If you are a Christian, everything you say or do reflects your level of Christian maturity. When you became a Christian was there any discernible change in your character? There should have been. It is never too late to consider your character and begin to be all that you can be for the Lord. I am about to air the dirty laundry of some Churches in Westchester County, NY. It reflects my experiences and I know the experiences of many others. Jesus Christ was never one to shrink from telling the truth of sin. When the truth of your life and mine is laid out, only then is it possible for God to work in our lives and in our Churches. Jeremiah 18:4 "And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter : so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it."
We all need to be made again, so let's look at a few stories which we may relate to. When I first met Frankie* at Church we became fast friends. We seemed to bond over studying the Word of God. He had a zeal for evangelizing yet he did not see how his womanizing ways dimished his witness for Jesus. We went out to eat at a trendy riverfront restaurant. All was going well until near the end of the dinner. In the middle of our discussion he averted his eyes from mine to acknowledge a woman passing by in a short, lacy skirt. His neck eventually followed his eyes and before you know it this mighty man of God was reduced to a groveling sinner. To make matters worst, he wanted to leave a religious tract on the table when we left. I patiently explained to him how he was a poor role model for everyone in that restaurant. If one of the staff picked up that religious tract and had happened to witness his ungodly behavior he would have succeeded in turning them off to Jesus.
Betty* was always complaining about her Catholic husband. Betty* who now attended Golgotha Chapel* had met Sam* in her early twenties. Her Christian walk was such that she could not resist this man and ended up getting pregnant before they were married. He continued attending his church and she hers. As the years went by, they grew apart. She thought her Church better than his and constantly said how much she hated him. One day, I shared some marriage ministry materials that I had used, and challenged her to stop saying that she hated her husband. I let her know there was hope for her marriage and it began with her. More drama at Golgotha ensued over the years. The Pastor's wife was giving a women's bible study one day. The topic that night brought pain to one of the ladies, Missy* concerning her relationship with her mother. This Pastors wife had never dealt with her own mother issues and presented a very ungodly answer to this congregant in pain. She continued to give ungodly advice that same evening concerning pre-marital sex. Shocking. I spoke to the other ladies but nothing was ever done to right the wrongs that evening. The Pastor was not the godly head of that household and a story from the pulpit one day helped me understand the problems in this Church better.
Pastor Bobby* described a time when his family was grabbing food at a Rockland County shopping mall. He said his wife was very rude to a young man behind a fast food counter. Instead of being a godly husband and mediating the situation he thought it was the funniest thing that he just hid behind a pillar until it was all over. He hid from a lot of things including rudeness and bullying about my ethnic culture that occurred on an Internatiomal Night at our church. The evening was meant to celebrate the food and culture of church attendees. When a Dutch woman named Jackie*, whose husband worked at the United Nations, insulted my culture and belittled its history, the Pastor couldn't care less. He said he was just relaxing that night and didn't want to deal with it. I guess some cultures are better than others at this Church.
What do all these stories have in common? Christian immaturity! And it has far-reaching effects in a church. Take the case of brother Craig.*. Brother Craig knows his bible well. He is influential and involved in many ministries at Hope*Church. There is only one problem : he touches women in inappropriate ways. He is devious enough to do it in a way that is just on the line between right and wrong. There is the evil. But, I also know everyone is so busy making nice at this Church, that they
work overtime to find a way to ignore or explain Craig's behavior away. The damage that immature churches do is incalculable. People are wronged and end up leaving churches. Some of our churches in Westchester are destroying families, like in the case of Pastor Bobby, who gave out terrible marital advice to couples who came to him for help. People are filling psychologists' offices in Westchester County over pain experienced in local churches. The worst consequence of not pursuing Christian maturity in your church is seeing people end their relationship with Jesus Christ and growing discouraged. I know a few people from Golgotha Chapel who have sought peace in yoga and meditation.
The early Church described in Hebrew 5:11-12 comes to mind when I think of this problem. It very clearly speaks of a church who is not growing in maturity. That Church still needed "milk, not solid food." The effects of not giving up milk for a baby are quite serious. They will fail to put on the necessary weight to grow and will fail to thrive. The child would die. So when Paul wrote to Timothy using this analogy, it was a serious discussion of what would happen to a church if it does not grow. What are some reasons why a church fails to mature? Sometimes it is immature leadership. Other times it is due to an improper understanding of the concept of discipleship.
In the case of immature leadership, sometimes changes need to be made. Decide to commit this problem to prayer. If you are an elder pray that God directs you in the situation. On the topic of discipleship, I find this a very big problem. It is so important for us to study the Bible. How are we studying it? Do you or your church take time to study the Bible in the context of your life? You may know the exegesis or hermeneutics of the situation but do you get that God wrote the passage for you? He expects you to obey His instruction and change your ways. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 makes the course ahead of us very clear.
It states, "All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." Let's think about the words reproof and correction for a moment. Reproof is when your mother is calling you to task for not cleaning your room, ouch. Correction is when your boss tells you that you've been doing it all wrong, double ouch! Some of the other words present in this passage tells us what will happen after we hear the truth. We have to be retrained, and made complete. Note to self: we are not complete until we choose to obey God. The word complete is another way of expressing the concept of maturity. When we are mature, we are then equipped for the goods works that we should be doing.
Imagine the results for our churches. With the changes that happen in our lives we can start to help others in need. Frankie's insight into his life could help Craig. Betty could help others with what she has learned about healing her own marriage. When we learn to "esteem others higher than ourself" Philippians 2:3 Jackie won't call it a joke to make fun of others. We have so far to go and the stakes are high. Our enemy Satan wants nothing better than to keep us as ineffectual followers of Jesus.
*people and church names have been changed.
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