2020 Exposed Things I Didn't See Before
When I was in Central Bible College, I played on the basketball team for my first two years. I was never a superstar, by any means, and most of the time, I cheered my team wildly from the bench! But I thoroughly enjoyed being part of those seasons.
My junior and senior years, I chose not to play so that I could concentrate on other leadership opportunities. During that time, I was not as concentrated on fitness. No sprints. No long practices. I was still in shape, but not in top condition.
It was during that time that I, and several other former varsity players, were asked to scrimmage against the J.V. team. I remember walking into the gym with supreme confidence. My former teammates and I were commenting on how we would “wipe the floor” with this lowly J.V. squad.
That’s not what happened! We got exposed!!!
How? We were more talented. We had more experience. We had better shooters and taller players. But the J.V. team had something that we did not. They were in great shape! The first five minutes, we stormed out to a ten point lead, and then we lost our wind. Before long, we were down by twenty. How could that happen?
I want to propose that something similar happened to the church world during 2020. If you had asked me how we were doing, as a whole, prior to last March, I would have had the perception that we were doing quite well. In fact, I think I was a bit over-confident because I could see the outward signs of momentum and success. But during the pandemic, there was so much that was exposed.
1 - TRIBALISM
Maybe the most impacting of all the discoveries is the fact that we are leading during a time of deep tribal separation. Whether this is caused by social media, the news media or a combination of factors, there is a deeply rooted challenge that every pastor and every church now faces. Here’s the jolting reality:
Most of the people that we pastor are firmly entrenched into some type of echo-chamber of news and information. We have a chance to speak into their lives for 30 minutes a weekend. In addition, since most church attendees only attend two or three times a month, we may have 60-90 minutes of their attention compared to 60 hours from other sources like Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Each weekend as I look out at my congregation, I know that there are people sitting next to each other who are tuned into a completely different source of information. One person has a very progressive echo-chamber and sitting right next to them is a person with a very conservative echo-chamber.
Both may be missing good theology and Biblical truth in their worldview but neither knows it. Both sides think that, not only are their convictions right, but when they voice these positions, they are speaking on behalf of the Almighty!
2 - MISALIGNMENT
A few weeks after the pandemic hit, the tribal alignments started to become apparent. For me, it showed up in the frustration of those within my church who could not understand why I, as their pastor, was not lining up with the convictions of their echo-chamber. The voices in their particular echo chambers were telling them something different than how I was leading and called out my position as a lack of courage and an alignment with evil. Soon, those who were deep into their echo-chambers starting to leave the church to find a different church that aligned with the voices they most trusted.
Who knew?
I had no idea that my voice and leadership had become so secondary to these people! Some of them were leaders. Some were close friends. It was shocking. Painful. Confusing. But ultimately, the revelation of this tribalism and the shifting that took place resulted in a healthy pruning. Those that remained were able to be more aligned as we weathered this storm together.
3 - DIVISION
This tribal phenomenon has impacted the body of Christ and almost every local church by revealing the fracture lines, that were always beneath the surface, but were hidden by excellent music, compelling preaching, and good programming. Deep division over politics, views of race, justice, governmental authority and control started to show themselves.
I was talking to a young leader the other day who asked me, “Do you ever think there will be a day when Christians will all be on the same page again? Where we will feel like we are all on the same team?” My answer was this: “I honestly don’t know? Right now, that seems to be completely impossible!”
I know that we are not completely divided. As we start to fully re-emerge into in-person gatherings, I know there are some themes for which we all agree. For instance, the Easter message “Jesus Christ is risen from the dead!”, still brings an “Amen” from all sides of the equation.
But I am keenly aware that some topics will quickly polarize the room. For instance, I made the mistake of posting on my social media about the vaccination. I am not even going to explain what I posted or on which side of the issue, but I will tell you that I got the biggest reaction and caused the largest online argument that I have ever created on my social media profiles. In the same day, one person thanked me for saving lives while another accused me of causing people to die. Wow! Polarization at its best.
4 - SUPERFICIALITY
The next few words that I write are painful to admit. Like a lot of pastors, my focus has been on growth. I had been leading my team to increase attendance, giving, missions involvement, small groups, campuses, and even church plants. All that we have learned about how to lead and grow has been incredible. I don’t regret any of it.
But I have begun to realize we have been missing has been a focus on depth. When I became the Lead Pastor three decades ago, the world was different. People were willing to attend three or even four church events per week. We had plenty of space in our calendars to teach courses, spend extra time in worship and around the altar, hold leadership trainings, and so forth. But as the world grew busier with travel for work, kids’ activities and so many additional life distractions and people began to “vote with their feet”, choosing to attend fewer and fewer events, we started to pull back and offer less. We streamlined our services on the weekends even more. What has been the result?
Biblical Illiteracy: Many people who attend church do not have a solid grasp of the Scriptures. Theology is weak. When the storms of life hit (pandemic, political fighting, racial divisions), the foundation for so many believers was lacking. We witnessed the fulfillment of 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
Cultural Christianity: Another thing that was exposed in this season was the number of believers who are more attached to the values of their own tribe than they are to Christ. 2 Timothy 3:5 says, “…they have a form of godliness but deny it’s power.” Many know how to sing the songs, raise their hands, participate in the programs, and give in the offering but their allegiance is to something other than to Christ. Politics. Race. America. Peer Pressure. So many various things have pushed their way to the top of the list.
Leadership Disunity & Immaturity: As the leaders go, so goes the church. If the leaders are mature, the people will be growing. If the leaders are of one mind and one heart, the people will feel safe and connected. It doesn’t seem like enough was being done to train, envision, and oversee those who lead.
Before I move on from this point, I think it needs to be said that no one intended for these things to happen, it just happened. The busy pace of life. The focus on growth and outward success. The tribalism that developed. The hesitance to put too much demand on volunteer leaders who have jobs, and families, and other challenges in life. All of these things, and probably many other factors, have brought us to this point.
5 - DYSFUNCTION
All of the issues that were exposed in the past thirteen months have left the church feeling a bit out of shape. The devil hit us on so many levels and the strategy worked. We are weak. We lack theological depth. We are misaligned with the priorities of Christ. We are divided. Many have spoken and acted in ways that do not reflect well on Christ.
I have selected the word “dysfunction” on purpose. Dysfunction is when something stops working like it was designed to work. What happens when you get exposed? You can shut your eyes to the problems and choose to just power through as if nothing is wrong. You can lean into your tribe and tune out anything that does not align with your echo-chamber. You can blame those who disagree with you, and assume no responsibility for the problem that was created or the change that is needed.
Or we can all take an assessment of the way things are and start to work to adjust, improve, grow, and love. This post is the first in what will be a series of posts where I attempt to outline some of the steps we are preparing to take to overcome the tribalism, misalignment, division, superficiality, and dysfunction and to begin to disciple and train for the next season of revival that is ahead of us.
I believe that what has been exposed, if dealt with effectively, can lead us into the greatest season of ministry that we have ever known!