Losing our way
Did Jesus tell us to advertise, market and promote the church? Our focus should be Jesus, not ourselves!
I've often wondered how we've gotten to the point where people believe that because they go to church they are Christians. I think the answer to that question may be simpler than we think!
Somewhere along the line our focus has changed from preaching Jesus to promoting the church!
We still use His name of course, but the lion's share of the attention is actually on us; on our ministries, our programs, our music and worship, our activities, our building, our name! I could go on and on, but you get the point. It's all about us!
Where is the consuming fire that puts Him above everything else, that makes Him our sheer delight, our driving passion and focus, and the main topic of our conversation?
Many Christians do not even believe you can have a "real church" without a building! They can't embrace the fact that they are the building; the church is them! This is how far the concept of church has been degraded from scripture.
Once you have the concept that church is something you go to, instead of something you are, it's easy to see how it becomes the thing you promote, i.e., we need to get people to come to church. But is this biblical? Is that what the early church went about doing?
We are busy at getting people to "come to church" when we should be telling them to "come to Jesus."
Many churches have turned to a smorgasbord of entertainment and activities to draw a crowd. We now use every worldly method to attract "seekers" to our doors. We advertise and market the church; but is this at all what the early church did?
The scriptures never tell us to trumpet ourselves or our church. The Holy Spirit gives us the example to follow in that He is always pointing us to Jesus and not Himself. The church should be doing likewise. In the book of Acts, Jesus is always and absolutely the focus. Nobody listening to Paul, the apostle, was likely to be confused about the real way we get to heaven or become a Christian. They may not have liked what he had to say, but they would have gotten the message loud and clear, "This is all about Jesus!" He did not have a plate full of activities and programs to give them, no worship team, not even a building to come to. All he had was Jesus. He did not come to preach himself or advertise the church.
"For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." (2 Corinthians 4:5)
Is it any wonder so many people believe that church is the answer? We've made ourselves the focus! Our buildings, our programs, our denominations, and on and on. It's all about us and our manmade religion! Is it any wonder that people have come to believe that this is what spiritual life is all about?
I'm not surprised that so many people believe church attendance makes them Christians. I think it's our fault! We've basically offered up religion instead of Jesus, and it shouldn't surprise us when people are confused and don't understand the difference.
When will we return to the single hearted focus of pointing to Jesus alone, and stop making so much of ourselves? Until we do, people will continue to look to us for salvation instead of Him, and the church will remain lukewarm.