Ten Great Challenges Facing the Church

While many are thinking about
what resolutions they wish to make
for the New Year, Christians find
themselves facing many difficult
challenges as they face the upcoming
year. Many challenges exist for the
Christian church. However, one will
find that the following challenges
rank among the most important as the
church enters its 1,984 year of
existence. The following is a top-10
list of challenges that this writer sees
as the most pressing issues facing the
church in 2014. The reader may find
other issues to add to this list. Feel
free to add any additional challenges
and how the church can meet those
challenges in the comment box.
10. Apathy
The tenth challenge according to this
writer that the church faces in 2014 is
the challenge of apathy. Apathy is
defined as, “lack of interest or
concern” (Merriam-Webster
Dictionary). When it comes to issues
of God, there are a growing number
of individuals that have become
apathetic. There is even a term for
this called “apatheism.” Apatheists
are just disinterested in issues
pertaining to God. How does one
reach such individuals? William Lane
Craig suggests that the Christian
defender shows the apatheist the
importance of such issues. As Craig
states, “…’IF Christianity were true,
what consequences would it have
for your life? What difference
would it make?’ I think that if
Christianity is true, then it is
hugely relevant to our lives” (Craig
2013, 56). Craig also suggests, “I
strongly suspect that the self-styled
apatheist is usually just a lazy
atheist” (Craig 2013, 58). I would
agree.
However, more troubling is the
apparent apathy that exists among
many Christians today. It appears that
many church-goers have become
apathetic when it comes to doctrinal
truth. Others had rather “go with the
flow” or simply do not care to know
the truths of Scripture. This really
came alive to this writer with issues
concerning the theology of popular
televised teachers. This is especially
troubling when considering that cults
have risen out of popular teachers
who are opaque and require blind
faith. This is something that must be
confronted by biblical teachers and
preachers.
9. New Age Infiltration
A growing influence upon the church
is that of New Age doctrine. Dan
Story defines the New Age movement
as,
Actually, the New Age movement
is not new. It is simply the
resurgence of ancient occultic
practices mixed with Eastern
pantheism (in particular,
Hinduism) in a recipe tailored
specifically to feed the spiritual
hunger of Western secularized
man. The New Age movement is
secular humanism with a cosmic
ingredient. It maintains the
humanist motto that “man is the
measure of all things” and the
humanist goals of global peace,
prosperity, and unity, but, to make
humanism more spiritually
palatable, it sugars it with ‘God’
(Story 1997, 189).
One does not need to look far to find
New Age infiltration. Powerful
entertainment icons such as Oprah
Winfrey and elevated teachers such
as Deepak Chopra promote New Age
ideology. A case could be made that
such an effort seeks to promote a
one-world religion.
To combat this infiltration, it is not
necessary for one to become obsessed
in ultra-legalism and conspiracy
theories, which in this writer’s
opinion can become dangerous as it
could lead to unnecessary paranoia.
Simply getting back to the basics of
truth and doctrine will help one stay
within the boundaries of biblical
teaching. But this requires work.
Quite frankly, many a modern
Christian has become lazy and
disinterested in biblical truth (as
addressed in the section speaking on
“apathy”).
8. Changing Ministerial
Demands
I read somewhere that even newly
established churches begin to adhere
to church traditions after about 20
years. The problem is that ministerial
demands change with the times. The
message of the gospel never changes,
but the methodologies used to reach
individuals for Christ must change. At
a recent Baptist associational
meeting, it was projected that half
the churches in the particular
association was not expected to be
operating in 20 to 50 years. Why? It
was due to the fact that churches are
not equipping themselves to meet the
needs of current and future
generations. Certain statistics show
that an average of 75 churches closes
their doors each week. Thom Rainer
said at the beginning of the year, “I
wouldn’t be surprised, however, if
the numbers reach the 8,000 to
10,000 level” (Rainer, “13 Issues for
Churches in 2013”). There are many
issues involved in this problem. One,
the society has become so fast-paced
that one set time on Sundays and
Wednesdays does not always meet
everyone’s needs. It could be that
alternative services need to be held.
Also, online communities are
imperative in this technical day and
age. Two, many churches tend to
zealously hold to unnecessary
traditions. Bluegrass gospel is a
beautiful form of music. However, it
may not be the best thing to employ
if you are trying to reach urban
youths. Three, there are issues with
the lack of apologetic training in
leaders. This, however, will be dealt
with in more detail later.
7. Youth Exodus
Recent studies have shown that 75%
of young adults leave the church
when they leave for college. A
substantial number of these young
adults do not return. This has been
labeled by some as the Youth Exodus.
Could it be that these young adults
are unprepared for the onslaught of
anti-Christian attacks from secular
humanism? Or could it be that the
young adults are caught up in the
fast-paced nature of society? It could
be that they are simply “sowing their
wild oats” as some call it. Whatever
the case, the church must seek to
minister to these young adults by
providing them with the ability to ask
questions and search the deep truths
of the faith. Churches near
educational institutions have
especially a good chance to minister
to collegiate adults.
6. Anti-Intellectualism
Anti-intellectualism is a rejection of
higher learning and/or a rejection of
learning deeper truths concerning the
Bible. Fields that are rejected
sometimes include the learning of
biblical languages, systematic
theology, apologetics, philosophy,
biblical historical studies, and
scientific fields. According to the anti-
intellectual logic, one must only read
the Bible, particularly a certain
translation, to understand the Bible.
The problem is that in order to
properly conduct biblical exegesis,
one needs to understand the history
and languages of the text. This
movement probably came about
because of the liberal movement that
influenced many seminaries and
universities in the early 1900s. One
older church member explained years
ago, “I have seen good men leave to
go to college or seminary, and then
come back teaching garbage.” The
liberal movement in some colleges
and seminaries created distrust
among many in rural areas. In Baptist
life, there arose two systems of
tradition: the Charlestonian tradition
(highly educated clergy and more
liturgical) and the Sandy Creek
tradition (less educated clergy and
more emotionally driven). This, along
with the Revised Standard Version’s
break with tradition in translating
the Hebrew word “almah” as “young
woman” instead of “virgin” in Isaiah
7:14, probably helped stir the King
James Only controversy that still
affects some rural areas today.
More serious is the lack of ability for
the anti-intellectual to answer the
challenges of the skeptic. Worse yet,
some educational institutions educate
their students to become non-
intellectuals…particularly in
unaccredited church colleges.
Educating to be uneducated…that
would seem to be a self-defeating
principle. This is even more serious
when one understands this writer’s
predicament. I left the ministry for
seven years due to doubt. When I
asked church leaders, some who
were anti-intellectual, on how to
answer the challenges of the Jesus
Seminar (a seminar that charged that
the words of Jesus in the New
Testament were inauthentic), I
received the following answer, “The
Bible is the Word of God because it
says so.” That answer not only did
not help me resolve the issues that
were being faced; it propelled me to a
level of doubt that led me out of the
ministry. It was by the Spirit of God
leading me to the works of Josh
McDowell, Lee Strobel, William Lane
Craig, Gary Habermas, and a host of
others that my faith was
strengthened, and my love for
theology and apologetics blossomed.
The church must meet the intellectual
needs of its congregants.
5. Syncretism
Syncretism is the blending of multiple
religious thoughts together. This
stands opposed to tolerance.
Tolerance is defined as, “the
allowable deviation from a standard
especially : the range of variation
permitted in maintaining a specified
dimension in machining a
piece” (Merriam-Webster). By
definition, tolerance allows for
differences in opinion. To be tolerant
does NOT indicate that one agrees
with the conclusions of another. It
does indicate that one can (to use
cliché) “agree to disagree.” Tolerance
is promoted by this writer and this
website. However, it is something
entirely different when individuals
seek to combine differing opinions to
create a non-exclusive thought
pattern. It is not feasible. In the end,
these attempts are performed by
individuals who show no real passion
for truth and a passion to keep from
offending. We should not seek to
offend anyone. Don’t miss the point.
However, every person has the
responsibility to seek the truth and
discover it for him or herself. As
David said,
“And you, my son Solomon,
acknowledge the God of your
father, and serve him with
wholehearted devotion and with a
willing mind, for the Lord searches
every heart and understands every
desire and every thought. If you
seek him, he will be found by you;
but if you forsake him, he will
reject you forever” (1 Chronicles
28:9, NIV).
God reveals His truth and the person
responds likewise. However, when
we find the truth, it is irresponsible
to think that the truth is not the
truth. If the truth is not the truth,
then it was never true. We should
respect individuals of different
perspectives. Actually, it shows a lack
of trained understanding of one’s
own perspective when conversations
denigrate into shouting or violent
spells. The church must stand
steadfast to its convictions while
loving others of different
perspectives. It is imperative that the
church gets this right.
4. Lack of Trained,
Empowered, Apologetic Leaders
Recently a friend of mine on social
media asked for prayer. He said that
a local pastor had been bombarded
with a verbal assault by an atheist.
The pastor did not have anything to
offer except, “You have to believe in
the Bible and in the Lord Jesus
Christ.” He was unable to offer why
one must believe in the Bible and in
the Lord Jesus Christ. The atheist said
that he was coming back with some
friends. The pastor said, “Okay, I’ll
have a trained apologist here with me
(my friend) when you come back.”
The atheist did not return. This
showed me something that I have
already been convicted of in past
days. We must have more trained
leaders IN THE CHURCH!!! Perhaps it
is due to the anti-intellectual
movement among some in the
church, but there seems to be a
disconnect between apologetics and
church ministry. THIS MUST
CHANGE!!! Apologetics is the new
form of evangelism and church
leaders must be trained to handle the
problems brought forth by earnest
seekers. Remember, Peter said,
“But even if you should suffer for
the sake of righteousness, you are
blessed. And do not fear their
intimidation, and do not be
troubled, but sanctify Christ as
Lord in your hearts, always being
ready to make a defense to
everyone who asks you to give an
account for the hope that is in you,
yet with gentleness and reverence;
and keep a good conscience so that
in the thing in which you are
slandered, those who revile your
good behavior in Christ will be put
to shame (1 Peter 3:14-16, NASB).
For the church to minister to a
growingly secular community, the
leaders must be able to provide such
a defense for their faith as Peter
states. Gone are the days where one
could simply say, “You know you
need to be in church” or “You know
you need to come to God.” There may
be a desire to know God within the
person, but whose God are they
seeking? Why should they be in
church? Why should they trust the
Bible? These are issues that pastors,
youth leaders, and the like must
address.
3. Issues of Marriage
The issue of marriage has become a
“hot-button” topic in recent days.
Marriage is being re-defined by
organizations like the LGBT and
GLAAD organizations. However, the
issue of homosexual marriage is not
the only issue where marriage is
being redefined. If same-sex
marriages are allowed, the next issue
on the books will most likely be that
of polygamy and polyamory.
Polygamy is where one person has
multiple wives or husbands.
Polyamory is defined as multiple
lovers within or without a marriage
connection. My question is this:
where does it end? The church must
define the biblical roots of marriage
and where it stands on these issues.
The church must ask such questions
as: What is marriage? Why is there a
marriage covenant? What is this
church going to recognize as
marriage? Regardless of whether you
like it or not, your church is going to
deal with this issue sooner or later.
Ministers must also decide what
constitutes a biblical marriage. Some
ministers have even noted that their
days of marrying anyone may come
to an end (this writer included,
although I have not settled my
intentions completely). In a land
where bakers are being sued for not
obliging certain forms of marriage,
ministers must ask themselves what
they will do if they are approached
by a couple desiring to marry and the
couple is in a relationship that the
minister cannot approve. One thing
can be agreed upon by everyone in
ministry; it is far more complicated to
be a minister in our modern times.
However, on the flip side, Christians
need to watch how they address
these issues. The worst thing that can
happen is for the Christian to make a
homosexual person an enemy. Too
many times, Christians have
hammered on the issue of marriage
so much that gay and lesbian
individuals have committed suicide
and have felt like outcasts. Let us not
forget that we are called to love each
other, especially those whom we
have differences. Remember the
words of Jesus, “You have heard that
it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and
hate your enemy.’ But I tell you,
love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, that you
may be children of your Father in
heaven” (Matthew 5:43-45a, NIV).
This is not to say that homosexuals
are Christian enemies. This is to say
that the Christian must not make an
individual his or her enemy. We
stand against principles and
principalities…not people.
(Note: an example of an organization
that supports polygamy and
polyamory can be seen in the
Unitarian Universalists for Polyamory
Awareness. According to their
website, Harlan White delivered the
first sermon advocating polyamory on
Sunday, July 10, 1994 at the First
Unitarian Church of Honolulu. For
more information, see their website
at: http://uupa.org/index.)
2. Religious Freedom
In the United States and across the
world, the church has dealt with
increasing restrictions placed upon its
religious freedom. The United States
of America was built upon the
principle of religious freedom.
However, those freedoms are being
impeded by secular organizations like
the Freedom from Religion
Foundation and the American Civil
Liberties Union. Christian
businessmen and women like Elaine
Huguenin of Elane Photography in
New Mexico and Jake Philips, a baker
from Colorado, have been sued and,
in Philips’ case, could face jail time
for exercising their freedom of
religious expression. (For more
information concerning the Philips’
case, see http://
christiannews.net/2013/07/12/
attorney-for-colorado-christian-
baker-jail-time-possible-for-denying-
wedding-cake-to-homosexuals/, and
http://www.christian.org.uk/news/
us-baker-faces-jail-over-gay-
wedding-cake-refusal/. The church
has survived times of religious
restriction. Consider that Christianity
was not an officially recognized
religion of Rome until the 300s. The
church began with the ministry,
death, and resurrection of Jesus circa
30AD. Someone once said, “We’d
better proclaim the gospel message
while it’s still legal.” But, my question
is, will the true Christian keep
proclaiming the message even when
it’s not?
1. Religious Persecution
Lastly, the global church must deal
with persecution. The second problem
leads into the first. The lack of
religious freedom almost always leads
towards religious persecution. In
Kenya, 59 Christians were
slaughtered in a shopping mall. In
Egypt, Coptic Christians have suffered
some of the worst times of
persecution since the 1300s. In Syria,
Christians have been killed in
numbers, many by being beheaded.
One cannot forget Saeed Abidini an
American Arab pastor who is
imprisoned for his faith in Iran. In
Iraq, churches have been bombed.
These are not distant individuals.
They are our brothers and sisters in
the faith. Yet, many American
churches remain silent as these
atrocities occur. We should…and in
fact must…lift up one another in
prayer. As Kirsten Powers writes,
“Lela Gilbert is the author
of Saturday People, Sunday
People, which details the
expulsion of 850,000 Jews who
fled or were forced to leave
Muslim countries in the mid-20th
century. The title of her
book comes from an Islamist
slogan, “First the Saturday People,
then the Sunday People,” which
means “first we kill the Jews, then
we kill the Christians.”
Gilbert wrote recently that her
Jewish friends and neighbors in
Israel “are shocked but not
entirely surprised” by the attacks
on Christians in the Middle East.
“They are rather puzzled, however,
by what appears to be a lack of
anxiety, action, or advocacy on the
part of Western Christians.”
As they should be. It is
inexplicable. American Christians
are quite able to organize around
issues that concern them. Yet
religious persecution appears not
to have grabbed their attention,
despite worldwide media coverage
of the atrocities against Christians
and other religious minorities in
the Middle East” (Powers 2013).
Again, may I remind Christians
worldwide…we are ALL brothers and
sisters in Christ Jesus. We will all go
to the same heaven. We must pray
for our afflicted siblings in Christ. It
may one day be us. As this website
has reached the world, I want to
remind our brothers and sisters that
you are not forgotten. May I remind
American Christians that we need to
wise up. Christian persecution is a
serious thing. All the disciples, save
the apostle John, died as martyrs. If it
affects a Christian brother or sister, it
affects all of us regardless of his or
her location.
Conclusion
The church faces some daunting
challenges in the year ahead.
However, God will see us through.
For as the apostle Paul writes, “I can
do all this through him who gives
me strength” (Philippians 4:13, NIV).
Let us prayerfully join together and
meet these challenges for the cause
of Christ.
Praying God’s blessings upon you in
the upcoming year,