I have written about home churches before because I think it is the future of the faithful church, given what I consider a failure of the current model developed over the last 75-100 years.

The Apostasy

Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3

Is the apostasy predicted already here? It appears it has begun. In the above verse in the NET, the word apostasion is translated as “rebellion” and means a defection from the truth. The root word can mean “divorce”. While there are many faithful, small, local, bible based congregations still out there, many if not most of the church has departed the faith as defined in scripture. Divorced from the truth.

It reminds me of the unfaithfulness of Israel throughout its history. The paganism that defined the idolatry of Israel, along with all of its associated wicked behaviors, is not far from what we see today. The behaviors we see in our culture are nothing new. It’s not social evolution or even innovation. It’s the same old retreaded lies from the past. As the Bible says, there is nothing new under the sun.

What we see today is ancient tried and true strategies to bring darkness and deception from ancient spirits. These dark forces gladly fill the spiritual vacuum left by a society, a nation, and a church that has turned its back on the Lord Jesus.

Celebrating pagan behaviors masquerading under the rainbow flag, using the terms “diversity” and “inclusion”, embracing the wickedness with joy from the pulpits of large, lifeless churches that have abandoned the scriptures is more common as we can see from the news. Whether it’s the pope blessing and having a public lunch with the wicked or the United Methodists ordaining wicked ministers or some other large denominational religion affirming the wicked or embracing eastern mysticism, church pulpits are becoming platforms of public blasphemy inspired by doctrines of demons, and cheered on by the unregenerate. This is the cultural environment which is infecting the church. It is unfortunately the new normal in which the faithful church must now operate.

Many churches headed towards apostasy must wake up, repent, and return to the truth of God’s Word. True, biblical faith will continue to decline if something doesn’t change.

I believe it will become increasingly difficult to remain faithful to the Bible within the context of the current church model, given the pressure from the culture to conform the message to the madness around us. The culture will laud churches that embrace the wicked and become increasingly hostile to those who stand firm in biblical faith.

Economic Pressure

There are many other challenges as well. One of the primary challenges emerging again is the economy. Financial pressure is increasing on the current church model which is highly dependent on resources to keep going.

The biggest expenses in most churches today are payroll and facility. I’ve seen church budgets before and there is not that much, if any, allocated for the mission.

Imagine how vulnerable churches are with payroll and big budget facility. It all requires significant giving from people who are living the reality of inflation, taxes, and low income. How much more can our nation take with the influx of more poor people, involvement in two major wars, and out of control debt? One day the economy will collapse into a deep recession or even depression. Loss of jobs will mean people will not be able to sustain giving to support the financial needs of an expensive church model which will then also collapse.

This happened before back in the financial crisis that started in 2008. Pastors were laying off staff and taking salary cuts while pleading for more money people didn’t have. The last thing on the agenda was any thought of actually trying to reach people. In the mega church I attended, the pastor whined about a 10% salary cut in front of people who had lost their jobs. Many churches closed their doors for lack of resources to support the endless appetite for cash. Those days are likely coming again.

Economic Control

Technology currently in use in the PRC ties personal ability to spend to social credit score calculated by AI engines. Constant monitoring through smartphones and digital cameras everywhere micromanages each citizen to government standards.

The rest of the world will soon be forced into a CBDC (digital currency) cashless system implemented worldwide. It’s already in place in some countries and will roll out probably in the next few years. What will happen to the biblical message then? Any church that chooses to stand on the truth of the Bible will be forced to make a choice: bow to the wicked, or lose your 401c3. If the biblical preaching continues, maybe the next step is to close the church and cut off believers from their accounts. It’s coming.

In my opinion, the current church model here in the west is obsolete and the risk of its collapse is high. There has been no adaptation to the current environment and church leadership has its head in the sand, driving back to the same old failed model.

The Church Model Must Change

I know this is hard for professional ministers and people who are used to the comfort of their nice churches and their regular weekly church routine.

But it’s time to wrap our heads around reality that is almost upon us. How can the church posture itself for a future of increased hostility against those who stand firm on the Word of God? How can the church continue to survive with an unsustainable, money driven construct? Sadly, the church either remains in denial about the changes needed or doesn’t know how to change.

Perhaps most in the church would not recognize the need for change, even as their congregations dwindle, pastors leave the ministry, and all that’s left in the churches are older people who will die off over the next 10-15 years.

Recently, I attended a church where the pastor was leaving soon for a higher level job in the denomination. He said it was necessary to combine with another church because there were no seminary trained pastors available that could backfill him when he left. He said that before the pandemic, there were so many pastors available coming out of seminary. But not anymore. He lamented that instead of many pastors to choose from as in the pre pandemic culture, pastors were scarce and many leaving ministry. Now that should be a red flag that the current model may be irrelevant.

What changed? A pastor did not ask that key question because he was trapped in the current paradigm, one that is obsolete. Instead of considering some out of the box options, the church closed its doors. The neighborhood in which that church existed lost the benefit of the presence of God in their community.

In this case, God’s people left a neighborhood for want of a seminary trained pastor. There were a lot of paradigm based assumptions about who should be pastoring a church, and so the only option in the mind of this paradigm pastor was to close down a successful church plant.

What happens when a small neighborhood church closes its doors forever? Consider this: when God’s people who have the Spirit of God within them leave, the presence of God goes from that place. It happened in the inner cities many years ago as churches moved to follow the money to the suburbs, and you can see the result: burned cites, closed stores, demon possessed protestors, violence, unemployment, rampant crime, and misery for poor residents caught in the middle.

Small neighborhood biblical churches matter. There is a restraint of evil forces that we underestimate by the mere presence of that bible believing, spirit filled church in each neighborhood.

What Works?

The obsolete, status quo, rich, enormously expensive western church model continues and, in my opinion, is largely apostate. I don’t know how far down the road to apostasy churches are but all churches should do a critical evaluation of themselves in the light of the Bible. Ask the hard questions. If you find problems, repent. Time is running out.

The faithful who stand on God’s Word must take steps now to get back to the scriptures, organize into small home churches and prepare to drop below the radar when the time is right (probably within the next year or two). Churches should be getting smaller, nearer to their neighborhoods, less dependent on facility and professionals, and more flexible in how they meet.

I have written an entire series of posts with some ideas about how churches like this can operate safely and effectively. But it requires faith. Probably more faith than we have ever exercised before.

I know ideas for fundamental change in the church model challenges the current paradigm, and that paradigms are heavily defended. Leaders of the status quo feel threatened and get defensive when their paradigm is questioned or challenged. There is always push-back when the idea of change is surfaced by someone. It’s just the way humans are wired and it’s not necessarily a bad thing unless survival is at risk because of a change in the environment. What the church has not recognized is the profound change in the environment that occurred during the pandemic.

Denial

The church remains in denial that anything fundamental had changed. What continues instead in a post pandemic world to this day is a hard push by the “paradigm professionals” to simply get back to the pre-pandemic status quo in an environment of profoundly altered changes in the social and spiritual fabric of the culture.

Leaders in organizations drive back to status quo because it’s comfortable and it’s what they know. The thought is that if they just get back to the way things were, then the people will return and things will get back to normal. Everything will go back to the way it was. Right? How is that working?

A paradigm organization recognizes itself as the only valid expression, the only thing that works because that is what has always worked before. So organizations will continue to operate, turning the same status quo crank regardless of whether or not there are mission results.

Over time, organizational models become an end unto themselves. The mission becomes the preservation of the starts quo rather than maintaining a focus on the original mission. And yet the original mission is often still valid but has become subordinated to the existence of the organization. That is what has happened to the church as it has departed the Word of God.

In my view, the church was shaken to its core during the pandemic and there was great opportunity for leaders to reevaluate what was happening in the culture and how they needed to adapt the church, not in terms of unchanging biblical truth, but in terms of church structure, priorities, and mission. In other words, how does the church now restructure and reengage in a new environment for the sake of the mission?

The hard questions were never asked. Instead of returning to the mission and to the Word, the church has chosen to protect the money driven status quo. Whatever it takes.

Adapt or Die

Is Jesus outside your church door knocking to come in? Then something has gone dreadfully wrong.

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following: This is the solemn pronouncement of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot! So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth! Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth, and need nothing,” but do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked, take my advice and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness will not be exposed, and buy eye salve to put on your eyes so you can see! All those I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent! Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:14-20

It’s time to give up the resource driven model for church. Big dollar budgets for salary and facility must be replaced by the preponderance of resources used in advancing the mission of the gospel and taking care of the saints. The days are coming when people are going to need help. But in that, the mission should not suffer.

The Model That Works

I have to define what I mean by a church model that works. It’s all about a 2000 year old mission. What is the most effective church model to meet the mission mandate from the Lord?

I believe the most effective church model was given to us in scripture. The home church is the New Testament model. The closer the church is to the biblical model, the more effective it becomes in meeting the mission. It’s effective in countries like Persia (Iran) and many other counties where there is heavy persecution. Think persecution can’t happen here? Think again. Maybe the next church conference should be about the persecuted church. Invite an Iranian pastor. See what you can learn from them about how to do church.

What’s Coming?

What’s in our future as the church? There was once a man who was given the opportunity to follow Jesus. An invitation from his creator to join him. But the man had a lot of commitment to his resources and his good, comfortable life. His status quo.

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.

Matthew 19:21-22

Are we that different from this man? I don’t think so. Maybe it’s time for the church to take up the Lord’s invitation.

Mark my words: the day will come soon for us in the western nations in which we will be forced to either compromise our faith or go underground in the form of small, dispersed home churches.

I often wonder what would happen if a large church voluntarily sold their facility, trained up unpaid small group pastors, abolished their payroll, and divided the church up into small home churches that followed the New Testament model. The doctrine pure, the Word respected, the Lord worshipped, lives lived in purity and reverence, and the proceeds from facility sale (if any) used to take care of their people. I think they would see the greatest move of God ever. Maybe it’s not about us waiting for God in our comfortable Starbucks churches.

Maybe he is waiting for us.