The Problem

Over the last 30 years, Evangelical churches throughout America have adopted worldly methods in order to be culturally relevant, thought necessary to attract seekers and grow churches.  And, by some standards, these methods have worked!  Sadly, though, at a tremendous cost!—the watering down of the Gospel, and millions of empty professions of faith.

To underscore the reality of this problem, the pastor of one of America’s largest Evangelical churches, a man considered to be the guru of the church growth movement itself, recently admitted that the techniques they had employed—and which many churches patterned themselves after—were in a large part “a mistake.” They hadn’t produced fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

Christian broadcaster and writer, Bob Burney, hit the nail on the head when he responded to this alarming confession: “The foundation of thousands of American churches is now discovered to be mere sand. The one individual who has had perhaps the greatest influence on the American church in our generation has now admitted his philosophy of ministry, in large part, was a “mistake.” The extent of this error defies measurement.”

Consequently, many, many professing Christians in America are relying upon something that is less than saving, something that they have done—praying “the Sinner’s Prayer” or “accepting Christ” or “inviting Jesus into their lives”—rather than relying upon what God has done for them through the death of His Son, and what He must do in them through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

Easy Believism is damning!

In the case of too many professing Christians in America today, their lifestyles demonstrate that the Lord does not have control or ownership of their lives—meaning there has never been a surrendering up of their will for His.

And here’s the eternal rub.  The One who said “I came not to do My own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me” is the same One who said “whoever does the will of God is My brother, and sister, and mother.” In other words, if salvation doesn’t result in the surrendering up of our will (the self life) for His, then we are not related to Him; our profession is empty; it is false!

The gospel’s call isn’t to ‘accept Jesus as your Savior’ or ‘invite Christ into your life’ as is so popularly promoted today, or even more frightening, to ‘try Jesus’, as I recently saw posted on a billboard.  You’ll find no such admonitions in Scripture.

While such popular phrases possess some kernels of truth, they often do more harm than good, just because they are void of any call to repentance, and don’t speak to the needed change of our depraved and self-ruling nature on the front end.  And this is what God is after in salvation, to go deeper, to the root of our sin problem, and there dethrone me-myself-and-I, replacing self with ‘not I, but Christ.’

Too often, all that is accomplished by such popular but weak salvation formulas is the adding of Jesus to our life, not Him becoming our life.  And therein lies the problem.  By only adding Jesus to our life it leaves us in control of our lives, taking Jesus along with us for the ride.  He goes where we want to go, does what we want to do, and we ask Him to bless our plans.

True discipleship—and more importantly, true Christianity—is just the opposite.  Jesus becomes the Master of our lives.  We go where He wants us to go, we do what He wants us to do.  And we no longer pray for Him to bless our plans, but rather “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Sure we are commanded to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved.” But don’t discount that little word, LORD, in the middle of the admonition, as so many have done.

Discipleship is God’s purpose in Salvation

The purpose of salvation isn’t to just to save us from the wrath to come, though it is that, thank God, but also to restore us back into His image—the preeminent thing lost in the fall.  We were made in His image, and as born-again believers we are being conformed once again to the image of His son.

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to die for our sins so that we could be reconciled to Him and enjoy fellowship with Him!  But it doesn’t end there.  He also sent Jesus as The Way—the perfect pattern of the surrendered and selfless life; a life which He calls us to imitate and follow. “Follow Me!”

This is salvation’s purpose, and that which Jesus commissioned the Church to join with Him in accomplishing: “Go into all the world and make disciples.” (Matthew 28:19) But sadly, this is what lukewarm Evangelicalism, at least in the mainstream, has failed to accomplish.  And it’s not improving!

This is what we’re about

Today American Christendom has become a mission field in itself.  There are no doubt millions of professing but lost Christians sitting in its pews, ushering in its aisles, and working in its churches.  But the challenges—and walls—that stand in the way of reaching them loom large.

The biggest challenge we face is getting professing Christians to examine themselves to be sure they are in the faith.  The second is finding platforms from which to do so.  It’s a task too big for us. Only God can open doors, and then open eyes.

Such ministry work isn’t always fun!  Rejection is common.  Open doors are few.  And the pay stinks.  But this is what God called us to.  Therefore it is our life’s mission and purpose.  We do it out of loving obedience to the One who called us, saved us, burdened us and prepared us for this work.

Mark Calhoun
Founder, Disciple Life Ministries