Your Church Might Just Be A Social Club

Last month, 9Marks.org posted an article entitled “4 Reflections After Listening to 18 Hours of Sermons in America’s Biggest Churches.” The author focused on 9 of the biggest evangelical churches in the U.S., and the results are discouraging, though, entirely predictable. Colton Corter, the author, reports serious deficiencies in the sermons. My heart broke as I read about weeks of wasted opportunities as these pastors circumvented hard truths and essential Biblical teaching for ear tickling that keeps the butts in the seats and the dollars flowing. According to Corter’s findings, rather than a church, some of y’all might be attending a social club.

Big Churches With Little Gospel

These churches, according to a quick Google search, see weekly attendances (when we aren’t under Covid-19 lockdown) of 21,000 to nearly 52,000 people on any given Sunday morning. The potential for impact at these churches is immense. Certainly, a great number of those people are “regulars,” but how many are individuals or families walking into a church for the first time ready to really investigate Jesus? Without question, the pastors have a tremendous responsibility to clearly give the gospel each and every Sunday. Truthfully, every pastor has that responsibility, but how much heavier is the weight of that burden on a man standing in front of tens of thousands of willing listeners? What does Corter say he heard? Well, it wasn’t the gospel.

Corter reported, “Let me begin with the most important observation: in 36 sermons, the good news of Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection was unclear 36 times.” He continued on to describe instances when parts of the gospel were shared, but the whole picture was not given. Unsurprisingly, repentance was watered down or altogether ignored. Corter said that none of the sermons he listened to included an urgent call to repent or indicated that anyone in the building that day may be a, dare I say, sinner. It makes sense to me, though. Why discuss sin and repentance when you aren’t going to explain the gospel? Why discuss a topic that may hurt your social club?

A Social Club Makes Bible Truth Optional

Another issue that came up in a couple of sermons was a focus on “winning.” The idea here is that as a Christian, God calls us to win…whatever that means. In the case of one sermon, it referenced how many social media followers that pastor had. On the other hand, the Bible references suffering for Christ.

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.”

Philippians 3:10

“Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” For some reason I don’t think that’s the “winning” that was being preached.

1 Peter 4:16

Finally, the article described pastors who are either inept at using the Bible or are willfully misusing it. Corter heard sermons that sound like self-help speeches given at your local community center or high school auditorium. I can see the flyers in my mind. “Stop smoking today!” “Get off that couch and walk the pounds away.”  “Be a nicer person by next week.” The Bible, for these pastors, seems to be used more as an instructional manual for breaking bad habits and being a “better” person than for knowing God. Corter described the misuse and misapplication of God’s Word as a tactic to preach a message that would be friendly to the nominal Christians in attendance. For some pastors, the Bible seems to be little more than a stage prop.

Accommodating Is Not Seeker-Friendly

Corter concluded that Christians need to reflect on what kind of messages church leaders give to congregations, and without fear or shame, those leaders must proclaim the gospel. I agree with his takeaway, but I also think it suggests a need for radical change. Many Christians, and seemingly most pastors, don’t want to call for big change in the Church.

I’m just speculating, but it seems like fear to me. Congregants are afraid of things in their comfort zone changing. Let’s be honest. Churches are filled with individuals who get bent out of shape when someone sits in their usual spot. So, I doubt your average Christian wants to see her church be significantly overhauled. As for pastors, well, why rock the boat, right? The numbers might go down. OK, the attendance numbers will definitely go down. His legacy may be tarnished in Christian circles. His job may be in jeopardy.

The Social Club Leaves Out Jesus

Currently, many churches are accommodating to seekers. Sunday mornings are, as this 9Marks.org article demonstrated, bypassing the gospel and sending people away without knowing their need for a Savior and who He is that saves. There’s no mystery surrounding the huge crowds these churches host each week. A person can walk in, hear vaguely Christian music performed like a professional secular concert, and then listen to an engaging and entertaining speaker basically give some helpful advice for daily life. The message often builds people up and encourages them, but the encouragement is not Christ-based. It’s individual-based. These pastors tell you that you are enough. Jesus gets peppered in, but He’s mostly there to give us the assist in our goals.

Where’s the discussion of our separation from God thanks to our sin? Where’s the explanation of how we can never earn Heaven or make up for all our sins? Do their congregants know that Jesus died a horrific death on the cross, was buried, and then defeated death three days later by rising to life again? Were they told He is the only way to salvation because He took our guilt and our punishment on the cross? Do these congregants know that being a Christian is not just saying so?

What We Need To Do

Churches need to change. These megachurches and seeker-friendly churches are doing more harm than good. Don’t cite me your numbers and professions of faith. Churches/megacomplexes filled to capacity with rotten fruit is not building the Kingdom or honoring Jesus.

These churches certainly do good works. I know that they will volunteer in their communities, invite people to church, participate in fundraisers for good causes, and even help support missionaries. But get real for a minute. Without true salvation their works are just filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). Volunteering and charity are nice, but these people are no better off spiritually for having done these things. They’re just participating in a religious social club.

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Matthew 7: 21-23

The Bible is clear. A lot of people will die thinking they were Christians, and they’ll find out too late that they were wrong.

Make Church For Christians Again

What do I think we should do? Shut the megachurches. Split them into small, local churches. Reach people in their communities. Have a pastor, a real one, in every church. Get rid of satellite churches where people watch the “good” pastor preach on a screen. Let’s not build him into celebrity status. Pastors are no better than their congregations. They are sinners saved by grace, so let’s stop creating little kingdoms for them to run. Make church small enough that it feels like a family and the kind of place where people will notice you’ve missed service.

Preach the gospel and feed the sheep! Sunday morning service isn’t for the unsaved. Enough with the milky messages. Christians need the meat of the Word, and they need real discipleship. Of course, visitors who don’t know Christ should be welcome. However, they need to get a clear gospel presentation, and they should recognize that they are different than the people around them. If they’re offended, let the gospel offend. Perhaps they’ll be convicted by what they hear. No ear tickling show at a megachurch is going to convict a soul.

Final Thought

The pastors mentioned in Corter’s article should be ashamed. How can they sleep at night knowing they are not teaching God’s Word and not faithfully and proudly proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ? I mean, that’s the job! I’m sure plenty of people attend megachurches and believe all is well. They might say that I’m just a legalist or old-fashioned. I’ll end with this thought…

In May 2017, Barna published some worldview statistics. Here’s what they had to say about Christians who attend church. “Barna’s research shows that only 17 percent of Christians who consider their faith important and attend church regularly actually have a biblical worldview.” Assuming that’s accurate, think about these huge churches with people who love their church, pastor, worship leader, church basketball team, choir, etc. Now, think about all those people coming every week and not being taught the Bible, how to live a Christian life, or even how to get saved. Still with me? OK. So, what do they believe about God and the world? Are they walking on a righteous path, or do they actually just love the activities, music, and Sunday pep talks?

Are they really dedicated to serving the Lord, or are they simply active participants in yet another social club? You decide.

Check It Out!

Speaking of celebrity pastors… Take a look at my post about the celebrity apologist, Ravi Zacharias. The revelations that have come to light after his death are heartbreaking, but we can also see it as an opportunity to learn, grow, and do better in the future.

Also, read about Beth Moore and her highly publicized exit from the Southern Baptist Convention, and see how Rick Warren and Saddleback Church are doing Christians harm.

Image courtesy of Edward Cisneros via Unsplash.