Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquila
I believe that if a church becomes stagnant, they've become too self focused. What are they doing in their community to serve society? Are they loving people without asking if those people are worthy or not? Are they speaking out in defense of the oppressed and against the injustices that are truly harming their communities?
Love, service, and advocacy.
Does the church provide a clothing closet, soup kitchen, shelter, or food-bank? Is it partnered with other local bodies to help the community? Is it "in the loop"? Do they have an active team of volunteers with the gift of helps volunteering to serve at local charities in the name of the church they attend? Are they getting their hands dirty and just helping people and loving people?
I can only speak from my experience. The churches I've attended that became stagnant became stagnant after becoming overly legalistic. The demands were just too steep for the average person walking the streets who just wants to know Jesus. They lacked a certain "grace" that attracted the sinner and the broken, bruised, and addicted. They shifted from being a hospital for the spiritually sick to being a private lodge with dues and secrete handshakes, expectations, and rituals. The kind of lodge that thinks you should feel lucky if you were invited.
They also lost their passion for service. The churches that I am familiar with that grew stagnant also did nothing for their local communities. And one church that did have some interest in serving their community only did so as it suited their own agenda and image. They shut down an effort to reach out to drug addicts because people were concerned with the kind of people that might begin coming to their church. They actually ruled out some neighborhoods when it came to door knocking or evangelistic efforts like invitations to dramas or holiday programs and focused on the upper middle class and suburban communities.
I don't mean to sound harsh. There were good people in those churches. There still are good people in those churches. I think that they began to really like themselves a little too much. New building, expansion, a school, buses, etc... they felt like they arrived... but they didn't realize that they were only more prepared to START their ministry.
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My experience has been the opposite.
I know of churches who have replaced the "gospel" with social services and "serving".
Then the next step is to water down the doctrine until the next generation sees no difference between us and the rest of the denominations.
I have witnessed that in my own family.
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