Light Over Europe Ministries Blog Page, Initial Posting

February 10, 2009

The State of the 21st Century Church of Jesus Christ

by:  Dr. G. Kevin Steger, D.Ed.Min.

Light Over Europe Ministries, Inc.

www.loem.org

To All Who are Concerned-

Disclaimer:  I know that I personally have no position, authority, or mandate from which I may have a voice or right to speak about any perceived understanding of the condition of the contemporary church and expect that anyone should pay attention.  It is nothing more than a hope, that someone who also cares about the bride of Christ  will read this treatise and take action, that drives me to my keyboard.

Background:  

After 10 years of formal education and 3 degrees; twenty plus years in ministry in several different capacities in local churches in Texas; fifteen years as a teacher of college students in three different institutions of higher learning; and eight years of ministry on the European continent, it has become very clear that the church is in trouble.  Crisis seems to be the word of choice in our current political climate which is perhaps a bit extreme, but applied to the church, crisis, is the perfect word.  Crisis in the world-wide Christian Church??  Really??  Absolutely.  Unless the church changes its strategies and adjusts its practices and priorities it will simply cease to be a significant force in the world.  

The first mistake the church made happened early, it did not remain unified.  As a result there are literally thousands of different Christian groups across the world.  Some fall into the Catholic or Orthodox faith, while most others fall into that very large category called Protestant.  This division and its continuing fractures was not and is not God’s plan for the church.  (Ephesians 4)  

Upon reviewing the development and current condition of the church throughout the world it is very clear that the church has gone through cyclical changes.  The world currently includes expressions of the church at every stage.  Europe is post-Christian, where the church has principally lost its positive influence among people.  The church in North America continues to experience marginal growth in some areas, but it’s growth rate is woefully behind the population growth rate, and losing ground quickly.  In some third-world countries, eg. China, India, etc., the Church is rapidly growing, similar to the growth rate of the first century church, but these are exceptions rather than the rule.

Statement of the Problem:

As the church grew into the European continent, in the early centuries after the birth and death of Jesus Christ, millions of people became Christians and worshipped together in nondescript locations to avoid persecution. History reveals a change in the world’s attitude toward the Church.  The Roman Emperor Constantine made a royal decree which greatly impacted the church in the fourth century, making Christianity the state religion of the empire.  Purely by living in the empire, everyone was Christian.  The longer the church remained a state issue, the less invasive the message of Jesus Christ became.  Along with the tremendous damage placed upon the church by Constantine, the development of Church hierarchy, primarily expressed in the Papacy, placed a man-made chasm between God and the common man.  The priests and other leaders in the church mandated to the people, that they must approach God through an intermediary provided only by the church.  The Church took this position to maintain the viability of the Christian church and its institutional form without regard to its severe departure from the Biblical model. (Acts 2)  

Today, some of the most beautiful buildings in the entire world are church buildings found on the European continent.  These magnificent cathedrals were originally maintained by the people’s tithes and the administration of the world-wide Church. Due to this erroneous strategic change, they became empty relics which are now maintained by the government.  It remains to be true that there are people who are becoming Christians in Europe.  But, that growth is not happening as a result of the state churches.  Rather, a growing movement of evangelicals worshipping and serving the Lord in small groups is reaching the lost, getting closer to the Biblical model which never refers to the need for a building or any other institutionalization, with the exception of the offices of deacon, elder, and overseer.  (I Timothy 3)

The church in Europe, which at one time enjoyed world wide significance and power, has become insignificant.  If something does not change in the way North American churches are being promoted, started and operated, the same fate awaits them.  When a small group of people who are following Christ, remaining committed to the Apostles’ teaching, fellowship, prayer, and communion, (Acts 2:42 ff) make the decision to tie themselves to an expensive piece of property and a building, the priorities of that church morph into something the New Testament authors would, were it possible, not even recognize as a church.  As a result of this new focus, the reason for the church’s existence and ministry became paying for the building and its staff, building the institution.  Sound familiar??

Plan for the Future:

The last best hope for humanity is the ministry of the Church.  Jesus taught this and provided for its perpetuation.  Therefore, there is still time for the church in North America and Europe to become significant again, but change must be the order of the day for the church.  The spiritual leaders of the church on these two continents today must look in two areas for guidance in operation and focus.  

The first and most important source for the church is the Bible.  Taking belief in the Divine inspiration of the Bible as preconception, there is no better place to find God’s plan for the growth and activity of the Church.  Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, recorded what the church was all about in chapter 2 of his work.  There it is stated that the church remained dedicated to four things; the Apostles’ teaching, fellowship, communion, and prayer.  The result of this dedication was a dynamically growing church which would sweep over the entire Mediterranean world in a relatively short amount of time.  The second source for the church today is the still effective parts of the church in certain places in the world.  In China, India, Africa, as well as other third-world venues, the church is keeping pace with and surpassing the population growth rate.  How is it possible that the Christian population in these countries, which should presumably be doing church the way they were taught by the Western missionaries, are having success?  The answer is quite simple.  The spiritual leaders in these churches have remained focused as the church grows on the same four things as the first century church; dedication to the Apostles’ teaching, fellowship, communion, and prayer.  In many cases, they have not made the fateful decision of anchoring the church to an expensive fixed location.  

There must be a renewed effort to train spiritual leaders in North America and Europe to start new churches the very way the first century spiritual leaders did.  They must be trained so that they have a full and functional understanding of the Bible and exegetical method to aptly teach the people.  They must be encouraged to begin these new groups as small house churches, which are freed up to function in what ever way is necessary in their particular environment and unique set of possibilities and parameters that will provide for the greatest possible impact in their communities.  The church must depart from the institutional method, the Bible does not encourage it.  Dr. Doyle Young, a church history professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas in the late eighties and early nineties said it succinctly in the title of one of the chapters in his book, New Life For Your Church.  That title??  “God’s going to get us one day for those chandeliers.”

This has been recorded only for the purpose of encouraging the church toward growth and is in no way intended to single out any Christian group or growth strategy as ineffective.  Please accept it as such.

Kevin Steger