Why do so many "churched" people become "de-churched"?

Here is a thought provoking 2 minute video by Pastor Matt Chandler on why so many people who grew up in church end up becoming disillusioned with church and leaving church. This is thought provoking for both those who are "churched" and those who are "de-churched".

Dead Orthodoxy

The following is a quote I read this morning by Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Dead Orthodoxy. Just a thought to provoke us.

There is nothing vital in the religion and in the worship of such people. They expect nothing, and they get nothing, and nothing happens to them. They go to God's house, not with the idea of meeting with God, not with the idea of waiting upon him; it never crosses their minds or enters into their hearts that something may happen in a service. No we always do this on Sunday morning. It is our custom. It is our habit. It is a right thing to do. But the idea that God may suddenly visit his people and descend upon them, the whole thrill of being in the presence of God, and sensing his nearness, and his power, never ever enters their imaginations...

Do we go to God's house expecting something to happen? Or do we go just to listen to a sermon, and to sing our hymns, and t meet with one another? How often does this vital idea enter into our minds that we are in the presence of the living God, that the Holy Spirit is in the church, that we may feel the touch of his power? How much do we think in terms of coming together to meet with God, and to worship him, and to stand before him, and to listen to him? Is there not this appalling danger that we are just content because we have correct beliefs? And we have lost the life, the vital thing, the power the thing that really makes worship worship, which is in Spirit and truth.

(quoted in Raised With Christ. Adrian Warnock. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books. c2010. p202-203)

Let Me Learn By Paradox

Jesus said in John 12:25, "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." The Christian life seems a paradox in this upside down world. But when one understands the Resurrection, the mountains are brought low and the valleys are raised and perspective goes beyond the horizon. Here is a great little prayer from a devotional called the Valley of Vision.


A Puritan prayer from The Valley of Vision:

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,
Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold
thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter
thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
that every good work or thought found in me
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty
thy glory in my valley.

What Is A Missional Church

This is the kind of church that we desire to be here in Leatherhead. I like this explanation because it is put very simply:

How should we view the earthquake in Haiti?

How should we view the earthquake in Haiti? This is a good question. It is a question that will provoke many wrong answers as well as many more questions. Albert Mohler has written a theologically informed response to the earthquake that I believe is very accurate to how a Christian should view this recent tragedy. Click here to read his article.

I Have Other Sheep

And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. - John 10:16 (NKJV)

The Jews in the time of Jesus were a very closed culture. They view all Gentiles (non-Jews) as unclean. Any contact with them would cause them to be defiled in their minds. It is reported in ancient sources that many Jews when passing Gentiles on the streets would pull their garments in close lest their garments should brush against the garments of a Gentile in passing. In all the Jews were introverted culturally. Salvation was not of the Jews rather for the Jews. Jesus confronts this perspective in John's Gospel. Jesus has been telling the Jews that not everyone who is a Jew is one of His sheep. "In fact," Jesus says, "I have sheep outside of your perspective." Jesus was referring to those Gentiles who would come to faith in Jesus and receive Him as their Messiah (Christ).

There is a great application for us as the Church of Jesus Christ today. We too can become so introverted in focus where we neglect the great commission by isolating ourselves from the very world into which we are sent as proclaimers of the Good News. Jesus says, "I have other sheep, and they will hear My voice." But as Paul says in Romans 10:14, "How shall they hear without a preacher?" There is to be no decommission, only the great commission. It is when we live as if we are decommissioned that we disengage with the mission of Jesus. Rather than being on the frontiers of the Kingdom of God aggressively furthering it (Matt 11:12) against which the gates of Hell cannot prevail (Matt 16:18), we retreat to a safe bunker and try to hide out until the Kingdom is fully come. We sit back in safety and pray, "Father, conform me more into the image of Your Son." Yet, we have forgotten that it was the image of the invisible God, Jesus (Colossians 1:15) that was sent, by the Father, into this hostile world. Jesus came in full obedience. The word "sent" is used some 57 times in John's Gospel, 42 of which refer to the Father sending Jesus. There is no Christ-likeness without His mission finding place in our hearts. We do not retreat, we advance.

However, this must happen with the eyes of faith. Jesus said the fields are white for harvest (John 4:35). If we are defeatist and do not believe people will repent of sin and believe in Jesus, it is hard to advance. We ask, "What is the point of this? There are no results; it would be easier if we withdrew. Nobody is going to believe through my testimony." I am reminded of the Apostle Paul who knew the wounds of war for preaching the Gospel. At one point, there was the temptation to say nothing and withdraw because life would be easier. The Lord then says to Paul in Acts 18:9-10, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city" (emphasis mine). What people is Jesus referring to? He is referring to those who would believe through their word (John 17:20). The temptation to keep silent, to isolate, to decommission was great. But Paul, hearing the voice of Jesus, who Himself came being sent by the Father, commissioned Paul to proclaim the Good News. To encourage Paul, Jesus reminded him that "other sheep I have".

As a church in Leatherhead, we can say confidently "God has sent us to Leatherhead". Lest we become weary and discouraged and introverted may we hear the voice of Jesus for this place, "I have many people in this city." Let us, with the eyes of faith, engage in a harvest in Leatherhead. As we, the missionaries of God, let us see the Kingdom of God advance as hearts are conquered by the Servant King. How shall they hear without a preacher? Go therefore, and preach (Mark 16:15) remembering that it is a commission or should I say co-mission as it's Jesus' mission we are joining in as He says "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt 28:20).

Click here to listen to the audio teaching.

No Vacancy

And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.-Luke 2:7

2000 years ago in Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary showed up at an inn desperate for entry. Labour pains searing, aching from a long journey, far from friends and family.

What is interesting to me here is the fact that there was no room at the inn for them. This begs a question. Why was there no room in an inn for a woman going into labour? Could the inn keeper not see the urgency of the situation? True, his inn was full. But it causes me to wonder why he didn't have any other guests leave in order to make room for this most special of guests being born.

He could have feared how his business ethics would be called into question. Maybe he was concerned about how he would be perceived by the community asking someone to leave the inn to make room for a couple peasants. He may be concerned that his status in the community might suffer. It's possible he was afraid of the people who were staying in the inn and thus more concerned about what might happen to him than this critical need. It could be he was more concerned about the effects on his business. If word got out that you might lose your reservation, his future revenue may be affected.

Whatever the case, that which was inside needed to be replaced by that which was at the door.

As Christmas approaches, it is good to consider the effect of the birth of Jesus on others such as the inn keeper. The problem today is that there is no room in the inn of most people's hearts for Jesus to indwell them. They hang a "no vacancy" sign over their hearts because to allow Jesus inside would require the keeper of the heart to evict certain residence. Tim Keller in his book Counterfeit Gods makes a statement throughout the book that gods or idols cannot be removed. They must be replaced. This is the case we find today. There are many things that people are trusting in and treating as a god. These are similar to what the inn keeper 2000 years ago may have been going through.

Some people will not let Jesus be the God of their life because it would mean admitting defeat. To receive Jesus is to acknowledge that your own morality and righteousness are leprous and festering. It is admitting that they are sinners and they need Jesus to bear their sin. Some people today are more afraid of how people will view them if they became a Christian. To them their self-image defines who they are, and to surrender that god of self-image to the true God is more than they are willing to bare. Others find importance in how others perceive them, and so keeping others happy and seeking man's acceptance would cause a person not to open their heart to Jesus. It is too much for them to be accepted by God and rejected by men. Still others keep the door to the inn closed because it will affect their lifestyle, business ethics, home etc.

Christmas is a great time to remember that the one who was refused entrance to the inn now knocks on the hearts of all men. Jesus says, "Behold I stand at the door and knock..." (Rev 3:20). The door must be opened from the inside. And the things we trust in, we need to allow Jesus to throw outside as Jesus is received inside.

Jesus came to dwell among us. He knocks on hearts to dwell within us. Is there room for Jesus in your heart?