Dr. Mike Murphy
February 6, 2022
“Bill, I know you are new to the neighborhood, so we would love to invite your family to church with us on Sunday.”
“We have not found a new church yet Ron, so tell me about your church. The church we went to before moving here had this great bakery as you walked in, and they had a coffee and juice bar right beside it! We would get the best soy mocha cappuccinos each time we went to a service. Does your church have one of those?” “No Bill, but we do make a good cup of coffee in our Sunday school class you will be welcome to.”
“Our old church had an indoor play center for the kids. We would drop them off before Sunday school and pick them up after services. They would play the whole time, and would be so worn out they would sleep all that afternoon. I am sure your church must have one of those doesn't it?” “No, but we do have a great children’s minister, and she has taught our kids all the amazing stories of the Bible.”
“Well, my wife Amy, would go to the church in the mornings and do her yoga class, and they had an indoor golf simulator where I would go and practice my swing. Your church must at least have something like this?” “We do not have a gym, but we do have a great fellowship center where all the families get together and have family night. We come together and watch faith-based movies and play games, all of us enjoying the time we get to spend with each other in fellowship.”
“Well Ron, if your church does not have any of these things, then what do you go to church for?”
We could all laugh at the ridiculousness of this story if we were not already crying at the truth this story holds. We watch today as many are building churches that are there more to entertain us, than to share the Good News with us. Churches that catch our eyes with a multi-million dollar fish tank, an elaborate cascading light show fountain, a retail center built around the church, and an extravagant fitness center built into the church. Now the retail center and the fitness center may not bother some of you, but both.remain opened and staffed on Sundays while services are being held. And if the view we see from the outside does not trouble us, then what we see as we enter the doors of many of our churches will.. We watch pastors preach sermons that do not reference a single Bible verse. Sermons that try to tell the news without the presence of the Good News. And we look in our pews and see them full of people who hold out their hands in praise on Sunday, but cannot remember His name come Monday.
For years the polls have been showing us this was coming. But much like the Word of God, many of these churches choose to ignore the truth these polls show us. Almost two in three regular churchgoers now believe there is more than one way to Heaven. Over half question if there is an actual Hell, or a literal Satan. And a growing number say they no longer think it matters if Christ is actually God. What we see from our pulpits is no less troubling. Almost half of all pastors do not believe that God’s Word is inerrant. And a growing number of pastors say we should follow our own feelings more than we should follow the proven Word of God.
It is from this rising foolishness that I use the term “Churchanity”. A Church today that is being driven by their own insanity. A Church that is lost in the wilderness without even realizing it is wandering aimlessly. A Church that although lost, continues to point people to the Cross, without even knowing which direction they are pointing or where their directions are leading. A Church in this country that is in greater need of having the world send us missionaries, than for us to prepare those to send out into the world. A Church that thinks the “little white coats” we now find ourselves in, has us dressed in our Sunday best.
So just what is “The Church”? Many hear the word “church”, and their first thoughts go to a building they pass by while driving down the street, or a place they attend on Sundays. But a “church” is actually the farthest thing possible from a building! The word “church” first appears when we see Christ telling Peter, “Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”(Matthew 16:18). Jesus spoke these words to Peter because of what Peter had said when Christ asked the disciples who they said He was. Peter proclaimed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”(Matthew 16:16). The truth about Jesus is the foundation of the Church. And all those who believe, accept, and follow that truth are the Church.
The word “church” comes from the Greek word “ekklesia”, which means “those called out”. Church is not about the building, but is all about the people. The Church are those who have been called out by God. Those who have been called out by His name so they can make a difference in this world. Those who have been separated from the sin of this world(1 Peter 1:18), so they may be a light for this world to see(Matthew 5:14).
Although we can see the wisdom that Peter showed when he declared his belief and faith in Christ, it would be many more days until they would have the power to put that wisdom into action. The day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit filled the hearts of men(Acts 1:1-4), was the day the bricks began to be laid on the foundation Christ had come to build. The Holy Spirit brought a voice, a direction, and a purpose to all those who we called out. And it brings that same voice, direction, and purpose to each of us who are called out today.
So if we are the Church, then what is the purpose of the Church? Two places in His Word give us the perfect picture of what Jesus saw as the purpose of the Church. First, a famous command that Christ gave to His disciples, a command that speaks just as loudly to us today. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”(Matthew 28:19). Before the Holy Spirit came, Christ was already preparing the Church for the purpose it would serve. “Go”, “Make”, “Teach” are all words of action. Words that not only bring Christ to us, but words that call us to bring Christ to the world. A purpose that will not only bring many to one day proclaim the glory of God(Revelation 7:9), but a purpose that leads us each day to praise Him with that same glory!
Second, as the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples that day, we read the words that Peter preached to the crowd that had gathered(Acts 2:14-35). We are told the purpose those He called to that day, those who became the first bricks of the Church. “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” What we see in those words gives us the purpose that the Church should always follow. We should always make sure we are teaching sound biblical doctrine. Words that teach people of Christ, not words that excuse them in the world’s eyes. We should look to bring believers together so we came proclaim His glory, and we can study His Word. When we come together, there is no limit to the power He can show us, and to the difference He alone can make through us(Matthew 18:19-20). We should always honor, preach, and teach the Lord’s Supper. We must always remember the sacrifice that only He could have made, and the salvation that only He could bring(1 Corinthians 11:23-26). We should always find ourselves engaged in His Word and turning to Him in prayer during every situation. We must seek His wisdom, search for His truth, and find ourselves quick to take a knee, placing ourselves in the one position He can use us most.(Matthew 7:7). And we should share the Gospel with each of our words, and in all of our deeds. The world must see in us what it means to be called out. They must hears His voice in ours, and see His footprint in each step we take(Ephesians 5:1-2).
Above all, the Church needs to remember that we are the body of Christ(1 Corinthians 12:12-27). We are His hands, His eyes, His mouth, and His feet. We are called to be doing daily the same things that Christ did when He walked this earth. We must speak the words He would speak. We must see this world as He would see it. We must take our hands and reach out with the same love His hands held. And we must be willing to walk where His footsteps would lead us. Remembering that in order to be Christ-like, we must first be Christ-following.
The Church today must get back to the truth, the innocence, and the simplicity of the words “Go”, “Make”, “Teach”. We must again remember the purpose He called us to. A purpose that does not require spectacle and flash, because it already beams bright in His truth. The Church must get away from its’ own selfish, inward contemplation, sending the world a confusing message of what He called us out for. A message that has us looking more at how Christ and our churches can glorify our own lives, than how Christ can use our lives and our churches to glorify Him. We must again build structures of worship, and start tearing down structures we have built to worship. From our pulpits must again be heard messages that reflect the truth of Christ, not messages that reflect a truth the world desires to hear. And from our pews, Christ must not only be seen in our raised hands on Sunday, but seen as we seek to follow in His footsteps come Monday. The Church must remember again what it means to be the Church. We must get back to the truth that He brought us, and to the purpose He gave us. His truth, His wisdom, and His purpose is the only cure for the contagious disease of Churchanity. If the Church does not quickly roll up its’ sleeve, fill the needle full, and take a heavy dose, I am afraid this disease is about to become an epidemic.
Praying His truth, His wisdom, and His purpose is all the cure you will ever need. 