The summer that Jane and I met, we were both on staff at Asbury Acres United Methodist Church Camp, Almond, Wisconsin. When we could, we attended church on Sunday mornings as a staff that summer. That was the summer that I learned what kind of a pastor I never wanted to be…
Oh, I stayed involved in the church even that summer—as a guest. I and others from the staff would do special music and help out where we could. The pastor, however, seemed to spend most of his work week … on the golf course. Now, that may sound like a mean or unfair statement, except for the fact that he bragged on it. It was a well-known fact. And, when it came to his sermons, he always mentioned that he’d pulled it together on the drive to church on Sunday morning. And, I’m here to attest to the fact that … it usually sounded like it!
After that summer, I was absolutely starved to get back to a church where God’s word was taken seriously, from the pastor on down. Folks, it was as if there was no respect whatsoever for the sacred word; I really have no idea why that pastor was in ministry at all…
The word of God was so important to the Early Church, that they never wanted to neglect it. At one point in time, it was a struggle—apparently—to find the time for study and sermon preparation. But, the church dealt with it … in such as way as to NOT neglect God’s word, the preaching of it, or the prayer it took to prepare properly. Listen:
“Some time later, as the number of disciples kept growing, there was a quarrel between the Greek-speaking Jews and the native Jews. The Greek-speaking Jews claimed that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of funds. 2 So the twelve apostles called the whole group of believers together and said, ‘It is not right for us to neglect the preaching of God’s word in order to handle finances. 3 So then, friends, choose seven men among you who are known to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and we will put them in charge of this matter. 4 We ourselves, then, will give our full time to prayer and the work of preaching.’ 5 The whole group was pleased with the apostles’ proposal, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a Gentile from Antioch who had earlier been converted to Judaism. 6 The group presented them to the apostles, who prayed and placed their hands on them. 7 And so the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew larger and larger, and a great number of priests accepted the faith.” – Acts 6:1-7 (TEV)
Going deep into God’s word in every way … is what we need to do if we’re to be the Essential Church that God is calling us to be! And, I know that I’m pointing the finger right back at myself (and others who fill this pulpit), but it has to begin with the pastor! There’s no two ways about it. Every pastor or preacher needs to have the attitude of Paul, when he said (1 Cor. 9:16, NIV), “Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” I’m reminded of that verse every single week that I preach … because that’s the attitude God has placed on my heart, too! We need to the Gospel preached & taught plainly. I’ve said it before: Most congregations really don’t care what I think about things; they want to know what God thinks about things … and that’s what’s going to be preached from this pulpit. That’s a promise!
But, folks, we have to go deeper—deeper perhaps than we’ve ever gone before … with our preaching and our teaching and our worshiping and our learning… Again, last week we talked about getting the structure right—the bones or skeleton, if you will. This week, we’re going to talk about putting meat on those bones—getting the content right. Let me share with you what I mean by ‘going deep’ and what can happen as a church when we do…
GOING DEEP ANCHORS PEOPLE THROUGH LIFE CHANGES… If followers of Jesus Christ are anchored in God’s word, they will be able to withstand changes that come about in life—no matter what… The flip side of that coin is that if followers of Jesus Christ are NOT anchored in God’s word (in other words, reading it and studying it on a regular basis in order to know God better), life changes will always be a little more than upsetting to them…
One startling piece of research for Essential Church tells us volumes about why we lose so many young people at a critical juncture of their lives. Of those who left the church between the ages of 18-22 years old, 97% left because of a life-change issue. Here that again: 97% left because of a life-change issue…
- Most of the dropouts did not leave their families during these times…
- Most of the dropouts did not leave their social networks during these times…
- Most of the dropouts did not leave the educational system during these times…
But, most of them did leave the church… One who was in the minority—an exception—was a young man by the name of Max. Max was 26 years old at the time of his interview for Essential Church. His story, basically, was that he belonged to a church where most of their 18-22 year olds stayed … and he attributed it to that church’s emphasis on God’s word—always challenging them to go deeper into God’s word…
It began for Max in a new member’s class where they talked about expectations of members; they needed to be in a Sunday morning Bible study group and attend worship services … regularly. They were also asked to commit to at least one ministry to be involved in…
In Max’s own words: “The purpose of the Sunday morning Bible study was clear. We were always studying a book of the Bible,” he said. “In fact the church goes through the entire Bible every 7 years. I have almost completed 2 cycles now.”
What about small group studies? Here’s what Max had to say: “The church offers several small group studies each year,” Max responded. “Some of them deal with the doctrinal issues. Some with life application issues like marriage or money. And in some of them, you may study about other religions and cults, you know, apologetics stuff. But everything we study is biblically based.”
The interview went on, finally, to ask Max how all of this ‘content’ he was talking about made a difference in his decision to remain active in the church. “The Word is so much a part of my life,” Max said, “that studying it has become a life priority for me. And when I am dealing with tough decisions or life-changing situations, I can always remember something I have studied in Scripture to help me know how to deal with anything.”
Going deep will help us to be that Essential Church people need as they move through life changes of all kinds…
GOING DEEP KEEPS US FROM THE SIN OF SHALLOWNESS… The shallowness of hypocrisy… You remember this, I hope, as being one of the Top 10 reasons dropouts quit going to church! As a matter of fact, it was the 2nd most frequent response…
I’ve heard the argument several times over the years, but the first time it was quite a shocker! The comment usually goes something like: “Jesus and I are getting along just fine … without all the hypocrites at church!” Man, does that statement steam me … if I can be real honest here for a moment; I’ve felt like telling people … ‘well, at least those hypocrites are one step closer to God than you are; because at least they’re still connected to the Body of Christ!’ But, I never have (in case you were wondering)…
The point, here, is this: Biblically grounded dropouts would know that they were out of God’s will by disconnecting from the Church. They couldn’t possibly ignore all of the Apostle Paul’s letters—many written to local churches—that speak to the importance of staying connected… The writer of Hebrews in 10:24-25 (TEV) reminds us: “Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good. 25 Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.”
Biblically grounded Christians recognize that all believers are hypocrites in the sense that we have not attained sinless perfection. And they thus realize their need for the Church even more. The excuse of hypocrisy … is usually a clear indicator of one’s own biblical illiteracy, which leads me to the next thing: Going deep also keeps us from the shallowness of biblical illiteracy… While I’m not suggesting that all de-churched people are biblically shallow, there’s evidence that more dropouts fit that description than those who stayed in church. So, needless to say (I believe), GOING DEEP into God’s Word—taking it that seriously in how we live out our faith—can make all the difference in the world when it comes to folks sticking with our church—closing the back door, to use that term again… FINALLY,
GOING DEEP CAN GIVE US GOOD NEWS & BETTER NEWS! The GOOD NEWS is … some will return. The #1 reason that some of our dropouts have returned to church is … encouragement from others—those closest to them! So, what does that tell you? If you get a chance to say an encouraging word to someone who hasn’t been around here in awhile, DO IT … because it can make a difference!
The #2 reason that some of our dropouts have returned to church is … they felt convicted by God (Holy Spirit), because they knew what God’s Word says about staying connected! Going deeper will help close that back door … and many will return; that’s the GOOD NEWS!
The BETTER NEWS is … some will never leave! If we are a church that has chosen to GO DEEPER, we’ll begin to see the trend of dropouts turn around! I just want to mention, briefly, that those who remain active in the church have two overarching reasons for staying:
- They have a personal commitment to the church, and…
- They see the benefits of remaining in church.
And, both of these reasons relate directly to the biblical foundations they have!
Folks, the evidence is clear: The church and its teachings are a major reason that many people return to the church. They are also a major reason why many never leave the church… The younger generations of today want deep biblical teachings. They want to hear the whole counsel of God. They want to hear THE TRUTH, even if it makes them uneasy or uncomfortable…
I told you last week that I love football. “Going deep” in football refers to a receiver running many yards in anticipation of catching the quarterback’s long pass. The deep passes that are caught are some of the most spectacular and the most likely to get a crowd on its feet. Am I right?
GOING DEEP … is exciting in football.
GOING DEEP … is essential in church.
They learned that in the Early Church … and they adjusted so that the Word of God—the studying, praying over, teaching and preaching of it would not be neglected. The real ministry needs were taken care of; the laity was unleashed to do the work of daily ministry … so those called to preach & teach could take care of the business of ‘going deep.’ Let’s not neglect that either … that we might be the Essential Church God is calling us to be…