Tired of the Show

Almost a decade ago Karl Vaters wrote an article about people leaving the church. What are people looking for in a church, and why do they leave? Pastors ask this question regularly – and we should. But too often, Vaters suggested, we “miss the mark entirely.”

When pastors get together, they will talk about new ideas and what’s working well: the quality and volume of the music, stage lighting, use of video and drama, sermon length, advertising, signage, and the like. Vaters observes, “There is too little difference between ministers talking about church, and a theater group talking about their upcoming play,” and people are getting tired of the show.

Like many other pastors, I spent years tweaking the service order, adjusting audio levels, setting up chairs, approving graphic designs and all the other work it takes to conduct a church service. But does anyone really believe the reason our neighbors aren’t coming to church is poor stage lighting or a worship team that is not on the A-List? They are looking for something else altogether!

“It’s not that those elements don’t matter. If they’re done poorly, they can distract from the message. But spending too much time and effort on them can distract from the message, too,” says Vaters. We can’t compete with Hollywood. We can’t compete with the Megachurch. We can’t even compete with the smartphone in everyone’s pocket or purse. So let’s stop trying.

The church needs to do what only the church can do. God created us in his own image with an unmistakeable plan and purpose. Isaiah 43:7 says God created us for His own glory. The New Testament is also clear that our ultimate purpose in life is to glorify God.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31, Paul says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (NIV).

The ultimate goal of our lives as Christians – and the ultimate goal of our churches – is to glorify God. We glorify God when we call attention to his greatness and show his supreme value by delighting in him and cherishing him and treasuring him so that others may know him too.

But the question is, “how?” How can we practically bring glory to God?

We glorify God when we love him and worship him.

In Matthew 22:36-38 we have the story of a Jewish teacher – an expert in the law – who tried to test Jesus with a question. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”

The first and the greatest commandment! Our primary purpose in life is to love the Lord God.

Furthermore, we glorify God by loving people. We put the gospel on display by loving other people.

The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And then Jesus said, “And the second (commandment) is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

So, if I love God, then I must love my neighbor also. I must love those around me. My family, my friends, my coworkers, my classmates – they are my neighbors. They are people who I am responsible to love. And that’s what people are looking for today; that’s what will draw them into the vortex of God’s great love.

God is honored and delighted and glorified when believers in Jesus truly love other believers in Jesus and live together in harmony, and when believers in Jesus truly love people who are living far from God, and the watching world will want in. It’s hard to resist that kind of genuine, Spirit-inspired, biblical love.

We glorify God by loving people, and loving people means that we tell them the truth about Jesus (John 3:16).

Finally, we glorify God by making disciples who make disciples.

After his resurrection from the grave, Jesus said to the people who were gathered on the mountain, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The last command of Jesus must be the first priority of the church. His last command was not, “Go!” It was not “Baptize!” It was not “Teach” or “Preach” or “Hold Services.” His last command was, and our first concern is, “Make disciples.”

With no money or buildings or programs, Jesus sent his disciples into the world to make more disciples, and the early church was so committed to this mission of making disciples, that in Acts 17:6 the people in Thessalonica said, “These men have turned the world upside down!”

I believe the gospel still has the power to turn the world upside down! And just as the Father sent his Son, Jesus, so Jesus sends us. And what does he tell us to do? Make disciples of all nations, starting right here, right where you live!

When we help people to trust and follow Jesus, we are making disciples.

This is the kind of focused vision that will help our churches grow and become all that God wants us to be because it’s biblical. We are tired of the show. So let’s love God, love people, and make disciples. Can it really be that simple? I think so.