I read a post at http://joshhevans.com/2014/08/29/5-things-that-can-ruin-a-church/ and that got me thinking. There are a lot of things that can “ruin a church”. This post is the first of three, and here I look at qualities, then events, and then people. First of all, by way of introduction, let’s consider what is “being ruined” really mean? I mean, what is a “non-ruined church” and what would ruin it? We cannot consider the factors that cause the “ruin of a church” without considering these two points first. Let’s do this with your church. What is “church” supposed to be? When a church is fully pleasing God, doing what God has ordained it’s purpose to be, what is that? Write that down on a piece of paper, now consider when you have seen or conceive of a church being “ruined”. What would that be like?
Perhaps I should comment on the idea of an “abusive church”. An abusive church is a church that perhaps has orthodox doctrine but has practices and conduct that is not biblical, un-Christlike. Most commonly abusive churches are seen by their refusal to believe in and practice Christian liberty. In order for these people to control the brethren in a way that is advantageous for them, they also use unscriptural church discipline. By this I mean that they use tactics like public shame over issues that they do not have strong scriptural basis for, and they do it in an unscriptural way.
Let me digress with an example. For example, a pastor says that his members have to attend ALL church functions, and can only miss if they ask their pastor for permission first, and he grants it. A valid reason is that you are sick and dying in a hospital. Family reunions out of town, visiting another church, etc. are all invalid. The person ignores this imposed asking-permission structure, so the pastor now publicly says embarrassing things about the family, revealing private matters or joking in such a way as to cause the family shame, embarrassment, or discomfort on some level. Perhaps he removes the man from the deacon board suddenly, or removes either husband or wife from responsibilities or service in the church, because the pastor “has doubts”. The point is to use press to cause wayward members to tow the line. This psychological pressure is what makes them abusive. (Here I would exclude members who are serving, but the pastor or leadership removes them because of serious problems, such as marital separation, infidelity, or drinking/drug/sex problems. Also doctrinal heresy that comes to light would be a legitimate reason for removal.)
Irrelevant Churches: Church’s Failure to be Relevant
By David Cox – Irrelevant Churches
This signpost of a dying church is when there is a duplicity between what people live and think, and the crises and problems that they experience day-in day-out, and what is preached and taught in the church. Simply put, the church is not relevant. What the pastor thinks is good sermon material is not really very good at all.
