Whatever Has Happened to the Church?

Whatever happened to the church?

This past weekend, while on vacation, I visited a church in the town where we were staying. This was a beautifully landscaped property with ample parking. Many of the church’s faces warmly greeted us as we proceeded from the parking lot to the sanctuary. Once inside, a friendly gentleman greeted us, introduced himself, asked our names, and directed us to a seat.

The sanctuary was warm and dimly lit for worship. A contemporary style band performed at the altar, with the drummer behind a glass partition and mood lights illuminating the stage. Men and women musicians and singers led the congregation in contemporary Christian songs, engaging attendees of all ages who stood and sang along.

After the music, announcements highlighted the upcoming vacation Bible school, including the number of children registered and the need for more volunteers and participants. An additional song followed announcements, and the church readied for the sermon series.

The sermon series was preceded by a themed video, complete with music, as the preacher ascended the stage, and by a video of an actor portraying Jesus carrying the cross. Immediately, I thought of the second commandment, “Thou shalt not make any graven image of anything in heaven or above.” How often in today’s church is this commandment violated?

I thought to myself in that moment, “Whatever happened to the church of Jesus Christ?” The church has been steeped in technology and pragmatism. The church has adopted Madison Avenue, social media, and technology over Holy Spirit authority and power. The church I visited was representative of countless churches all over this country and has now become the norm for the Christian church experience.

The pastor went up and preached a soft-toned, seeker-friendly lecture and not an exposition on a biblical text, complete with props, electronic quotes on the screen, and did not call for anyone to open their Bibles: all words and no power.

What Has Happened to the Church Triumphant?

Whatever happened to the church? Whatever happened to preaching that moved the audience? To the authority and unction of the word of God? Whatever happened to reverence in the church? Whatever happened to worship that was about elevating the Lord God instead of self? Whatever happened to the public reading of scripture? Whatever happened to biblically thorough preaching? Whatever happened to preachers who exhorted, pleaded, and begged people to turn to Christ? Whatever happened to holiness, respect for God, and decorum in the church? Whatever happened to leaving a church service and knowing that God had spoken through His word? What has happened to Holy Spirit-wrought conviction and repentance, being more than words but a deep experience that leads the hearer to Christ?

The Diminishing Power of the Church

Today we have programs over power, and attendance over authority. The church is drawing more people by being seeker-friendly rather than Holy Spirit-filled. We have reduced the profundity and depth of the word of God and over two millennia of martyred sacrifice to fit into a neat one hour and 15 minutes of a sing-along with some Christian buzzwords, with a dose of moral and ethical teaching. And the saddest part of all this is that we have mistaken our programs, attendance, and acceptance by the world for spiritual growth. In short, many churches have accepted the idea that “if it works, it has to be from God.”

Many churches in this country have adopted the unbiblical concept that to reach the world, we have to look, dress, act, and sound like the world. But that is the opposite of what Jesus and the early church did. Jesus Christ did not look, act, or sound like the Pharisees and Scribes of His day. Mark 1:22, the people said of Jesus, “And they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

Many churches today reflect a concerning resemblance to the Laodicean church described in Revelation 3:14-22. This passage conveys a critical message from the Lord Jesus Christ to John, highlighting a spiritual condition that many might find familiar. The church at Laodicea is notably lacking in commendation from our Lord; it is characterized as “lukewarm, neither hot nor cold,” a state so distasteful that the Lord declares He will vomit it out of His mouth.

In Revelation 3:17, we encounter a powerful rebuke that speaks directly to our current circumstances: “‘Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not realize the truth of your condition—‘ you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.’” This should serve as a wake-up call for today’s church community, urging us to move beyond complacency and indifference to Christ. Churches need to strive for genuine spiritual awakening, seeking to align themselves more closely with God’s purpose and to foster a vibrant, transformative faith that actively reflects our Lordship to Jesus Christ.

Today’s church has become rich, and the belief is that it needs nothing. All that matters is that the numbers grow. More people and more offerings must surely mean that God’s hand is with the church. But today’s church is lacking Holy Spirit power. A call needs to go out to all churches and pastors everywhere to repent and to return to the biblical, historic, reverential, Holy Spirit-filled preaching that convicts souls and turns men and women to Jesus Christ.

AW Tozer said, “The world is not looking for a new definition of the Gospel, but a new demonstration of the Gospel and its power.”

Many fill churches content with their “one day Sunday Christianity” but devoid of a true love of Jesus Christ. Mega church parking lots are filled with people content to hide in the crowd and avoid accountability before the church and before the Lord.

The Call to the Church

I want to express my concern about what I perceive as a growing indifference toward sacred and reverent practices within the church. I encourage fellow believers to take a moment for self-reflection and to renew their commitment to the Lord. This is a heartfelt invitation for Christians and churches everywhere to engage in a spirit of repentance and earnestly seek God’s forgiveness and revival.

The early church thrived on the power of the Holy Spirit, not programs. The Reformation church may have lacked popularity, yet the Holy Spirit empowered it. The Great Awakening church, though not well-known, witnessed an incredible movement of millions of souls repenting and turning to Jesus Christ as Lord.

Today, the church must return to its glorious Spirit-filled roots. We must preach Christ above all, proclaiming that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” and earnestly call sinners to repentance.

John tells us in 1 John 4:10, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Let every believer earnestly seek the Lord for His divine power; we must humbly cry out in repentance and ask for the Holy Spirit to revive us. We must desire more of God, more of Christ, and the active presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, rather than relying on mere processes, programs, social media, or popularity. The church is called to embrace the struggles of Jesus Christ and shine brightly as the light of the world once again.

Revive Us O Lord!

Oh, how I long for the church to be revived! Oh, may Jesus Christ take His rightful place at the center of His church once more. Oh, that the magnificent Gospel would resonate throughout our nation again—not the kind that merely appeases sinners, but that which truly convicts them and guides them to genuine repentance and faith found in Jesus Christ. Oh, for the church to rise in strength and shine as the radiant and unblemished bride of Christ!

In the words of the Apostle Paul in His letter to the church at Galatia, “But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” Galatians 6:14.

Now is the time to awaken from indifference, shallowness of faith, and lukewarmness, and fully embrace Jesus Christ. To get the crown, we must go through the cross. May His name be praised forever more.

For the Glory of God, the Glory of Christ, and the Glory of the Gospel. Amen.