Carnality resists it, but God demands change. Obsolesce is unnatural, so contrary to the nature of God and that of humanity. God created us to progress, to grow, and to transform; and yet, our carnality resists God's design with a fierce determination to make us obsolete. Perhaps this is why I have always enjoyed the more whimsical translation of First Corinthians 15:51 first triggered in me by a sign hanging in a church nursery. I think it's placement by a person who knew the challenges of carry for babies and who had a sense of humor. The verse states, “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.”
Why is it that urban churches resist change? Change means the church is a living organism; churches are either changing or dying, and even death is a process of change. God created humankind to change, to be renewed, and to become more like Him, so there is no wonder that our old nature resists change. The new person believers become in Christ seeks and requires a change. God tells us that we are to experience the renewing of our minds on our way to becoming “new” creatures; this involves a change. The church must reflect the change God performs within each believer. At best, dying churches reflects a disobedient membership and at worst a spiritually dead membership.
Sometimes the more humane thing to do with a terminally ill animal is to “put it out of its misery.” Therefore, if you are among the disobedient or dead within a dying congregation, you may be searching for some ways to go ahead and put the church out of its misery. For those churches that do not like change and resists regeneration, it seems proper to give some ideas on how to become obsolete quicker so the wayward church can die faster. Understand that it is hard work to kill a church. To kill a church you have to resist the love and power of God and then partnership with Satan to destroy a part of the bride of Christ.
First, the dying church must firmly resist God’s living breathing power within its members. No matter how much God wants the membership to become like Him, you must resist. This will require you not to accept Scripture as authoritative. It will require you to withdraw from fellowship from other churches within the faith community; after all, Satan does not want you to work with other churches and denominations to reach our cities for Christ.
Second, the dying church must develop a mental resistance to adaptation needed for change. Fight against all new ideas. If you have never done it that way before, be determined not to do it. Members must resist learning new songs of praise and adoration, new musical instrumentation, and new worship formats. Furthermore, the church must stop being a church of prayer. The urban church cannot resist change if it is strong in the Word of God and open-minded in the worship of God.
Third, the dying church must develop an unwillingness to grow and develop. Learn to look backwards, relive the glory years, and talk about the “good ole days.” Carnality longs for the comfortable and the familiar. The church is to be a change agent. Jesus wants His bride to be creative, beautiful, and alive. Have you ever watched a young bride? She may be scared at the thought of leaving all the comforts of her parents and beginning a new life with her husband, but she is also excited about the possibility of this new life on which she is embarking. The church should have this same attitude.
Fourth, the dying church must resist being incarnational. God chose to put on human flesh and live among humanity; God chose to interact with humanity. Dying churches become isolationists that are uninvolved in society. Dying churches give no thought to winning the community to Jesus or ministering to their community. Dying churches are too wrapped up in their own survival to grow. Dying churches are rude and crass in dealing with the less fortunate and do not represent the love and forgiveness of Jesus, for when a church is in survival mood the disenfranchised are seen as a drain on the church’s limited revenue.
Are you a part of an urban church that is dying for the lack of change? Any one of these four steps will move your church toward obsolesce and the more steps you follow the quicker you can obtain death.
If you and a true believer in a personal relationship with Jesus and believe that you are in a dying church, you must act quickly. First, repent and recommit yourself to Jesus Christ and make certain you are in a personal relationship with Him. Ask Jesus to show you everything in your life that hinders Him from maturing you and growing the church, and then ask Jesus to change you. Second, embrace God's living breathing power and encourage others to do it too. Make sure your spend time daily in personal worship, Bible study, and prayer. Third, be open to trying new methods in worship, Bible study, and church events. Fourth, look forward to and develop a willingness to grow, personally and congregationally. Make certain you embrace quality. You do not have to have an order of service, but if you do, it must show quality. Fifth, be incarnational; make a decision to live among the people you are trying to reach. God came to earth and lived among humanity. We have to be willing to live among people who need Jesus.
Urban churches do not have to die. If the pastor and church leadership remain open to God's transformation, the church can live and thrive!
