Aftertaste

“As long as you faithfully preach the gospel, God will bless your ministry and your church will grow.”

I have heard that a lot through the years. But I know a lot of pastors who do just that and their church is doing nothing but trying not to die.

Why is that?

The truth is there are many reasons why that may be the case.

• Some pastors and church leaders are good at communicating to people but are bad at relating with people.
• Many seminaries have been teaching pastors to avoid making deep relationships in the church where they serve.
• The congregation simply does not “connect” with the pastor.
• It is even possible that God’s plan for that church may be to let it die.

There is a fifth reason this happens which, at least in my experience is far more common than these; and that is that too often we truncate what being faithful to the gospel means.

Faithfully preaching the gospel is essential to having a spiritually healthy church. Healthy growing churches will have sermons and messages that are based in Scripture that accurately and effectively communicate God’s truth. However what I have been learning is that, for many, this is where they stop—tell the truth and make sure your congregation knows the truth, teach sound theology, and exegete your way through Scripture. Do this, I have heard, and God will bless your ministry and your church will grow.

“What is the problem with that?” you say. Nothing. I am all for it. But if that were all it took many empty churches would be full, pastors would not be dropping out of the ministry at the rate of 1500 each month, and far fewer Christians would be struggling with depression, anxiety, fear of failure, guilt and shame.

We need to know the truth about Jesus before we can have faith in Jesus, but sometimes I think the church is more concerned about making sure people know the facts about Jesus instead of knowing Jesus Himself. Jesus said in John 14:6 (NIV), I am the way and the truth and the life. The Truth is a Person, the Way is a Person, the Life is a Person. Not a proposition. Not a doctrine. Not a belief. A Person. We need to remember that.

Psalms 34:8 (NIV) says, Taste and see that the LORD is good. What taste is left in the mouths of those we have talked to and spent time with? Who did they see? Tasting and seeing is more than simply knowing about God. In many of our churches people hear about Him but never see Him, many are made hungry but never taste His goodness. Being faithful I preaching the gospel means more than speaking the truth. It means incarnating it to those we tell it to though how we love, forgive, support, encourage, and engage with them outside of church. If we are not living for God through Christ in a way that introduces them to the Person of Jesus Christ so that He is seen and tasted as well as heard, then we are not really being faithful to the gospel we preach.