Gilbert Bilezikian offers insights into why the church in America is moving so slowly and why mega churches are having little impact on our culture. Here are a few of his thoughts:
The church is "denatured" through...individualism
“But the church in the West is being overtaken by individualism, which entails increased material pursuits, so you can afford to be self-sufficient. Strong anti-community forces are at work. Family life is practically non-existent as we are pulled away in different directions.”
The church is "denatured" through...embracing the values of culture
“The bane of the church is that it becomes worldly. Instead of imparting the Word and becoming an agent of change, it adopts the values of the world and integrates them into its structures and life."
The church is "denatured" through...an over reliance on corporate tactics
“The biggest problem is the definition of its leadership structures. There are very clear directives in the New Testament for how the church is to be constituted, on the basis of community, which implies congregational participation, consensual decision-making, accountability of leaders to the congregation. Leadership should not be directive but developmental.”
However, Mr. Bilezikian says the church has discarded these directives and replaced them with worldly models of leadership, such as those found in corporate business. So we find the pastor as CEO. “We even adopt the language, for example, calling them senior pastors. Where does that come from?”
He says today’s highly hierarchical models of leadership smack of government, military or political administrations and they result in the Church becoming institutionalized.
“Instead of being a movement, it becomes an establishment. This is not new, of course - it started when the Roman Emperor Constantine established Christianity as the state religion.”
How are you working to keep your church from being denatured?
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