What happens when a church decides to do mass recruitment in the name of the great commission aka evangelism?
Stage 1, Confusion
When you begin to have mass recruitment, you get what you wish for. All your investments in expensive audio visual equipment, creative content, animation, song and dance, worship entertainment finally pays off; the crowd is in. You have only that few leaders who are truly able to execute an Exegesis on the word, and perhaps some who are somewhat bible reading but not too much into theology. So you have like 100 Shepherds, in face of 2,000 sheeps that need guidance.
You begin to have mass recruitment of leaders. People who perhaps have a lot of heart but unequipped to teach the word. You end up with leaders that speak the "Christian Lingo" aka "Christianese" with opinions that has nothing to do with scripture. Cell Groups becomes social gathering. Their attention span on their flock begin to saturate. Discipleship on the word of God gets less common. Blind shepherds leading blind sheep who become blind leaders themselves.
The problem is, most leaders think that theology is too much for the congregation to take. That is probably because those leaders themselves are actually NOT grounded in the word themselves! They earn their ranks above the man made church system by maintaining good relationships with management and "performing well" in their respective ministries. Popularity becomes the KPI for success.
What is the model of the biblical church? It is always been and will always be the bible and the apostle's doctrine. It is never ideas that are employed by self helps, motivational speeches, Christian psychology and New Age philosophies. These are Paul’s instructions to Timothy, desperately written when he was in prison and saw that his ministry was falling into the hands of false teachers, beckoning the young pastor to teach the uncompromised, unadulterated word of God.
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
II Timothy 4:2-5 NKJV
But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
II Timothy 3:10-17 NKJV
Stage 2, Compromise
To maintain your weekly 5,000 attendance, you begin to teach easy listening sermons to keep them coming and tithing. Teaching that omits keywords like Sin, Repentance, Obedience, Wrath of God. They over-emphasize on feel good messages that centers on Justification by Faith alone and extreme idea of love, thus avoiding any topics which will potentially cite disagreements and "lose a soul".
Well, if you remember Parable of the Sower? How does a person lose his Salvation? It is because the seed fell on bad soil. Which means the Word of God did not set deep into their believe system, and hence they fell away with the cares of the world (Heb 6:4-8).
Leaders have to understand that if someone rejects or walks away from the faith, it is NOT because you didn't build a church that is fun enough, nor it is because the music is not good enough. It is simply because they do not understand the gospel. That person is not lost; he or she has not been found in the first place.
When the church teaches a watered down version of the gospel, and imparts nothing but human philosophy backed by bad interpretation from isolated scripture passages, they will breed a church of tares, false believers who think they are saved but are actually not.
When you buy insurance, you ought to know what you are paying for isn’t it? If the insurance agent told you a lie, you would be thinking that you are covered under the policy when you are actually not. Similarly, if you teach the wrong doctrine, you will cause those who are perishing to think they are saved. Hence our job, is to share the word, period.
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
I Corinthians 2:1-5 NKJV
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
I Corinthians 3:6-8 NKJV
Stage 3, Church of Tares
Now, your 10,000 strong church works like a clockwork. You have leaders running your services, cell groups, pastors to run various ministries and special events. Sermons are preached mainly to satisfy human felt needs. Cell groups become a superficial social hang out venue. Worship becomes entertainment for the congregation to worship their feelings and give praises to a "presence" they labeled as Jesus. Christian events become more like social activities that have nothing to do with God.
Sound doctrine has successfully been flushed out of the man made church system. People come to church to seek for blessings and answers for morality. They are no longer taught about a God who came to convict us of our sins, but a god who is ready to "accept them for who they are", thinking that they can be Christians and yet follow their own personal agendas. They breed young, enthusiastic and largely bible illiterate youths who are fervent to build a Kingdom, but end up confusing more into the deception.
When it comes to that state, here you have a church of Tares and Goats, a point of no return. If you care about your Salvation, choose wisely. This is what Jesus says.
Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Matthew 13:40-43 NKJV
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 13:47-50 NKJV
44 “Then they also will answer Him,[d] saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Revelation 3:15-16 NKJV
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV
