get out of combat must be sane) and had to keep flying. Catch-22 soon entered the language as the label for any irrational, circular, and impossible situation.

So many church leaders put their local church members into a “catch-22” situation by first telling them every Christian has a responsibility to proclaim the Gospel to unbelievers (to make disciples), but then do nothing to equip their members in how to effectively share the Gospel.

It’s the specific responsibility of church leaders to equip church members for the work of ministry, foremost being their own ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:17-20):

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ,” Ephesians 4:11-12.

The fact is that most churches in America do nothing to equip members in how to effectively share the Gospel. That’s the reason why a lot of church leaders hate it when my friend, John Hendee, who has been a leader in training Christians, church leaders, and entire churches and ministries in evangelism for decades, asks church leaders across the country and around the world a specific question — a question so important he’s written a booklet about this question:

“How many members of your congregation or ministry were trained last year to be able to sit down one-on-one with the people they know and meet in life and effectively share the gospel?” – John Hendee.

Leaders don’t like it because they know they have publicly told their congregations that every Christian has a responsibility to share the Gospel with unbelievers, but they also know that they haven’t done anything to train them to do what they exhorted them to do.

That, my friends, is a classic “catch-22.”

Hearing the exhortation from their leaders, but knowing they are unequipped, the member in the pew (or chair) either do nothing, or they might invite someone to church with the hope they’ll hear the Gospel in a sermon.

Having implanted this catch-22 into their churches, leaders directly contribute to their local church not being a disciple-making church.

Because they didn’t “… equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church.”

Some good news: There’s an easy remedy to this, which will lead to their church becoming a disciple-making church.

What’s the remedy?

“… equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church.”

Scotty