WHY THE CHURCH IS FAILING TO IMPACT ITS CULTURE

Why The “Church” Is Failing To Impact Its Culture

I want to be brief so that the implications of why the “church” is failing to impact its culture can be disseminated properly.  It is without question that the IC (Institutional Church) is failing in its God-given purpose … that purpose being to equip our converts to become mature disciples/saints of Jesus Christ.

The question then is … why is the IC failing so badly? 

The question is rather simple, but at the same time, very difficult for those caught in the throes of regurgitated Christianity to perceive … much less understand. 

The church is failing to impact its culture because the church is spiritually and physically obese.  Over 75% of our church leaders (that’s what we call them) are obese physically … and I believe this is true because the root issue is that they are obese spiritually.  Let me explain.  Also … over 68% of professing believers are also obese.

The Bible says we are to glorify God in our BODIES and in our SPIRITS because they are His and we have been bought with a price … that price was the blood of Jesus Christ.  Failure to understand the significance of that passage leads to spiritual obesity, gout, and debility.

One becomes spiritually obese by taking in more spiritual nutrition than they are exerting.  The symbolic meaning of this is found in the Bible when it compares spiritual health to running, or physical health:

1Co 9:24  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one (some of the many who are running) receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

1Co 9:25  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

1Co 9:26  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

1Co 9:27  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

There are many “keys” to this passage that relate spiritual health to physical health.  The 1^st … we all (believers) run in a race (the race of life), but only some of the many who are running will receive the appointed prize at the judgment seat of Christ

…the others will be found naked and ashamed … primarily because of their spiritual obesity.

2^nd … We are to run to obtain the prize given at the judgment seat of Christ.  There are five to be awarded, and they are available to all believers; however, only some will obtain these prizes … why?  Primarily, we are failing because of our spiritual obesity. 

Also of note … the five crowns every believer can obtain define our purpose on this earth.

3^rd … A believer that strives (disciplines himself in all things) for the mastery is temperate in ALL THINGS (yep … that includes physical and spiritual things. 

What does this mean:  it means that over 75% of our spiritual leaders are not striving for the mastery as should a healthy follower of Christ.  The question then becomes: why should we listen to what they say about the invisible spiritual warfare when they can’t even take a simple fork out of their mouths.

4^th … A believer is to run with certainty as they bring their bodies under subjection.  That means we tell our bodies what to do and not the other way around.

If we can’t bring our bodies under subjection, the Bible says we have become a castaway.

Castaway in the Greek is:

ἀδόκιμος

adokimos / ad-ok'-ee-mos

 (as a negative particle) unapproved, that is, rejected; by implication worthless (literally or morally): - castaway, rejected, reprobate.

Did you get that?  Do you understand that?  Is it sinking in yet?  If we don’t temper ourselves spiritually and physically the Bible says we are unapproved, rejected and worthless as it comes to fulfilling our purpose on this earth. 

I trust you are beginning to understand why the IC is failing to impact its culture.  The truth is simple, yet powerful.

Spiritual and physical obesity is destroying the ability for the church to impact its culture.  The attributes of physical obesity are easy to discern; however, the attributes of spiritual obesity are more sinister, hidden and diabolical.  I will address the reasons for spiritual obesity now.  Remember … one should not take IN more spiritual nutrition than they have the ability to “work off” in actual MINISTRY. 

To take IN more spiritual nutrition than one can “work off” in ministry will lead to spiritual obesity; this is unhealthy!

Ways people TAKE IN spiritual nutrition weekly (this list is not exhaustive):

Preaching (Sunday AM, Sunday School, Sunday PM, Wednesday Night, TV preaching, Radio Preaching, Preaching on tapes, Preaching on web, Daily Devotions, etc.

That is quite a bit of spiritual nutrition, and if not careful, one can become very fat and unhealthy spiritually if they don’t have a weekly outlet for this much spiritual food.

I know for a fact that it will take my listeners a good week to digest all the practical and relevant information that I give them in a 30 minute Bible Talk … and what good is teaching them when they aren’t able to digest and use the information properly.  As we have witnessed in our culture … it does very little good!

Ways people are “digesting” the information they are receiving:

They teach a Sunday School class, they show up for weekly visitation, they show up for a work day, they sing in the choir, they are an usher, they put money in the offering, they sing in the worship service, they pass out a track.

Well … while these are commendable things to do … an unsaved person can do all the above.  It is important to understand that spiritual nutrition is “exercised” off by partaking in actual ministry.  Ministry is sharing the Word of God with another.  And the amount of “exercise” needs to be balanced with a proper spiritual “nutritional” intake or we will slowly but surely become an unhealthy believer.

In closing … I believe the church is failing to impact its culture, primarily, because its people are failing to exercise off what they are taking in spiritually on a weekly basis. 

We see all the “things” we are doing and don’t realize we are stuffing ourselves with spiritual food and not exercising enough in actual ministry that is impacting lives where we live, work and play with the gospel in a powerful way!

I am not “calling out” the IC while not having, what I believe to be, a practical remedy for our failure.  I am beginning a ministry called RU F.I.T. Ministries.  The F.I.T means: F-aith I-nfluencing T-oday where you live, work, and play with the gospel in a powerful way.  The ministry can be diverse enough for any setting and any age group; it also has specific spiritually equipping tools which I call “Running Tips.”  Each Running Tip is designed to give you the tools to impact your culture purposefully and powerfully!

Check us out today at: www.rufitministries.weebly.com and schedule a meeting.  You’ll be glad you did.  Watch our 2 minute videos that explain each “Running Tip.”

Live F.I.T!

Mark Harrell – Habakkuk 2:2

10 O'clock Live @ Graceway

10 O’Clock Live Outreach/Inreach @ Graceway

 

Begin 10’Oclock live for a 6 week attendance campaign – Nascar Theme

We don’t want this to become something we “just do” … so … other than bi-yearly attendance campaigns we will have our service either ..

àOnce a month @ 10’Oclock and have a picnic (potluck) dinner after the 11am gathering

1.  Youth Garage will be open to all…

2.  We will have picnic tables set upon porch for fellowship/games, etc

3.  Children’s movie will be playing in auditorium with popcorn

4.  Coffee Shoppe will be open and either a concert or mini video Bible study will be playing on multi-media screen. 

5.  This time can be used for discipleship, prayer walks, etc…

6.  Use this time to begin, build, and strengthen relationships!

àBi-monthly @ 10’Oclock and have a picnic (potluck) dinner after the 11am gathering

What will this do …

1.  It will be an opportunity for you to invite friends, at least, once every month to join us at Graceway for fun, food, and fellowship.

2. We will not become inoculated to the 10’Oclock time … it will remain exciting and vibrant and become an excellent marketing tool for attracting the saved and unsaved to Graceway

We will vote on once a month or bi-monthly so that we will all get involved with inviting our friends, relatives, associations, and neighbors (FRAN Method) to Graceway … especially when we have our 10 O’clock Live gatherings.

Let’s make 2017 Amazing!!!!!
Pastor Mark - Habakkuk 2:2

Why I Feel An Affinity With Trump

-Why I Feel A Kinship To Trump-

As I have been watching this highly unique political season unfold, I have been attempting to put my finger on the reason I feel a type of kinship with Trump.  I realize he is brash, uses language I would not use, has a multi-faceted past, is on this 3^rd marriage, probably is not a believer (although nobody knows that for sure but him and God) and is not a traditional conservative … although he is a populist and nationalist, and as such, I believe truly loves America.

But that is not why I feel a kinship to this man.  But before you can understand the kinship connection, I will need to walk you through a brief history of my history … I will keep it brief.

                               Back-story:  A Brief History

I grew up in a conservative, very conservative, branch of Christianity.  I was a part of a leading evangelical church/school from 1^st grade until high school graduation in 1983.  During those years, I was never purposefully discipled.  I was a leader in the youth group … led my first soul to Christ when I was in the 9^th grade as a counselor at a Jr. High youth camp … was a section leader in the Churches high school leadership program … was involved in puppet ministry, missions trips, etc.  However, I was never purposefully discipled.  I never had someone approach me (as a true discipler should) and say,

“Mark, I would like to walk you through the first 4 stages of spiritual growth (which is the foundation of successful discipleship) so that you can build upon that foundation as you continue to grow in grace.  Mark, the next 3 steps will be your choice, but we will walk beside you every step of the way.”


The first four stages of spiritual growth (discipleship) are:  a babe, a little child, a child, a young man.  All of these stages are in the Bible, have characteristics and match up nicely  with the physical stages of growth (Romans 1 explains why this is true).


At that I should have asked, “What are the following 3 stages of spiritual growth?”


At that the equipped discipler would say (because he has gone through the growth process himself),


“The next 3 stages, in a nutshell, are:  a father (bringing a son of God into this world), an elder (you can now become a spiritual leader of others), and an aged person (you know have a world vision).  Satan will attack you at this  point, but we will be there as you continue to build on your foundation.”

I was never offered authentic Biblical discipleship … I guess I was just supposed to “get it” at some point and then get the mysterious “call” to the ministry, go to Bible College and continue the journey hoping I would “get it.”  Even at Bible College I was never offered Biblical Discipleship … they just crammed book stuff down my throat and continued to hope I would get it.  I then worked for 4 different leading churches in the evangelical movement and again … nobody ever offered Biblical discipleship to me; even though a discipled person would have known I was not Biblically discipled to that point. 

 

But … I knew something was missing in my spiritual journey, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.  Being successful in building a youth group and overseeing the entire Sunday School ministry I thought what I needed was to answer the “call” to start a church.  I began the process of getting all my ducks in a row and went to the NC/SC Fellowship meeting to approach the leadership about starting a church in NC.  At the meeting I meet with 6 of the top leadership of the NC/SC Fellowship and all they asked me was how old I was, and then said, “You look like you’re ready; we will support you at $250 a month for one year.”

Well, I wasn’t ready … but … nobody in that room knew that.  That, in itself, was very telling (not then, but now).  It is telling as to how blind our conservative evangelical leadership is to the Biblical principle of authentic discipleship, or, the command to make disciples of all people groups.  Somebody in that room should have asked me to, at least, define the church, and reveal my plans of building a church.  If they would have done that things would have been different.  But they didn’t know the importance of that or they would have asked.  They did not.

So, I began my journey to do what it was I believed God wanted me to do (no thanks to conservative spiritual leadership).  In fact, not a single one of the leader’s churches in that room even encouraged me in any way one single time during the first year (no phone call, no letter, no nothing).  I did have a high school friend of mine ask me to preach at his church, and in so doing, was able to give me $500.  And at the beginning of my journey I was sent $2000 by a pastor to help get us started.  But that is not what I needed.  What I needed was a leader who understood I wasn’t ready to do what it  was I was beginning to do … but … nobody in the leading conservative churches I met with, or knew, knew I wasn’t ready.  That is a core reason of why I do what I do today.  I don’t want others to have to, unnecessarily, experience what my family and I had to endure because of spiritual leaders that didn’t understand spiritual leadership.

In 1996 a husband and wife couple loved me enough to expose our lack of discipleship (because they knew what that looked like) and provide us a sure foundation, which helped us build thereupon properly.  I thank God for Ken and Karin … they were the first (and only) couple in my life that loved us enough to break us down so they could build us up.  I am so thankful we submitted to that breaking … for without that breaking our building could not have happened.

I have recently begun a ministry called RU FIT Ministries (www.rufitministries.weebly.com) in an effort to lovingly expose the failures of many, I believe most, evangelical churches as to how to produce an authentic disciple.  It comes from my almost 40 year journey through evangelical circles of leadership. 

My Kinship/Affinity With Trump

My empathy with Trump coalesces around the similarity of our passions to fix what is broken.  As I clearly see what is broken in the evangelical branch of Christianity, Trump, through his life experiences, sees what is broken in the political arena.  In that way I feel a kinship with Trump.  Trump is not a traditional conservative … he is a nationalist and a populist, and as such, I believe he loves America and her people.  He, in a post Christian America, is our best chance to slow down progressive liberalism and bring a fractured people back together.

What I would love to see is a person like Cruz (who claims to be a Christian, and probably is) become Trump’s Vice President … build a relationship with Trump … lead him to Christ and help a good man become a great man.  If Cruz could mend his relationship with Trump, he could lead him to Christ … maybe even disciple him (I’d love to be part of that process) and watch a life transform in front of the whole nation and world.  Then Trump could learn from Cruz and Cruz could learn from Trump.  Trump would be in office for eight years and then follow that eight with another eight … that would be 16 years of positive leadership.

 
Now … would that not be an amazing story!  But it won’t happen if Christians continue behaving the way they are behaving inside and outside the auspices of the local assembly of believers.
RU FIT!
Mark Harrell - Founder and President of RU FIT Ministries

www.rufitministries.weebly.com

Habakkuk 2:2