“On this rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not overcome it.” (Matt. 16:18)
To reach a changing culture, the church needs to change its strategy. We don’t need to change the message but we just need to change the method. One of the reasons churches don’t change is because leaders are unwilling to change. Churches that become passionate about people outside their walls will be far more effective than churches that are passionate about keeping the few people inside their walls. Selfless and mature churches will generate an impact because of their passion for people God cares about. When small churches stop trying to be mega-churches, good things can happen.
Statistics states 70% of young adults will leave church in the near future because firstly they are unable get solutions to the problems and challenges they are facing in life. Secondly they find church to be a boring place. Therefore many of them flock to clubs and bars, take to drugs or chase after new-age gurus and other escape routes to meet their happiness instead of finding it in the churches. Obviously, many have already tried the churches but unfortunately they were disappointed to find only “old and outdated recipes.” Churches today are not able to cater for the new generation of young people who are liberal, self-expressive, independent, intelligent, sophisticated and extreme in their characteristics. Therefore, people are forced to look elsewhere for answers.
It’s appalling to discover that the “Kingdom Gospel” which transcends every level of human intellect, which is the ultimate answer and solution to men’s ultimate need, is I am afraid diluted and compromised and sadly not delivered in many churches today. Instead, they are preaching an easy man-centered, non-confrontational gospel: A seeker friendly gospel so to speak.
How then can the church be really relevant and effective to impact the environment and change lives? How then can a church be a place where the atmosphere and culture of the kingdom of God, where the peace of God that passeth all understanding be found?
Mankind is full of needs and much of it is in the spiritual area that trickles down to a physically dysfunctional lifestyle. When man is not walking in a right fellowship with his Maker then disorder and disharmony obviously becomes evident in their lives.
Therefore the church needs to be involved in the transformation of the community rather than involving themselves in other trivial issues. This is the question we need to address seriously today if want to change the demography.
The very purpose of a local church is to function as “an agent of transformation” for the glory of God. There must be evidence of the power and indwelling of the life of God that can be seen by all as a manifestation of Christ in its totality, “living by the truth as well as preaching it.”
UNREALISINGLY WE HAVE MESSED UP WHAT GOD HAS SET UP
Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here (Exodus 33:15)
You know what? The presence of God is the most vital link in the body of Christ which obviously is the Church. When this link is absent in a Church then you are not going to see anything happening. Sadly the Church becomes disconnected to what God is doing in the world right now. Thus the Church loses its very purpose for which God has set it up in this world and besides it merely boils down to a lifeless monument or structure.
HE IS AN UNCHANGING GOD
Seriously we need to be challenged to ask ourselves “WHO IS IN CHARGE”. He doesn’t need your assistance to run His business! He is an all-knowing omnipotent and omnipresent God, He is not an outdated God. He is the same God yesterday today and forever He will never change! (Hebrews 13:8)
And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.. (Daniel 2:21)
We need to understand that our God is a relevant God! Our God is a living God! He moves and manifests relevantly in different time-frames. He is a God of seasons and times! The question we need to ask ourselves is that “Are we moving in His time or are we left behind ignoring the times”?
SPIRITUAL BANKRUPTCY
Unfortunately, many Churches today are immunized to the moving of God and they become so irrelevant to the purpose for which the church exists. They take pride in holding on to their old past traditions. They only preach and teach old outdated messages about what God used to do in the past at the expense of what He is doing in the present. They are unable to connect to the anointing of God and move and flow in the present time-frame in His purposes and His plans. Thus they become out of order so to speak.
IT IS GOD’S ULTIMATE CONCERN
What God has set up, we have unfortunately messed it up because of ignorance and lack of understanding. We refuse to grow and we refuse to allow God to teach us. We want to function all the time with our own wisdom! Our own mind! Our own clever ideas! Little realizing that the Church is God’s business. The Church is the PILLAR and FOUNDATION of the TRUTH.
The Church is supposed to be the HEADQUARTERS of God’s KINGDOM here on earth. It is the number one interest of God in this world!
“And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:22-2 (NASB)
So in order to run His business we need to be prepared to allow Him to sit on His throne, we need to depend on His power and that is the Holy Spirit that connects us to God’s time clock. Many of us are not flowing in God’s time clock. We have closed our mind to what is happening outside of us and therefore we become outdated. We recycle our messages which are irrelevant to the needs of the present generation.
WE ARE NOT RUNNING ANOTHER “BUSINESS AS USUAL”
It is a very sad situation to discover that a majority of churches have apparently fallen below the mark and have become outdated. They are not meeting the people’s needs. They are not giving the relevant spiritual food to the people. They are simply meddling with God’s business like any other human business by deploying their own clever ideas. Leaders and Pastors become gods and they make a mockery of God by manifesting in the flesh enforcing the tool of manipulation, control and fear. They have literally pushed the boss out of his throne. No wonder there are no signs and wonders, healing and deliverance. God does not show up in their midst anymore.
The Israelites did that in the wilderness and God brought severe judgment upon them. Their experiences are a lesson to us today. Even though we might justify our actions through reason or logic, but if we are violating God’s clear commands, we are sinning against Him, and He will hold us accountable for those sins at the end.
If we want to make a difference for God and reach out to a dying world then we must invite the living God to come into His Church and take His rightful place and we just have to step aside and let Him lead.
Note: Rev Dr Jai Kumar is an ordained & licensed minister of Covenant Ministries International N.J. USA. He is a mission minded pastor who carries an apostolic anointing who preaches and teaches an uncompromising gospel with boldness. A member of ECCM (Malaysia) Spiritual Adviser & overseer to various ministries and churches. An itinerant speaker. He is also the author of a book entitled, ‘God’s Time Clock.’ Currently he worships at C3 Subang.
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Rev Dr Jai Kumar
Analysing the problems and status quo of the Church is all right and good. If you were to look deep you will find the missing ingredient of “crossing-over” that can only come from the revelations of God like apostle Paul had..”it pleases God to reveal Jesus Christ to me”. Pastors and Teachers are trained theologically by man which is as far as man can comprehend of God, but God is incomprehensible…His ways and thoughts are way higher, and so, unless human cleverness and logic is laid on the altar, the hidden treasures of the Word will not be revealed. You can see that the Church is as dead as any good works done in earthly terms. The heavenly things have not touch the earth through the Church yet (Gal. 3:3).