Church

July 6, 2024

          What is meant by the word “church”? Is it a place? Is it a denomination? How about a location? Is it the activities that go on in a particular building and location? The Bible describes the ‘church’ in much different terms. What has ‘church’ become in the last 2,000 years? What, if anything, needs to change? This article will address a few of the following questions.

          Most people think of ‘church’ as a place and location where they attend religious services. When asked which church they attend, the answer usually involves the name and location of the building where they gather to worship, which is commonly referred to as a ‘church’. “Church” is the location, name, and the religious activities that go on in a building(s).

All churches offer services on what they call the sabbath. Most Christians typically think of Sunday as the Christian sabbath. In addition, some of these churches may offer mid-week services, Sunday evening services, and Sunday school for all ages on Sunday mornings. I suspect that prayer meetings are the exception rather than the rule in most Christian churches. That is very unfortunate, and it explains why the ‘church’ is so weak.

          Much of this lack of understanding or confusion over the word ‘church’ seems harmless enough. However, the more important information is the content of the ‘church’ services and their doctrines. Is the whole truth of God expounded with courage and conviction? Or is it a compromised message delivered by a hireling?

Regarding the word ‘church’, the Bible provides a very clear definition. However, that definition differs from how we usually understand the word. It’s similar to the word ‘Christian’. The common way people use the word ‘Christian’ and its biblical meaning are quite different. The meaning of ‘Christian’ has become so twisted that I almost never call myself a Christian. For the same reason, I almost never refer to myself as an Evangelical because the word’s meaning has also been distorted.

Broadly speaking, in the United States, there are three main categories: Protestant Churches, the Roman Catholic Church, and the rest of the Christian denominations.

• Protestant Churches. This is the majority of churches in America, and as of 2021, estimates suggest they number around 140 million, for about 42% of the population. Baptist Churches are included in the Protestant classification and are the largest group within this designation.

In 2015, Evangelicals represented 55% of all Protestants, up from 15% in 2007. If there are 140 million Protestants and 55% of them are Evangelicals, that amounts to 77 million people who identify themselves as Evangelicals.

A Gallup poll in 2023 found that 33% (not 42%) of the population identify as Protestant. Assuming 341 million people in the United States, that means there are about 113 million (not 140 million) Protestants in the USA. I have heard that more USA citizens are opting out of religion, so this might make sense. God knows the real numbers. It might just be somewhere in between 113 and 140 million people. In either case, it is a large number.

• The Roman Catholic Church. There are approximately 70 million, which accounts for about 21% of the total population. However, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey, approximately 20% of US adults identify as Catholic, which translates to roughly 52 million (not 70 million). In 2007, the rate was approximately 24%, compared to the current 20%. It’s difficult to determine precisely, but between 52 and 72 million adults likely identify as Roman Catholic. Another large number.

• All other churches that claim the title of Christian: The Mormon Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Adventists, Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy.

The number of Church buildings or locations?

One website reports that there are 380,000 churches in the United States. That is the number of locations, not denominations.

A closer look at Protestant churches

          According to a 2015 study of Protestant Christian Churches in America (broken down into Mainline, Evangelical, and the Black Church), the following appears.

• The largest category is the Baptist group at just over 15% of the total population. Within that, there are a variety of Baptist denominations: The Southern Baptist Convention at 5.3%, Independent Baptists at 2.5%, American Baptists at 1.5%, National Baptist Convention, and the Black Church at 1.4%. The SBC and IB are designated Evangelical. The AB is designated the mainline, and the NBC is designated the Black Church.

Even within the Baptist churches, some are gay affirming. The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists comprises Baptist Churches, organizations, and individuals who welcome and affirm people regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. One website reports that there are 141 such congregations, with the first one founded in 1993.

• Nondenominational and interdenominational Protestant churches represent about 6.2% of the population, and both categories are evangelical.

• Methodists represent 4.6% of the total population. That is broken down between mainline and Black Methodists. You have probably read about the recent splintering of this denomination. The United Methodist Church in 2019 voted to tighten prohibitions on LGBTQ members. In the subsequent years, nearly half of these churches rejected that decision. That resulted in the birth of the Global Methodist Church. Being a great admirer of John Wesley, it is very sad to realize that so many apostate Methodist clergy created this situation where the GMC rejected Biblical truth regarding sexuality.

• Pentecostal Protestant Churches represent 4.6% of the total population. This is broken down into two segments: the Assemblies of God, an Evangelical denomination, and the Church of God in Christ, a predominantly African American church.

• Lutheran Protestant churches represent 3.5% of the total population. It is broken down between the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is designated as mainline, and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America allows for LGBTQ+ marriage and ordination of gay clergy. Martin Luther would have never approved of such a doctrine and practice. This is one reason why the word ‘Evangelical’ has lost its meaning.

          The following denominations are smaller in size, but all are part of the Protestant Church in America. They include the Presbyterian Church at 2.2%, Restorationists at 1.9% (comprising the Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ), and the Anglican Church at 1.3% (encompassing the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of North America). Holiness represents about .8% of the population and this is the Church of the Nazarene, Congregational Church at .8% and this is the United Church of Christ a mainline denomination, Adventist Church at .6% is the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which is evangelical, Friends or Quakers at less than .3% of the population is a mainline church. Like other Protestant Churches, some of these smaller denominations are also gay affirming.

What is the difference between evangelical and mainline churches?

According to this study, the difference between evangelical and mainline Protestant Churches is the following: Evangelicals believe that a person:

1) needs to be born again,

2) show some outward signs of new birth,

3) holds a high regard for Biblical Authority, and,

4) emphasizes the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Evangelicals view mainline denominations as liberal because they reject some or all of these four elements. The evangelical movement has grown significantly more than the mainline churches, many of which have experienced a decline in membership and attendance.

Since this study and those that preceded it, a significant portion of the evangelical segment of the Protestant church has drifted away from these four principles. For example, it now appears that only about 48% of ‘evangelicals’ believe in absolute truth. That means about half of evangelicals today do not have “a high regard for Biblical authority.” That is obviously a position more like a liberal or mainstream congregation. Only 30% of all Protestants believe the Bible is literally true, and only 15% of Catholics do. “Holding a high regard for Biblical authority” has become relative and situational. Are you beginning to see the problem?

According to The Roy’s Report (Julieroys.com), only 9% of self-identified Christians hold to a biblical worldview. (Dated Sept 21, 2021). What is a Biblical Worldview? Those who hold a biblical worldview view and interpret the world around them according to the beliefs and principles contained in the Word of God, the Bible. Most of these Christians, who hold to a Biblical World View, believe the moral foundation of our nation was at one time Christian but now has drifted away from that foundation.

The reasons for that drift are not nearly as many as the numerous examples of drifting away. The following excerpt is from an article I wrote in September 2022, titled “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Psalm 11:3.”

“What are the foundations the Psalmist is referring to? The foundations are those principles, beliefs, and truths on which a society and culture are built. The Israelite community was founded on the principles of truth, righteousness, justice, and faith in God Almighty. God revealed Himself through creation, natural revelation. He also revealed Himself through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and other prophets. Through them, He revealed His law and His will, written revelation.

According to theologian, Albert Barnes (around 200 years ago), the psalmist is referring to a society or culture in which the, “Truth is no longer respected, when justice is no longer practiced, when fraud and violence have taken the place of honesty and honor, when error prevails, and when integrity and virtue no longer afford any security to the righteous man and woman.”

It is a society that doesn’t acknowledge or submit to its Creator. Such a society is hardly fit for life. Do we flee to the mountains as the Psalmist suggests in verse one, or do we fight? If we fight, what are our weapons?

Honestly, is the USA becoming more or less righteous with each passing year? With all of our Christian schools, Christian universities, Christian churches, and mega churches, all of our Christian books, Christian conferences and TV, and Christian not-for-profit agencies, in what direction is the USA heading? Are we becoming more or less Christian, more or less moral, and more or less righteous?

Obviously, we are becoming less and less righteous as a nation. This is especially true in the last 70 years. We are in a war for the moral foundations of the United States of America and Western civilization. It is a culture war and a battle for the destiny of our great land. This Christian foundation is the reason why God has blessed this nation so incredibly. When any nation turns its back on God, the blessings are replaced with curses. Our moral decline is on full display in all its ugliness. And our standard of living is being eroded, threatened, and cursed as I write this. God is withdrawing His hand of protection and blessings. Increasingly, we are aware that we now live in a post-Christian era in the USA. Obama, during his presidency, said that whatever the USA was in the past, it is no longer a Christian nation. He greatly helped to destroy our Christian moral foundation. I would hate to be him when God judges the quick and the dead.

In the final analysis, this fall from grace is attributable to the false idea that the truth is subjective, relative, and situational. On this ground, we find the war being waged against the following three pillars of morality.

1. The authority of the Word of God.
2. The creation of the universe by the God of the Bible and not by purposeless evolutionary forces.
3. God Himself is the rightful sovereign of the universe, who will judge humanity according to His laws.

This is a war against God and His authority over His creation. God is truth, and the truth is objective, absolute, and universally applicable. Some specific ways in which this attack has been carried out in the last few hundred years follow. Volumes have been written on each topic, giving a much deeper and broader scope of the assault. Below are a few highlights that are useful in quickly assessing the situation we find ourselves in. (See that article for the details).”

All this helps explain why our culture is increasingly secular and godless when so-called Christians do not have a Biblical worldview, do not view the Bible as authoritative, and believe doctrines that are antithetical to scriptural truth. The apostate position, which affirms homosexuality, gay marriage, and gender fluidity, is a contemporary example of secularizing the Bible.

What is the church according to the Word of God? And who is the head of the Church?

The “church,” according to the Bible, is the:

1) body of Christ,

2) the bride of Christ,

3) and the people of God.

It is made up of all true disciples of Christ, irrespective of where they attend worship and religious services. It is not made up of nominal, cultural, lukewarm, backslidden, and carnal “Christians”. Generally speaking, I would think that close to 95%-100% of mainline Protestant “Christians” are not real Christians according to the Word of God. And as such, they are actually not part of the body of Christ or the one true church. And of the Evangelical Protestant segment, I would suspect that 70% or more are not genuine born-again believers. That is my assessment. God knows the real numbers.

Jesus said that we would know them (real Christians) by their fruit. A bad tree can’t produce good fruit, and a good tree can’t produce bad fruit, according to Jesus Christ. A person, a church, a Christian ministry, or a denomination that becomes gay affirming (supports the ordination of homosexual clergy, gay marriage, gay Christianity, and abortion on demand) is bad fruit that comes from a bad tree. The following scriptures provide evidence of this understanding of what ‘church’ means in the Bible.

1. Body of Christ

“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” Ephesians 1:22, 23. This passage clearly states that Jesus Christ is the head of the church, which is the body of Christ. The head of the body (the one true church) is not the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, your pastor, the chief of your denomination, the bishop, or any man. It is Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4:4-6 states that there is one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all. In other passages, we are told not to call any man Father, for we have one Father, God the Father in heaven. The Catholic Church, in particular, takes this title to their priests and the Pope. In verses 11 and 12, Christ gave His church the apostles, teachers, prophets, and so on for “the edifying of the body of Christ”.

“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church; and he is the savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let wives be to their own husbands in everything”. Ephesians 5:23, 24. Again, we are told that Christ is the head of the church, which is His body. The Pope is not the head of the church of Jesus Christ. No man is the head.

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13. Real Christians are baptized into one body, the body of Jesus Christ, His church. This body of Christ may attend a variety of local congregations and denominations.

• The Bride of Christ

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7

See also Ephesians 5:22-33, which compares the marriage of Christ and the church to that of a husband and wife. See also Revelation 21:2, where the church is described as the bride.

• The People of God

“For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Corinthians 6:16

See also Hebrews 8:10 where it is written, “…..and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” The church consists of the people of God. Who are the people of God? Those who are born again by the Spirit of God and led by the Spirit of God are children of God. This designation does not encompass nominal believers.

What do we know about the early Christian church? Did the early church look and operate like the present church in the USA?

When Constantine built Constantinople in 324 and relocated Rome’s headquarters to Constantinople, the emperor granted the “emerging Roman Catholic Church” that he helped organize and consolidate in the West, lands and buildings. When the Western Roman Empire fell in 476, the Pope, the first Vicar of Christ, assumed many of the functions and titles of the Roman Emperor. The Vicar of Christ was but one of those titles, held first by the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine. Another pagan Roman title was Pontifex Maximus. Both of which the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church still uses today.

Constantine helped organize and centralize Christian churches and the administration of those local home gatherings. He also built Christian church buildings, as well as pagan temples. He polluted Christianity with Roman paganism. Constantine halted the persecution of Christians for a time. Still, he resumed it when he encountered resistance while attempting to organize and centralize the authority of the Christian church under his leadership. Pagan practices began to be introduced into Christianity, and acceptance was mandatory. Persecution of Bible believing Christians started again.

 Eventually, the Christian religion merged with the pagan Roman Empire and subsequently with other nations as the state-approved religion. There was much more money to build churches and hire clergy and administrative staff. Real Bible believing Christians refused to participate in this counterfeit Christianity and continued meeting in homes, fields, and at night secretly for many hundreds of years. This is what the early church did to avoid persecution, if possible. The reigning Roman Catholic Church organization murdered many.

Bible believing Christians, who refused to be part of the Roman Catholic Church, had no buildings and no paid staff, even though ministers often received some meager assistance. Local house churches were controlled and directed by their members. Everyone had a part to play. There was no single headman, and no CEO of the house church. The local body made decisions guided by the Holy Ghost. They gathered together weekly, if possible, over a full meal (communion). Those weekly meetings included worship, praise music, praying, teaching, sharing, and edification. All members participated in the experience. Everyone was equal and used their gifts as guided by the Holy Ghost. Some groups did this better than others.

It was not a spectator sport like attending church is today. In today’s church, the music or worship pastor leads the presentation of hymns and music. The prominent pastor delivers the message, and the congregation sits silently, listening. In the early church, there was no division between clergy and laity as there is today. In the early church, everyone was clergy, and God ordained everyone (who was a genuine believer).

The New Testament is not like the Old Covenant, which featured a central temple, official priests, sacrifices, and so on. Under the New Covenant, born-again Christians are the temple of the Holy Spirit. God resides in those human temples, not a physical building. In the New Covenant, believers are all priests and are collectively referred to as the priesthood of believers. Under the Old Covenant, there was a specific location and temple where the Jews were to worship God. In addition, under the Old Covenant, God designated a specific priesthood to officiate in the temple. That was all done away with in the advent of the New Covenant.

When early Christians began to meet in notable buildings instead of the homes of other believers, and when they started to organize things centrally instead of following the lead of the Holy Spirit, men sought positions, recognition, fame, and power.

Early in the history of the Christian Church, believers donated money to assist other Christians in need, rather than to pay staff salaries or finance church buildings. The first assemblies had no overhead costs, unlike many churches today. Today, approximately 80 to 90% of what a church receives in contributions (tithes and offerings) goes toward paying the mortgage and overhead costs, especially for church staff. If you believe that your church donation goes to help the widow, the orphan, and the very needy, you might be surprised to learn that only 1-3%, generally speaking, goes for those things. The institutional church is a gas-guzzling vehicle. It requires a lot of expensive maintenance and fuel to operate. There isn’t much money left to fund other essential priorities.

For many centuries, the Roman Catholic Church was closely aligned with the kings and emperors of the nations. Funding from this “partnership” supported much of the administration of the Roman Catholic Church, in addition to the various ways in which the Roman Catholic Church raised money from its congregations, such as selling indulgences and other means. During these dark ages, real Christians continued to meet in secret and homes. They had little to no money to pay staff or own buildings and property.

Eventually, the stranglehold of the Roman Catholic Church was broken, and “Protestant” churches emerged into the open, adopting some of the models of the Roman Catholic Church from which most of them had fled. They started to own property and hire staff to do the work of ministry. The unbiblical division between the laity and clergy became stronger. Not all of the compromises in doctrine and practice inherent in the Roman Catholic Church system were rejected. I agree with those who say Martin Luther and the other reformers did not go far enough.

 Thus, when “Protestant” church buildings began to be debt-financed, that further compromised the proclamation of the gospel truth. Churches began to hire staff instead of relying on the congregation to be an active part of ministry, and that, too, compromised the truth. Church staff were hired to perform the tasks that the house churches had previously done themselves. To continue funding staff, the word of truth was compromised, allowing for a dependable cash flow.

Churches then recruited successful businessmen and women to provide substantial financial support and help direct the church’s business. Many were not spiritual leaders, just good business leaders. That also led to more compromise. Business metrics began to be emphasized instead of spiritual metrics. Theology became an inch deep and a mile wide. The church’s business needed many new converts to pay staff salaries and cover overhead for the buildings and grounds, which led to a compromised gospel. It was not one, but a bunch of little compromises to the truth. Now the institutional Christian church is filled with unsaved “nominal Christians,” which further erodes the integrity of the nominal church. The church is increasingly resembling the world and culture around it. That ‘church’ is obviously not a threat to the ungodly.

Some Christian authors believe that the reputation of the evangelical church has suffered because it has aligned itself with the Republican Party and especially Donald Trump. There may be some truth in that. It is also more likely that our godless, secular American culture is beginning to despise real Christians and authentic Christianity, as Jesus told us to expect. Why is that? An awakened and assertive church (body of genuine believers) poses a threat to the ungodly progressives. Christians (both sincere and some nominal ones) are no longer willing to stay silent and passive while the progressives destroy the Biblical and cultural moral foundation of this nation. Understandably, the reputation of the church will suffer because it challenges the wicked rule of the progressives and the godless. The destruction of our moral foundation puts our nation at serious risk from both within and outside. Praise God for Christians who refuse to be passive and silent.

These authors suggest that the evangelical church is only after power, not anything good, just raw power. That may be true in some cases, but not all cases or even the majority of cases. Power to instill cultural godliness and righteousness in the laws of our nation is a good and necessary thing. All politics, both Democratic and Republican, is about power.

Without political power,

• How are we going to stop the murder of babies? How are we going to protect the innocent?
• How are we going to make sure that the Democrats don’t eliminate religious freedom and ramp up their persecution of true believers?
• How are we going to get progressive indoctrination of our children out of public schools?
• How are we going to curb the sexualization of our children?
• How are we going to demand that the rule of law be observed?
• How are we going to bring back blind and impartial justice to our legal system?
• How are we going to close the southern border so that wicked and criminal people do not enter and harm American citizens?
• How are we going to prohibit sexual depravity and the grooming of our youth?

We can pray until we are blue in the face, and baby killing and all the rest will continue until the Lord returns unless Christians respond as salt and light, as we are commanded. We need representatives, senators, a President, and the courts to make it unlawful to kill innocent babies, to bring in school choice, and address all the other areas that are a moral concern to us. Our nation will not survive unless we impose God’s moral laws on our country. Don’t think for a moment that Democrats do not want to impose their immorality on you and your family. They are doing it right now, and it will only get worse.

Our laws and our priorities, nationally and locally, need to reflect Christian ethics. Why? These Biblical standards are indispensable to order, happiness, and safety. The new secular immorality of the left, under which we are presently living, is, by most accounts, disgusting, lawless, and highly harmful. It will bring judgment upon this nation.

From a YouTube video titled “Rethinking the Institutional Church,” they list four reasons why what we have today is not working that well, because much of it is not like the early New Testament church.

1. Everyone in the early church came together to make decisions, not the church “CEO,” pastor, or leadership team. Elders and pastors were advisory only. They helped guide and encourage the members. In the book of 1 Timothy, we are given the qualifications for these church positions recognized in Scripture. All of the qualifications are about the holiness and moral character of the person, not their academic or educational achievements. Today, most churches look at it in the exact opposite way. We consider education and experience most important, and that is possibly why the institutional church is in such a carnal state. The early church asked, “What kind of man of God is this person? What is his moral reputation?” In other words, what is his character versus what is his educational qualification?
2. Churches (groups of Christians) meet in the homes of the members. Therefore, all churches were small—lots of little churches versus a few giant churches and mega churches. Individual accountability is much more likely in a small church than in a larger one where many members are unknown and anonymous. Discipleship training becomes almost impossible with very large numbers. It is easier to hide in a large church than in a small one.
3. When the New Testament believers came together, they would share, worship, teach, pray, and each person contributed as led by the Spirit of God. They did not look to just one man but to each other. Church gatherings were participatory, as seen in I Corinthians 14. No one stood up in front because it was a small place and there was no pulpit. Everyone, not just one leader, shared. Today, we usually have just one pastor who gives a lesson, and everything revolves around that. Other pastoral staff may share certain things, but the prominent pastor is the person who gives the message. The early church was not a one-man show.
4. When they came together, they shared a full meal (communion) together. They ate together. Today, we don’t eat a full meal together. Communion, in churches today, is a tiny, hard disc or sun-shaped piece of flat bread and a sip of grape juice. In 1 Corinthians 11:18-34, Paul corrects these Corinthian believers for misusing the Lord’s supper gatherings. Some believers, in celebrating the Lord’s Supper, eat early, while others have no food. And some got drunk. Others were involved in divisions. Paul reminds them that “to eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, you will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” in verse 27. Therefore, examine yourself so as not to bring damnation on yourself. These are Paul’s instructions because remembering the Lord’s supper is a sacred and holy time.

Reflections on the current state of the Christian Church in the USA

Just about everything we do in church today is similar to what occurred in the Old Testament, not the New Testament. Under the Old Covenant, there was one building, one temple, where everyone had to go to make sacrifices, offerings, and atone for sins. Today, under the New Testament, each believer is the temple of God. We are not told to go to a special place or building to meet God. But that is what we are still doing, which is very much like what Old Testament believers did. We are told not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. That can be done outside a church building. It can be done at home or in another location.

Today, we have (clergy) ordained pastors and ministers distinct from the laity. In the New Testament, every believer is a priest; therefore, every believer is ordained. We saints are the priesthood of the believers. All of us are priests. The categories of clergy and laity are not biblical when considering the New Testament. Having a distinct clergy is a problem. Why? It lets other believers off the hook, making them more likely to become spectators rather than participants. It also puts too much power into the hands of just one person. Each believer should be a theologian. I did not say each believer should be a scholar, but that each of us should know the Word of God for ourselves so that we can discern the true from the false.

Many resources were required in the Old Testament for the Levitical priesthood and temple services. Jews were required to pay several different tithes to fund all this. The early church met in a home, and there was no paid staff. Collections were taken up for those believers who had need and were given accordingly. Today, I have heard that somewhere between 80% and 90% of church giving is used to pay staff and property overhead. You will recall that the apostle Paul labored with his own hands so as not to be a financial burden to others. Elders were encouraged to do the same. At the same time, the word of God says that the worker is worthy of his wage. Paul could have charged them for his ministry, but chose not to do so, ensuring that his motives would not be questioned. The larger the church, the larger the overhead costs. The smaller the church, the smaller the overhead costs.

Church today, in many cases, is like attending a concert with a soft gospel message thrown in to sanctify the event. It is more like entertainment than godly edification. It creates spectators, instead of everyone being an essential part of each service by exercising their spiritual gifts. In small house churches, everyone is in charge and responsible for what does and does not happen in the New Testament Church. That does not mean that there are no elders, teachers, and bishops. It does mean that the local group made all the key decisions. 

Under the Old Covenant, the Jews wanted a king instead of God as their leader. Likewise, many Christians today want a charismatic pastor to be their king, not God. They depend on a man for their spiritual development and future. Way too many “Christians” want to be told what to believe, what to do, and when to do it. They do not want to invest the time and effort required to get to know God and His word. That is very risky, for if the blind follow a blind pastor, both fall in the ditch.

What is the American ‘church’ today?

The Roman Catholic Church, the Mormon Church, and other groups, which some of us do not consider Christian, are included in the statistics and categories above. As already mentioned, most people, including Christians, think of the church as their local place of worship or their denomination. They likely believe that most, if not all, of those who attend are real Christians. Their church consists of a priest, or senior pastor or lead pastor, and some support staff, all of which depends on the size of the facility, the number of members, and the dollar amount of contributions collected. Their idea of church is a physical location, a building, and what happens inside that building (worship services, programs, and the administration of it all).

Most Christians believe their church is a ministry, but do not realize, in most cases, that it is a 501(c)(3) corporation, subject to some government oversight. Some website sources state that the Federal tax exemption still applies even if the church is not a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Interesting.

So why in heaven’s name would a church register with the government? Some states provide additional tax exemptions to 501 (c) (3) organizations, which may include exemptions from sales taxes, property taxes, and employment taxes. If a church has a 501 (c) (3) exemption, certain activities are prohibited, including political campaign activities, extensive lobbying, excessive compensation, and the sale of property at less than fair market value. Many Christians believe that the church is not allowed to get involved in politics, or their exemption may be forfeited. Let’s face it, most Christians have been brainwashed regarding the separation of church and state.

The fear is that church members will not give to the local church if its 501 status is revoked and contributions can’t be claimed as a tax deduction. They may incorrectly think that giving to their church is not tax-deductible. These considerations may help explain why pastors are often timid about preaching about controversial social and political issues such as abortion, social justice, homosexuality, and so on.

Is the American church a business, and a very large and profitable one at that? In the aggregate, the American “Protestant Church” is an extensive business, much like the Roman Catholic Church enterprise, but much smaller. In total, all churches collectively collect donations of around $ 74 billion annually. In addition to church giving, the combined contributions to faith-based charities and churches amount to $ 378 billion annually in the US economy. That is huge. That much money is hard to imagine. Think of the manifold temptations that much cash brings. This is big business.

Most churches are run like a business. That is not all bad, but it does have its limits and drawbacks. In a strict business model, the Pastor is often thought of as the CEO or, even worse, the owner. In truth, Jesus Christ is the President and CEO, the only owner, and He is the head of the body. Attendance statistics, cash flow, and property size are all considered priority metrics. Church elders and governing boards are typically composed of a few key business professionals who bring their business expertise and performance metrics to the church. And hopefully they bring their generosity as well. The greater the cash flow, the more services can be provided, and the better staff can be paid. Moreover, the more the campus can expand, the more it can grow in terms of membership and revenue.

Large churches operate in many ways similar to a typical business model. Unfortunately, many pastors and churches have commercialized the gospel of Jesus Christ. They sell books, Bibles, and conferences to spread the word, often diluting its message, and make money in the process. This has also corrupted the true message and led the unchurched to doubt the motives of these leaders and their organizations.

A 2003 national study found that Protestants usually give 2.6% of their income to their local churches, while Catholics give 1.2%. Barna reports that 5% of all Americans and 12% of born-again Christians donate 10% of their income. The average weekly donation to a church is $17, totaling $884.00 annually. The most charitable churches are evangelical and Mormon. What do you think of these numbers? Before drawing any conclusions, you might find the amount of church debt interesting.

In 2018, 92% of mega churches had debt compared to only 11% of tiny churches. Four hundred twenty-five churches were surveyed, and the total debt was $ 849 million. Imagine that amount of debt for only 425 churches. If there are 300,000 Christian Churches in the USA, the aggregate debt must be a staggering number. What comes immediately to mind is the passage of scripture that states, “The borrower becomes the lender’s slave.” When churches borrow money for their buildings or programs, the tendency or temptation is to compromise the proclamation of the truth to keep members happy and giving, so that the cash flow is not reduced and financial obligations can be met. This often results in a seeker-sensitive and compromised approach to marketing and outreach, which is typically lenient on sin. Inevitably, the truth of the gospel commitment required to become a follower of Jesus Christ is compromised. The bar for entrance into the “church” is lowered so that even the unrepentant can enter.

What happens then is that, in many cases, the “new converts” to the church are not truly regenerated, born-again children of God. And the cycle of accommodation continues as these falsely converted members become part of the leadership of the church. The result is to become more compromised, thus appealing to the masses, and the truth becomes more diluted. Churches are filled and being filled with nominal “Christians”. Nominal Christians are hypocrites (who live in habitual sin) and chase those people who might be interested in the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ away. Churches are filled with enemies within, who advocate for woke, progressive, and wicked ideas, including gender fluidity, gay clergy, and gay Christianity.

According to the report mentioned above, the Presbyterian Church is the fastest declining church, losing 40% of its congregation and 15% of its churches between 2000 and 2016. Not far behind are Catholic baptisms, which declined by 34%, and ELCA infant baptisms, which declined by over 40%. There are many reasons for this decline, and one is the church’s liberal and progressive drift.

I alluded to this earlier, but it bears repeating. Perhaps as a result of bringing business models into the church, seminary education, at an accredited university, is viewed as critical and more important than the calling, godliness, and righteousness of the clergy pastoral applicant. What does the Bible say about the qualifications of these elders, teachers, bishops, and so on? In way too many cases, scholarship and academics take precedence over calling and holiness. Most seminaries today are bastions of unbelief in the Word of God. Most are now progressive or woke institutions. Ministry professionals are created at the expense of men of God who God calls into ministry. The church continues to resemble a business, and a worldly one at that.

Many churches refrain from engaging in politics, while others may overstep the bounds. About half of evangelicals do not vote at all. I have read that over 40 million so-called Christians do not vote at all. Imagine that. Christians can’t even be bothered to vote! Disgusting. The light has gone out, and the salt has lost its taste. More disgusting is the fact that many so-called Christians vote to keep baby killing legal and sexual depravity protected.

Even some evangelical leaders and churches buy the lies of the progressives and support BLM, social justice, gay affirmation, gay Christianity, and so forth. These blind guides even vote for the evil Democrat Party and Democrat candidates, thinking that it is somehow consistent with true Christianity. It is not. No murderer has eternal life abiding in them, 1 John. To vote Democrat is to vote for the continuation of legalized murder, which makes that person a responsible party and complicit in the shedding of innocent blood. They must repent or they will be damned. Often, the truth seems harsh. But that is what Biblical love looks like.

How many “Christians” vote their pocketbook or their political affiliation and do not vote for Biblical righteousness? Christians are told to be salt and light. They must be involved in all areas of civic life, especially politics. Roe v. Wade and all other wicked decisions by the government and Supreme Court can be laid at the feet of the organized, commercialized, “industrial Christian complex” called the ‘church’.

But the real church is the body of Jesus Christ. The real body of Christ is the remnant of actual believers amid the larger number of nominal Christians. Real Christians are engaged in all aspects of civic life, including politics, as led by God. They align themselves with those parties and politicians who adhere to the law of God.

While some may break the American Christian Church into:

1) Mainline Protestant,

2) Evangelical Protestant,

 3) Catholic churches, and,

4) other smaller denominations,

That is not the critical breakdown. Within all these broad designations, there remains a remnant of genuine believers. How many of these individuals, within the broad categories above, who claim to be Christian, are actually Christian? How many are nominal Christians (Christians in name only-CINOs)? Real Christians habitually obey God’s law and practice righteousness. Nominal Christians habitually do not obey the law of God and habitually practice unrighteousness. They may act and vote just like the unsaved pagan.

Real Christians will be involved in politics, but they will not engage in unrighteous actions to advance any political objectives. The end never justifies the means for genuine Christians. Their motive will be pure, as will their tactics. An honest Christian’s motive will be to save lives, protect the innocent, help the widow and the orphan, punish the guilty, and uphold justice and the rule of law except where it violates the law of God. Nominal Christians will cut corners in most everything, including politics. For these folks, the end justifies the means.

Why I left the Organized Institutional Christian Church System.

Years ago, I left the Roman Catholic Church because of its unbiblical doctrines. I started attending Christian churches for the first time in my life. Compared to the Catholic Church, all of it seemed more authentic than anything I had experienced in the Catholic Church, with its cold formalism and outward superficial piety. Since leaving the Catholic Church, my family has attended a variety of churches of different types, including the Assemblies of God, Vineyard Fellowship, Christian Missionary Alliance Church, and Evangelical Churches.

While doing independent Bible study on my own, many doctrinal beliefs that I was first taught as a new Christian needed to be rejected as I came to understand the word of God better. There was false teaching in almost every Christian church we attended. That doesn’t mean there are no faithful churches. It simply means that the ones we attended, where we lived, had compromised important truths of Scripture, and I could no longer just sit in a pew and listen. Because of the compromised institutional church, we eventually left the church system and began meeting with other like-minded, truth-seeking believers in homes instead of church buildings. Sometimes, my wife, daughters, and I simply opened the Bible as a family on Sunday mornings.

It seemed that every church we attended compromised Biblical truth for one reason or another. I think some of that was a result of church building debt, the desire to elevate one man, and the goal of growing the largest church possible. That is the way carnal men think.

In reviewing some other comments about why Christians are leaving the institutional Christian Church, others have cited doctrinal errors, along with me. For example, almost all the churches I attended taught the false doctrine of eternal security and related doctrines, even though their statements of faith might have indicated otherwise. I am sure there are many reasons why Christians have left and are leaving the Church system. Since the COVID lockdowns and as part of an overall trend, one site reports that church attendance among adults has declined from 42% to 30% between 2000 and 2023. That is staggering. Another site states that 40 million people have stopped attending Christian churches in the past 25 years.

That doesn’t mean they have stopped being Christian, although that may be the case for some. It just means that the local church did not provide what they were looking for and what they needed to grow strong in their walk with God. COVID may be a small part of that decline, but it is likely due to the feeble condition of the overall Christian church and the blatant hypocrisy of those carnal believers who attend church. 

Critics of Christians and Christian Churches getting involved in politics is another reason for the decline in church attendance, according to some. There may be some truth in that. Young adults state that the church is too judgmental or hypocritical. Approximately 25% of young people who leave the church cite disagreement with the church’s stance on political and social issues as the reason. More specifically, they are more accepting of homosexual relationships. What is one to make of that? Is the Bible wrong about the sins of fornication and sodomy? Or is it that the institutional church has done a poor job of explaining the truth of the Bible about sexual sins to the youth? Or is it because most of these younger folks have never really repented of their sins and been born again? Many churches do not believe that a Christian must repent of their sins to become a Christian. That helps to explain why “Christian” youth object to the truth of the Word of God.

Many Christian Churches also compromise on the issue of Biblical creation to accommodate so-called evolutionary science. Most likely, their church attempts to explain away what the Bible declares in the first few chapters of the Book of Genesis. They are taught constantly that the Bible is wrong and can’t be trusted in matters such as the age of the earth and the origins of life. It seems likely that their church has never provided them with compelling scientific reasons to believe what the Word of God declares about the history of the universe and our planet. If the Bible is wrong about the origin of life and the age of the earth, then maybe the Bible is wrong about fornication and homosexuality being a sin. Perhaps the Bible is mistaken about the existence of hell and that many go there.

Final comments

The concept of a ‘ home or house church’ has benefits, but it can become as ineffective as the organized church if each person doesn’t take up their leadership role within the group. The institutional church is not all bad, nor are all those who attend and lead these churches weak and cowardly. But many are. And the system itself, especially debt financing of facilities and governmental oversight, makes compromise inevitable.

You and I are the ‘church’ if we love Christ with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let us agree together to be the church of Christ wherever God sends us.

Please refer to the article “The Gospel” for more information about the Christian Church. I am one of the few who believe that what most Christian churches call the gospel is, in fact, another gospel, not the gospel of Jesus Christ.