The failure of the Evangelical church at large.

One pastor in my past repeated a phrase he had learned from somewhere. He recited, “The programs you have in place are perfectly tailored to get the results you are currently getting.” He had an ambition to have a large church attendance but was frustrated by lack of growth.

I instantly applied that differently. Just walking in a church you can spot where their priorities lie. A huge sanctuary greets you letting you know that church is for adults (they have the money). The kids are relegated to the basement and babies to the “cry room.” The podium situated in front and above for the best acoustics and visual experience subtlety tells you the clergy is above and separate from mere attendees. Unapproachable at best. The stage tells you that worship will be a performance you are not part of. Wooden pews suggest the church clings to a societal structure of the past.

Men only in leadership

Looking closer one observes that the pastor is a man, guys pass the collection plate and serve communion but the nursery, kids Sunday school classes, and the kitchen are all staffed by women. You know immediately that if you are a women with leadership gifts you are not wanted here and you will not be allowed to use your spiritual gifts. If you’re male you could be put in a leadership role even if you’d only been a Christian for five minutes.

I also note that attendees are cleaned up and dressed nice, and wear perma-grins. That’s a smile you paste on for Sunday like you’d put on a tie or a broach. Even if the entire family participated in a screaming fight in the car on the way to church the perma-grins are in place.

Staying Relevant to attendees but Straying from the Gospel

Some churches have attempted to stay relevant to today’s attendees by projecting the words of the songs on a big screen. Hiring a twenty something “worship pastor” to get things jumping, and a sound booth that rivals that of any rock band. There’s fancy lighting and wires everywhere. We’ve added coffee bars, gone paperless, even dropped the denominational label from our churches names.

It’s not helping. Church attendance is still declining, and theology is getting further from the truth. Why?

Several reasons jump to mind that seem to be beyond the comprehension of current church leadership.

Churches should specialize on the one thing they have that’s specific to them; Jesus. Churches have Jesus (and Him crucified).  I’ve struggled to find a way to convince kids they need Jesus without first convincing them they are sinners. Can it be done?  I hesitate to bring any more negative messaging into their lives then they’re already getting a boat load of from churchy folk and parents. Kids and adults alike have to realize the depth of their depravity before they realize just how much they need a savior. But no one talks about sin anymore.

Youth pastors make it about the great feeling the Holy Spirit brings when one surrenders to Him during a “Christian” rock concert. That feeling fades when the teen goes home and nothing’s changed there. Next week the youth pastor has to start from scratch and provide the same feeling again, and again the next week. It wasn’t the Holy Spirit. There was no indwelling.

What Their Itching Ears Want To Hear

In many churches Pastors are paid by the attendees. The pastor doesn’t want to deliver a downer message about sin. They gravitate towards the prosperity gospel instead. Wealthy congregants, judging from their status assume they are better than poor people. God is blessing them. Because most of the poor are minority people groups’ racism is supported without ever saying a word about it.

In one church where I served on the elder board over eighty people quit attending in any given year. But, about eighty new people began attending so the Sunday services were consistently well attended. No one in leadership sought out the people who left and appeared uninterested in the reasons. As long as Sunday services seemed fine and the money was coming in things were good. In fact “Elder” meetings were almost entirely about money and very little about ministry. People were referred to as “giving units.” Not kidding. I quietly resigned my position with the excuse that I needed to devote all my time to the youth ministry. Maybe I could save a few of the next generation I consoled myself.

I largely suspected that the people who left were those the prosperity gospel wasn’t working for. The poor, those with addictions, chronic physical infirmities, those who realized that the prosperity gospel was a lie.

Are These Issues Widespread?

To be fair, my church experience has been mostly rural, pastor lead, evangelical churches of under five hundred people. For the rest I draw from FaceBook postings from other Youth Pastors, the blogs of other church organizations, and the news. I’ve attended conferences at mega churches and been carried away by the excitement. My wife and I send money to inner-city ministries who are actually honestly doing God’s work. I’m sure your church is doing things right. But for most, I fear, Elvis has left the building.

No longer does my spirit swell with the familiar touch of authentic Christianity from any church congregation. Since the eighty’s, young people have been right to flee the church the moment their parents let them. The Holy Spirit, in my experience, has long ago left the Christian church in America.

The Evangelical church in the United States now follows another god. That of political power and wealth and members blindly follow like sheep to the slaughter.