Three More Dysfunctions of the American Church

Last week in The Remnant by Larry Stockstill, we looked at the first two characteristics of the Dysfunctional Church; the unfathered church and the uncorrected church. This week we will look at the remaining characteristics of the Dysfunctional Church. We read in John 15:16 “I chose you and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain.” The third dysfunction in the American church is Unfruitfulness as related to the office of the evangelist.

There are three levels of participation in every church: attenders, members, and multipliers. The attenders are those who come every once in a while. There is no commitment in finances, attendance or involvement. But they consider your church as their own church, especially on Christmas and Easter. The second level is that of a member. They are committed to attending weekly, tithing and some involvement. They are moving towards discipleship but are not there yet. The next level moves up to the multiplier. The multiplier is what is needed in every church today. The multiplier has all the characteristics of the member but in addition is committed to seeing the body of Christ grow.

Paul had a method of church growth recorded in Col. 1:28 NKJV “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”

1. Winning Souls “Him we preach”

2. Sanctifying the body, mind and spirit “Warning every man”

3. Imparting wisdom and order through Scripture “Teaching every man”

4. Multiplication “Present every man perfect in Christ Jesus”

Now this is a formula for growing the church.

The forth dysfunction of the American church is that it is wounded and unhealed. Jeremiah recognized this and wrote about it in Jeremiah 6:14 “They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying ‘Peace, Peace’ but there is no peace.” To quote Larry Stockstill, “The unhealed church has deep inner wounds that only the cross can heal.” (AMEN) “As the message of the cross moves further from the center of attention, we polarize around personalities.” Following is a list of some of the things believers need to know they have possession of as a result of Christ’s sufferings:

1. Peace (the brow) “Jesus took my cares, worries and anxieties upon Himself and gave me peace.”

2. Healing (His back) “Jesus bore my pain and agony so I could be healed in every dimension of life”

3. Forgiveness (His Hands) “The debt was canceled when we receive Jesus’s forgiveness.”

4. Victory (His feet) “By His death on the cross, Jesus put my weakness, fear, and defeat under His feet “.

5. Inner healing (His side) “The inner wounds and heartbreak of my experiences and circumstances are healed as I release bitterness and experience forgiveness”

The Cure for the unhealed church is healing that comes through the pastor. “The healing and deliverance of believers is truly the work of the pastor, the fourth listing in the fivefold callings.” “A truly well-pastored church is one in which each member’s inner wounds are healed and inner gifts and talents released- a church in which no one is anonymous; couples aren’t living together; and no one is bitter, addicted and unhealed”. That is quite a statement. This cannot be accomplished by the pastor alone, but by well trained, spirit-filled individuals. Stockstill describes this as “thickening the core of your ministry.” Ministry was not created to be done alone. We need one another and we need the ministries of one another in the body of Christ today.

The fifth dysfunction of the American church as described in The Remnant is the Untaught Church. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 declares “From childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” He states what I have been saying for quite some time. Many churches in American have become a mile wide and a foot deep. There is no foundation and no understanding of basic Bible doctrine and teachings. Many churches today barely mention a passage of Scripture from the pulpit. The Word of God must be taught from the pulpits of America again. The Bible is more relevant today than ever before. If a church wants to be relevant, use the Word of God. The lack of knowledge of the Scriptures has left the church illiterate and dysfunctional in the world we live in.

We have seen in the first section of the book that the five dysfunctions of the church, unfathered, uncorrected, unfruitful, unhealed and untaught can be remedied by reinstating the fivefold ministry of the church outlined in Ephesians 4 :11. Fathering comes from apostolic mentoring. Correction comes from fearless prophetic accountability. Fruitfulness comes from evangelism and multiplication. Healing comes from pastors who will care for their people. And Teaching comes from those who will teach the Word of God to a hungry church.

The Remnant – Part 1

Over the next several weeks we are reading “The Remnant” by Larry Stockstill. The subtitle of the book is ‘Restoring Integrity to American Ministry’. The happenings over the last several years prove this type of book is needed. The book is broken down into two parts: Part 1 is titled ‘Help for the Dysfunctional Church’ and Part 2 is ‘The Ten Commandments of Ministry’. This week we will start with the first three chapters and move through the rest of Part One next week.

Larry Stockstill opens the book with the statement “I’m going to shake this nation.” This shaking will awaken a new breed of pastors and laypeople who will examine some important questions of ministry; calling for a transparency and integrity to ministry.

In Part One we look at the dysfunctions of the church. The term ’dysfunction’ is defined as “deviating from normal behavior”. As we discuss these five functions, we will also look at the cure for these dysfunctions found in a return to the fivefold ministry of the church in Ephesians 4:11.”And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.”

The first dysfunction is ‘The Unfathered Church”. “Fathering is a basic human need and those in ministry are not exempt from it.” Even Jesus was affirmed by his Father in heaven in Mark 1:11. “You are my Son, whom I love, and with you I am well pleased.” Stockstill says “Affirmation, however, is not optional but totally necessary for a leader to function correctly.”

The cure for the Unfathered Church as described by Stockstill is ‘The Government and Mentoring through the Apostle”. Government, what is he talking about? Make sure you read to see exactly what he means by government. He states “All church government should flow from an environment of affirmation, validation and acceptance.” He describes government as “the operation of seasoned spiritual fathers who develop and mentor protégés as though they were sons.” The government process then provides the apostolic function in ministry. I am fortunate to have someone like Pastor Robert Owen as my spiritual father. I believe each of us need someone in our lives that can pour into us. Someone we can look to for advice, enrichment, affirmation and encouragement. Who is that in your life?

The second dysfunction we see is the ‘Uncorrected Church’. In the Bible we see the prophet of God as someone who “called it like it was.” The prophet was no respecter of persons. He confronted kings and servants alike . “Accountability was built into the prophetic office and was intended to bring deliverance rather than destruction.” We see in the Old Testament the prophet Nathan confronting David. Now that guy had guts. Last week in church we talked about the discipline of the Lord. How he uses different things to discipline us. One of those things was the Spiritual Authority over us. Stockstill talks about the importance of accountability today within the church. But unfortunately there is little. “Choices without consequences bring confusion”. “The world looks upon the church’s abuse of authority and lack of accountability as ultimate hypocrisy”. Boy is that true.

The cure he presents is “Accountability and standards through the Prophet”. The church and leadership must be held at higher standards. We are to be an example to the world. We are to lead the way. People must be held responsible for their decisions. I thank God for my accountability partner. We have given each other permission to ask the hard questions to one another. This protects both of us.

Stockstill writes “Fathering the unfathered church and standards for an uncorrected church will lay a new foundation for touching America. Security and sincerity will reign.” People want something that is real today. Wouldn’t it be great if the church was that example?