When was the last time you heard a testimony of someone in your church who was dramatically changed by the power of the Gospel? For some of you, it was last Sunday. But for too many people, the answer requires a long memory, and such testimonies are increasingly rare.

While there are healthy churches across America bearing spiritual fruit, the fact is that most congregations are stagnant—or worse. The church must take an honest appraisal of itself if it hopes to see another great spiritual awakening in North America.

We are seeing fewer and fewer converts to Christ in proportion to population growth. According to one researcher, who compiled data from four different studies, only 7 to 9 percent of the U.S. population are born-again believers as biblically defined—a far cry from the 35 to 40 percent figure that is often cited.

Make no mistake: God still desires to bring renewal and awakening to and through our churches—and He is able—but we must make a course correction if we are to see fruitful change.

Over the last 25 years, we have seen more church growth tools, books, conferences and fads than in the entire history of our country. And yet we not only have the loss in church attendance, we also have a decline in the spiritual fervor and study of the Bible by churchgoers.

Underlying these facts is the subtle but real philosophical conflict between some in what we may call the traditionalist camp and some in the contemporary camp. At one extreme, some churches are resistant to change despite slumping attendance. It is possible that one might think sound doctrinal preaching is enough, but Scripture shows us that we also need to rely on the Holy Spirit’s power and direction.

On another extreme, some contemporary churches have turned their focus to numerical growth at the expense of sound biblical practices. Whatever keeps people coming back for more next week seems primary, with barely a thought to what the “more” entails. More thought is given to music, lights and production features than Bible teaching and prayer. Everything is filtered through the lens of whatever will make folks comfortable and not offended.

Contemporary experts are quick to point out that most traditionalist churches don’t draw visitors. If visitors do come, they either don’t understand the service or they find it boring.

In turn, some of the traditionalist churches fault modern churches for diluting, or even ignoring, the Word of God. They wonder how anyone can call a church “Christian” if Christ, salvation from sin and the meaning of the cross are ignored, and if preachers are more like life coaches than New Testament ministers. In some places, the effort to be seeker-sensitive and user-friendly has produced little, if any, resemblance to the Christian churches found in God’s Word.

What can we do? Thankfully, there are churches, regardless of style, that are biblically faithful and also culturally relevant. Every week, they are consistently preaching the pure Gospel, drawing lost sinners to the Savior and seeing lives transformed. We need more of them.

Remember, we are not hopeless but hopeful as people of the Book. Churches need not be dusty holdovers from the past or ultra-cool, modern outposts in order to see God do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask or think. We must simply be faithful to draw on the real power found in the Old, Old Story.

Hebrews 13:20-21 is a useful starting point: “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (NIV).

Did you get that? The author of Hebrews cites two important truths that should guide us in trying to understand the Christian church as God intended it to be: First, God desires to use the same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead to equip us with “everything good for doing his will”; and second, He will work in us “what is pleasing to him.”

What church would become less vibrant and less glorifying to Christ if they sought God’s will and plan in all their efforts? If they were powered by His immeasurable strength?

Not one! Remember, this is not our church but His. It was Jesus who gave His life for us on the cross and rose from the dead. It is Christ’s church, and He obviously has a plan for it as He does everything else in the universe. Seeking God’s will, not ours, will save us from the dangers of dead traditionalism as well as human-centered thinking that distorts His design for His people. Jesus said He would build His church—not ours. And He is faithful!

As we search the Scriptures alongside our Helper, the Holy Spirit, God will reveal the secret of how to expand His kingdom—with both love and truth. He will protect us from harsh, judgmental attitudes and also from the peril of drifting away from the true faith once delivered to the saints. It’s not about what we’re accustomed to nor what we think is entertaining. God’s will must be sought and accomplished so that all the praise will go to Christ and not to us. He inhabits such praise. And where He is, we need to be.

We also learn from the writer of Hebrews that certain actions are “pleasing to him.”

Hopefully, we all know enough of the Scriptures to understand that reaching out to every person in our community and the world with the Gospel of Jesus pleases the Lord. No matter what color, ethnic group or lifestyle we represent, God loves us and has commissioned us to share the Good News of Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20).

Every person attending our church services is precious to God and created in His image. It only follows that showing kindness and patience to them also pleases Christ.

And because we love the people who walk through our doors, we owe them the unadulterated, powerful, life-giving Word of God, expressed in love and compassion, and not a diluted, imitation gospel that is powerless to shake the gates of hell. The Bible clearly declares that men’s ideas and the world’s philosophy must never replace the clear message of the Scriptures (Colossians 2:8).

Much should be made of a declining church. The situation demands our attention. Still, we cannot be discouraged. The remedy to a sagging, declining church is in honoring Christ and His Word with enthusiasm as people snatched from death, prayerfully depending on the Holy Spirit to fill us with love, and spreading the Gospel of Jesus to everyone everywhere.

Such radical obedience is the key to creating real church power and real church growth—the kind of growth that accomplishes God’s will and brings joy to His heart.
©2014 Jim Cymbala