Is Your Church Healthy?

Most pastors and church leaders would answer this question with an emphatic yes and a few would be honest and perhaps say not so much। So, what about your church? Are you being honest? If we are not willing to take an honest look at our Lord’s precepts and align ourselves up to them and see what is wrong and be willing to correct it, we are not being healthy and may even be betraying Him!

A healthy church is one that is filled with His presence, is motivated to serve Him, and has love for “one another” See Appendix…). In leading a church we must know that it is all about the centrality and supremacy of Christ. A healthy church is not about numbers, programs, services, location, facilities, amenities, conveniences or even theology (as long as it is biblical and hold to the essentials). A healthy church is purposely directed to glorify Christ and Him alone. It is a place where people are growing in Him and allowing His impact to invade their will and desires so the Fruit of the Spirit flows into His Church and His people. This simple idea, “Depend on the Cross,” encapsulates what this means and what God calls us to do. It is all about who Christ is and what He has done for us, and being poured out to Him.

In practice, this means we do not depend on trends or humanistic reasoning or a visionary or charismatic leader; rather, we are collectively depending upon His grace, forgiveness, love, and His empowerment to worship and glorify Christ, as He is our “all in all.” We need to understand and apply the simple point that church is about Christ and our adoration of Him. The healthy church will look like this: people who love and are growing, who are in the process of His redemption, and who are exercising the Fruit and character of our Lord. It is not about what we want, because we will have much more. We will have a healthy church glorifying Him, loving one another, and impacting our communities. Wouldn’t you want to be a part of a church like this? If so, what is stopping you? You are the church, you as a Christian, whether a leader or not, can direct your desires, manage your reasoning, and control your decisions. And as a communally as a church, you along with others set the tone and the direction, whether you are a pastor, a leader, or a volunteer. You can help navigate your church to glorify Him and be healthy. You, by your obedience, prayer and our Lord’s empowerment can turn your church around!

Simply and passionately put, as Scripture proclaims, what a healthy church is, and it is one that is poured out to our Lord। It practices the love of our Lord through worship, teaching, learning, loving, caring, praying, and outreach. It is a church that chooses to be a bag of marbles with different colors and sizes and all working together. Each marble seizing its call and exercising its gift for the love of the game. But, in our case, it is not a game. Rather, it is a very serious matter that is also joyful, reverent and fun. Have you ever tried to play marbles with just one or by yourself? Not much fun, is it? To play your best and enjoy doing it, you need more than one, each with a purpose and direction and with others playing too. In spite of that, a lot of people in churches choose to be the lone marble. Such a church really cannot be used to play any marble games, not because there are too few, but because the marbles just do not get along. Yet, the more marbles you have working together, the better you can play. And the “more” is two or more gathered in His name, people working together for a common purpose with vision and strength, all striving to give God the glory. So do not lose your marbles!

...so, is Your Church Healthy?