Church Warning Signs

We know from Scripture that God loves the church and works through it.  At the same time, we know that the church is made up of imperfect humans, which is why it is a long way from being heaven on earth!

If we want to imitate Christ and love the community of believers, we need to be aware of when we are heading off track.  Guys a lot smarter than me have come up with warning signs for various aspects of church: Thom Rainer, Larry Osborne, and Ed Stetzer, to name a few.  But I’d like to offer what I consider a few basic symptoms of an unhealthy church from a radical Christian perspective, in no particular order:

- Giving the church building a higher priority than the people inside (or outside) the building.  Wouldn't it be great if our “business meetings” focused on the real business of God—making disciples and reaching the lost and hurting—rather than about things with no eternal consequences.  Is the new carpeting, flashing sign out front, bigger and better sound system, or memorial plaque more important than the Great Commission?

- A mentality of “come and see” rather than “go and be.”  A church is not about a pastor preaching a riveting sermon, musicians delivering a good show, youth ministers leading a cool program, or groups putting on extravagant Easter pageants, Christmas plays, 4^th of July fireworks, or any of the other shows we love so much.  Rather than being entertained, are people being transformed and then going out to help and heal others?

- Fellowship = Food.  When the word “fellowship” is mentioned in your church, is it followed by the word “meal?”  Many churches even have “fellowship halls,” which translates into “dining areas.”  Christian fellowship is much more than a potluck meal or shaking hands on Sunday mornings.  It means we have conversations with one another that go beyond “peace be with you” or “pass the beans.”  It means remembering one another in prayers and in deeds.  It means each of us invests wholeheartedly into the lives of our fellow believers.  And as for outsiders: remember that folks aren’t looking for a friendly church; they are looking for friends.

- Services, activities, and programs are on cruise control.  Is your church in a rut?  Are you going through the same exact motions each time you meet?  Is this year’s church calendar basically a duplicate from last year’s?  When was the last time you tried doing something different, reaching people who are different, or stepping outside your comfort zone?  Maybe it’s time to let the Holy Spirit guide you, instead of following tired traditions “the way we’ve always done it.”

- Lack of vision.  How can a church know what God wants it to accomplish, here and now?  How can it know what God wants it to become?  Here’s a radical concept: ask Him.  If your church hasn’t gone through the tough process of communally seeking exactly what His will is for your particular church, then it will either chase after the latest fads (often playing copycat of other churches) or become immobilized.

- Lack of relevance to outsiders.  Let’s say we are on a mission trip to a village where no one speaks English.  The villagers want to read God’s word.  Would we hand them an English-language Bible and wish them the best?  Not so smart.  But we do the same kind of thing here in the US when we insist cultures bend to our Christian subculture.  Do we force 21^st-century Americans to read only an Elizabethan-English Bible translation (King James only)?  Do we use “church-speak” that they don’t understand (“lay it all on the altar,” “hedge of protection,” etc.)?  Do our Christian symbols mean anything to non-Christians?  We never compromise the gift of God’s truth, but sometimes we might need to put it in different wrapping paper.

- Only talking the talk.  Lots of churches talk about the need to pray more, read the Bible more, reach out to the lost more.  But Jesus didn’t tell us to talk about these kinds of things… He told us to do them (and He set the example by doing so Himself).  Does your church “support missions,” yet seldom actually send people on mission?  Is church simply that place you go to on Sunday (and maybe Wednesday evening)?  Have you heard about the many spiritual gifts, but seldom see them in action? 

- Relying on someone other than Christ.  Is there someone or some group in the church that holds veto power over everything the church does?  Maybe it’s a pastor, an elder, or a deacon.  Maybe it’s one or more of those folks who have been in the church for many, many years and hold undue influence.  Obviously, there has to be a leadership structure in church (preferably one that empowers all its members).  But if one person or one group is squelching the work of the Holy Spirit, then that person or group is doing something Christ would not do.  This can be a delicate issue, but a tell-tale sign is if someone pushes an agenda that is unbiblical.

- Measuring the wrong metrics.  How does your church measure success?  Tithes?  Attendance?  Building-fund growth?  Those are decent measurements, but they are secondary.  How many lives are being changed by Christ?  How many members are becoming servant-leaders?  How do we fare in outside assessments?  How many people are connecting through small groups?  How many disciples are making disciples?  Those metrics are tougher to gauge, but the real reason we don’t measure them is because we are afraid of what they might tell us.

This list of warning signs isn’t complete, but it’s a start.  If your church has one or more of these signs, it’s not doomed to failure, but probably warrants a deeper look.