The contemporary church continues to evolve. It looks to the public for relevance because it has come to believe that it is key to its survival. Unless the church is relevant, people will not attend. If people do not attend, it will cease to exist. So it continues to change and evolve in an effort to grow and exist.
The contemporary church has come to believe that people are looking for social fulfillment. Consequently, churches race to develop the best programs and facilities to create a social club environment. When they do this, they often see a brief increase in interest and attendance, but eventually flattens and contributions once again fall off as the public’s interest fades. Why?
People are looking for substance. They often attend new churches (or newly remodeled), attend special programs and other social events, looking for this. Church leaders see this as their answer to what people want. But this is NOT what people are seeking. They want God and the true Church that exists in His Spirit.
Each time a church promotes a new event, they are crying, “Wolf!” People get excited and hopeful, so they come to see if perhaps this church is for real. But, just as quickly, their hopes are shattered when they see that it is still the same old social club, just repackaged.
People are weary of churches crying wolf. Their marketing strategies and campaigns are nothing more then deceptive advertising. They promise substance but deliver structure, they advertise God but provide a social club, and in the end, they will fade into obscurity while the true Church, born of God’s Spirit, unseen and unimpeded by men, continues on.
In many ways, the contemporary church has become the cheap “generic” alternative. It’s a replacement for God. It continuously builds new buildings and improves the old ones. It gets new speakers, tries new programs, changes its music, and holds special classes. It claims to have what people want, but when the veil of form falls away and the counterfeit is exposed, it turns to other gimmicks. It is structure without substance. It’s the vanity of men instead of the reality of God’s Spirit.
People have an innate need for God. It eats away at their soul until they turn to Him. People want God. He is all that can fill their hearts, fill their need. They are tired of churches claiming to be something they are not. They are tired of going to church believing they will find substance just to find that they were scammed again. When will the contemporary church learn that there are only so many promises you can break before people just stop believing, stop coming, and stop trying? When will the church stop crying wolf?
