We live in a very small town located in the Sierra Foothills, named Copperopolis. Its a town where you can literally know everyone! The sign along HWY-4 says Copperopolis has a population of some 2300 people. But many locals would argue that statistic.
In our quaint little town are located a variety of, let’s just simply say, five religious persuasions.
Like any town or city in America, only a small fraction attends church on a regular basis. Interestingly, the majority of people populating most churches didn’t arrive by outreach or evangelism, but by some other means or mechanism.
We moved here some seventeen years ago. We watched Copperopolis’ five churches exchange parishioners like football teams swap players! We know this because we, too, were church swappers.
While many people may switch churches for better preaching or a more robust and polished worship team, there is something slightly more salacious than pastoral celebrity and polished enterainers.
The truth is there are far too many pretenders and too few defenders of faith. Pretenders are followers of the spit and polished. They’re drawn to the spiritual flamboyant and the sparkly dalliance of vocals and instrumentals, until something more spectacular opens up down the street.
So, when a church is stuck in adversity, the pretenders pack up and do their pretending at another church. Unfortunately, far too many churches seek pretenders because they show up in numbers! Numbers generate buzz, and buzz generates coffers and stimulate budgets.
Jesus didn’t put up with pretenders. He wasn’t a numbers guy.
Remember when Jesus told hundreds of his followers; “Truly I tell you, unless you drink the blood of the Son of Man, and eat his flesh you will have no life in yourselves.” –John 6:53
Well, upon hearing this the pretenders started to murmur among themselves, saying, “This teaching is too hard! Who can accept it?” –John 6:60
From that day forward the pretenders ceased following Jesus, and they never returned. To them, Jesus’s teaching was scandalous. They didn’t stick around for an explanation — they weren’t interested in defending or understanding the truth. They just picked up and left, probably seeking a new Jesus.
Why do some churches decline and neighboring churches grow?
Well, let me ask you a question…
What is one single word that tears one church apart and yet builds another church down the road?
… Scandal!
Yes, scandal, and not evangelism causes church growth. Transient, church hopping Christians move from church to church over offense. If the godly cannot resolve disputes and scandal what does this say about the church’s testimony and witness?
The contrast between God’s Holy People and Hollywood should be stark. But for many churches the similarities are damning. So, like Hollywood, scandal defines and destroys celebrities, as it also destroys our “Christian” celebrities and churches. It robs the world of a true witness.
This scandal is one of the reasons why there are over 54,000 denominations within Christianity.
According to the Barna Group, they’ve researched congregations across America. Their findings reveal the 80/20 rule.
Most churches are made up of 80% pretenders and 20% defenders. The 20% defenders do the majority of the financial and physical support. Budgets and buildings are sacrificially built by the defender minority to house and serve the pretender class. Jesus didn’t put up with this nonsense.
Did I mention that pretenders are too earthly focused to do any heavenly good?
The bible says “It is unwise to accept the tuition from a fool who has no heart for truth.” –Proverbs 17:16
Yet, far too many church budgets to build, collect, and cater to people that have very little heart and passion for Christ Jesus and his teaching.
So, churches keeps catering to pretenders and the pretenders build denomination after denomination, until Christianity becomes too fragmented to do any earthly good.
And this is why so many churches are filled with pretenders and not defenders of faith.
Until bold and passionate pastors properly preach the true cost of discipleship and promote defenders of faith, denominational segregation will double within the next 25 years.
We need more pastors willing to offend pretenders for the sake of the Gospel. The power of the Gospel is the pretenders only hope to cease their pretending.
Quit pretending and start defending!
