How can you tell if your church is sick or dying?
As we anticipated the first Sunday of January 2020, many pastors in New England spoke to their churches about a “2020 Vision” for the New Year. However, not one of us envisioned that our churches, cities, and even our country would be crippled by a novel coronavirus called Covid-19. Our way of life and our way of worship has been drastically altered. The World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control began to educate American citizens to watch for the symptoms associated with the Covid-19. We were told that people might be sick with the virus for 2 to 14 days before developing major symptoms. We posted the familiar warning signs at our churches and encouraged those with any symptoms to stay home until Covid-19 was ruled out.
I received a phone call from a pastor friend who asked me, “Do you have anyone with symptoms of sickness in your church?” Though at the time, I could not recall anyone I knew in our church or circle of friends that had symptoms of the virus, I began to think about the spiritual condition of our church. That phone call spurred my thinking and what ensued was a series of messages I preached entitled “Symptoms of a Sick Church.” The Lord used the messages to help me and those in our congregation to focus on the spiritual wellness and vitality of our commitment to Christ and our church.
What does a sick church look like? Just because one church has a detailed constitution and by-laws, and another doesn’t see the need for one has nothing to do with congregational health. The size of a church is also irrelevant. Buildings, budgets, and boards are not good barometers of spiritual health. I know of great ministries that meet in storefronts with little finances that accomplish great things for God.
How can we identify a church or Christian that stands in need of spiritual healing? There are six symptoms that can be readily identified as warning signs of a spiritually sick church:
1. When our Vision becomes Dimmed.
Proverbs 29:18
“Where there is no vision, the people perish”. Many churches are perishing for a lack of spiritual
vision. We have lost our vision for souls. We no longer view the will of God and the work of God through the eyes of faith. We see world evangelism through a small keyhole instead of a large doorway. We have become so divided over personal preferences and personalities that we are failing to reach a lost world with the Gospel’s saving message. There are so many rabbit-trail substitutes that lead us away from the one thing that God has commanded us to do: Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.
We have lost our vision of sin. Satan has blinded our young people to the power and consequences of sin. Satan shows us the pleasures of sin but hides from us the payment for sin. We’ve lost our vision of the Saviour. We’ve taken our eyes off of Jesus. Instead of looking and laboring for the audience of One, we seek to please everyone except the Lord. The good news is that God can restore our spiritual vision. He can open our eyes to a bigger picture. When Jesus healed the blind man from Bethsaida, He touched him the first times and “he saw men as trees, walking” but when Jesus put His hands again upon his eyes, “he was restored, and saw every man clearly.” (Mark 8:25) Every Christian needs a fresh touch from the Lord to open our eyes to a lost world that needs the Gospel.
2. When our Hearing becomes Dull.
Around 466 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss. Revelation 2:7 says, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;” The Bible also speaks on three occasions of those who were “dull of hearing”. The Scripture is talking about something that is not an external problem but an internal problem.
“Dullness of hearing” is hearing without faith and diligence. It’s hearing the Bible or the preaching of the Bible the way you hear the freeway noise or the way you hear music in the dentist’s office. You hear, but you don’t listen. You have grown dull to the sound. It does not awaken or produce anything. There can be no spiritual hearing without faith and obedience. Many Christians sitting on our pews have become “sermon proof.” They listen to the sermon, but they do not hear the truth.
Mark 4:12 says, “That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.” The problem in the parable of the sower is there was no receptive hearing of the heart. When our hearing becomes dull, we are no longer “good ground” for God’s blessing. Biblical faith is not a leap in the dark. It “cometh” by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)
There are so many voices that clamor for our attention. Sometimes we get too busy to hear from the Lord. Dr. Curtis Hutson once said, “Bus-i-ness in the King’s business is no reason to neglect the King.” As pastors and people, we need to position ourselves to hear the voice of God again. He is ever speaking in a still small voice.
3. When our Memory becomes Distant.
Alzheimer’s and Dementia are diseases that affect the memory. Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Everyone has occasional memory lapses. It is normal to lose track of where you put your keys or forget the name of an acquaintance. But the memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease persists and worsens, affecting the ability to function at work or home.
Our spiritual memories are also important. Many times we are guilty of “forgetting to remember.” Psalms 78 teaches us the possibility of limiting God. One way by which we do this is when we forget the blessings and provision of God in our lives. Psalms 78:11 says they “forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.” Verse 42 says, “They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.” They forgot the providence of God. (the plagues in Egypt) They forgot the protection of God. (dividing the Red Sea, drowning the enemy) They forgot the provision of God. (water from the rock and manna from the skies) These are not miracles they heard about by word of mouth. God performed them right in front of their eyes! You would think such mighty deeds would make a lasting impression. Just like the children of Israel of old, we sometimes fail to remember God’s goodness and His mighty hand of deliverance in our lives.
Why does our memory fade? Time is a factor, but the real culprit is the tendency of the heart to disobey. James 1:25 tells us “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” Our lack of obedience to the Word of God makes us forgetful hearers. We need to be like Jacob, who built the altar at Bethel to commemorate God’s working in his life. He remembered and returned to this place of past blessing. May we never forget the milestone markers of God’s blessings in our lives.
4. When our Mobility becomes Disabled.
The church in Acts was not a paralyzed church, it was a progressing church. It was a church on the move. A true New Testament church should be on the offense, charging the gates of Hell with the promise that the gates of Hell will not prevail against the church. We are warned in the parable of the labourers about the sin of idleness. Matthew 20:6 says, “And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?” Numbers 32:6 asks the question, “Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?” We have become idle instead of mobile.
As pastors, we should be mobilizing our people, as God’s army, to take new territory in these perilous times. Today, many church members remind me of a laboring crew hoping to gather in a harvest while they sit in the tool shed. They go to the tool shed every Sunday and Wednesday, they study bigger and better methods of agriculture, sharpen their hoes, grease their tractors, and then get up and go home. They do this week in and week out, year in and year out, and nobody ever goes out into the fields
to gather in the harvest. Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, “He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.”
Are you an idle Christian?
So many believers are too busy criticizing the way the battle is being fought when they ought to be out on the battlefield, helping to win the war for the Lord. Someone has to be on the frontlines for God instead of hiding within the four walls of their church building. God has enlisted and equipped every believer to take the Gospel to the lost. We have our marching orders in John 20:21 “…as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
5. When our Tears become Dried.
Dry Eye Syndrome or DES is a common condition in the United States. Most often, people who have dry eyes are middle-aged or older. An estimated 4.88 million Americans age 50 and older have dry eyes. Some people get dry eyes from lack of tears. In the Christian life, tears make a difference. We need compassion for lost people! We need a burden! How long has it been since you shed tears for a lost person? Ps 126:5,6 states, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Notice that the weeping always comes before the winning. Our churches are sick when we no longer weep for souls. We are missing the broken and contrite spirit before God.
The Bible says in Matthew 9: 36-38, “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”
Jesus wept when He saw their depravity of sin. (..they fainted) He saw their departure from God. (…scattered abroad) He saw their despair without a shepherd. (…as sheep having no shepherd) What did He command the disciples to do? Visualize-see the harvest. Agonize- pray over the harvest. Evangelize- labor in the harvest.
6. When our Voice becomes Diminished.
Have you ever lost your voice? I have a relative who has throat surgeries quite often. It sometimes takes him weeks for the vocal cords to regain the necessary strength to talk.
In Psalms 51, because of his iniquity, David lost his voice of praise and song. Sin had silenced his lips. (vs.15) We have lost our voice when we cease to pray. Isaiah 62:6 says, “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence.”
We have lost our voice when we cease to praise the Lord. Psalms 34:1, “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
We have lost our voice when we cease to proclaim the Gospel.
I Corinthians 15:34 says, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” The church in Acts could not be silenced. In Acts 4:18-20, Peter and John could not be silenced. “And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
In America, we are already witnessing our freedoms under attack that give us the constitutional right to preach, pray, sing, and assemble with the people of God. When the salt has lost its savor, it is good for nothing. God’s people are no longer salty and distinctive, and this world is walking right over us.
In Revelation 3, the church at Laodicea was sick and didn’t know it. There are many sick and anemic churches across our land. If we would only examine and judge ourselves, God would not have to judge us. The Great Physician knows the true condition of our heart. There is a cure for the carnal mind. There is a balm for the backslidden heart. There is a remedy for the rebellious will. There is a medicine for the mediocre Christian. We have the vaccine! “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14)
May the Glorious God of Heaven heal our churches and use us for His glory!