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.
