by Clarence L. Haynes Jr. 

The following article was written by a guest blogger, Clarence L. Haynes, Jr. Clarence is a speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club.  He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. His most recent book is The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. This book will teach you how to put the pieces together so you can live a victorious Christian life and finally become the man or woman of God that you truly desire to be. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has just released his first Bible study course called Bible Study Basics. To learn more about his ministry please visit www.clarencehaynes.com.

This article discusses a topic that has been on my mind recently. I felt that Clarence expressed the concern very well. He graciously agreed to let me republish it on this website.

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Over the past several years, I’ve found myself reflecting deeply on the state of the body of Christ in America, or what I’ll refer to as the American church. While my thoughts may not apply to every believer, there’s a pressing question that I believe we must honestly consider: Has the church in America lost its first love?

As I study the Scriptures, particularly the message to the church in Ephesus in the book of Revelation, I can’t help but draw some unsettling comparisons. Could it be that the American church, like Ephesus, has become so focused on standing for truth and fighting against evil that it has forgotten the heart of its faith?

When you line up the characteristics, the similarities are striking — and perhaps even sobering.

Jesus’ Message to the Church in Ephesus “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary” (Revelation 2:1-3).

When Jesus first addresses this church, he points out some noble characteristics. The people in the church of Ephesus were hard workers who embodied the spirit of perseverance. They didn’t crumble at the first sign of trouble, but they stood firm, refusing to give up. They had no tolerance for wickedness and they did not waiver in their commitment to the truth, carefully discerning and exposing those who were false. Their dedication to Jesus was unshakable, even when enduring hardships and attacks on their faith.

Through it all, they never grew weary; instead, they continued to stand strong for the name of Jesus, no matter what challenges came their way. This sounds like a church that knew what they believed and was ready to fight for what they believed in.

Ephesus Reminds Me of the American Church When I think of the church in Ephesus, it strikes me just how much it reflects the pulse of many in the American church today. There are pastors and believers alike who are quick to declare they are standing firm against evil, boldly shining a light on the deeds of darkness. They’re resolute in their stance against anything that doesn’t align with Biblical truth, particularly related to lifestyles that fall short of God’s standard.

With a pervasive sense that the church is under siege, many are ready to fight back with all they’ve got. It’s a rallying cry that resonates with those who see themselves in the midst of a spiritual battle, determined to stand their ground and defend their faith against a rising tide of opposition. Whether you share this sentiment or know others who do, it’s a perspective that exists in many segments of the church today.  

That’s Not the End of the Story If Jesus had stopped there, we would probably uphold the church in Ephesus as a model to follow, but Jesus had more to say. I believe what he says to Ephesus applies to the church in America as well.

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4).

In the New Living Translation (NLT) this verse says you don’t love me or each other the way you did at first. Can somebody please say ouch because those are piercing words, and those words speak volumes about what matters most to Jesus. However, the words he utters next probably represent the biggest gut punch.

“Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:5).

This tells me that correct theology is not enough. While it is crucial for believers to have the right doctrine, it is not enough because Ephesus had correct theology. Many of those who are standing against some of the wickedness in our society today also have correct doctrine, but shining light for Christ requires more than that.

It can be so easy to get caught up in fighting the good fight that we ultimately forget what we are fighting for and, more importantly, what our mission is as believers in Jesus Christ. We are Christ’s ambassadors who have been given the ministry of reconciliation. This means our job is to make the appeal and reconcile people to Jesus. One critical component in that responsibility is how we love God, each other, and those around us. Consider the words of Jesus.

“’Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:36-40).

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

As you look at these verses, Jesus highlights the most important aspect of your Christian journey: Your relationship with him and your relationship with others. Even if you have all the right doctrines and all the right truth, if you don’t love Jesus and love each other, it cancels them out. If you stand for truth and righteousness without love, it gains you nothing. I believe this mindset has crept into the American church. Listen to God’s word on this.

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3, NLT).

For those preachers, teachers, and believers who are upholding the truth of God’s word, is it possible that the message is being lost because we love being in the fight for truth more than we love the one who is the truth? When loving Jesus first and completely becomes the top desire of your heart, it will affect the way you love others, because you will see people the way Jesus does. This is what we are called to do, and it feels like this is missing from many segments of the church.

How We Treat People Matters Can you win people to Christ without loving them in the process? I don’t know if that is possible. Here is what I know. We have a responsibility to uphold the truth and stand for righteousness in our society. That’s what it means to be salt and light. However, how we live and how we deliver that truth matters just as much. In Romans, Paul tells us it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4). That was true when Paul wrote it, and that is true today. Take a moment and ponder these three questions:

What impact would we have in our culture if we stood for truth and showed love and compassion to those who may disagree with us?

What would happen if we loved Jesus so much that we considered people’s eternal condition over their temporary social status, economic status, or any other demographic?

What would happen if we just loved and cared about people the way Jesus did?

When Jesus was addressing the church in Ephesus, I believe this is what he meant. How I love you and how you love me matters. The way you love those who are outside the body of Christ, that matters too. Ultimately, however, the only way this type of love is going to flow through your heart is by loving Jesus first.

Here Is the Challenge I believe we who are followers of Jesus need to get back to loving Jesus first and then living out what it means to love others. I will not profess that this is easy to do because it is not. But if we are going to have the influence in the world that Jesus desires us to have, then as challenging as it may be, this is absolutely necessary. When we neglect loving Jesus and loving others, even if we get other things right, the words of Jesus ring true. Look at the height you have fallen.  

As Jesus told the church in Ephesus, I believe it is time for the church in America to repent and get back on mission. Fight for truth, but love Jesus and love people while you do it because the harvest field is still ripe. People are still searching for answers and looking for truth, and we are the ones who have the truth.

Finally, to remind you of what this love should look like in our actions, I leave you again with the words of Scripture.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 12:4-8a).

Photo credit: Unsplash/Kelly Sikkema

Originally Published September 03, 2024

In a recent blog (https://liftupmyeyes.com/what-is-discipleship/) we discussed what discipleship is and what God expects of us as believers and disciples. However, a cursory glance at the Christian landscape today reveals a number of so-called paths to discipleship. Make no doubt about it, discipleship is hard, it takes persistence and consistency. There are no “Five Easy Steps to Discipleship.” In this article, I am proposing some reasons for the lack of true disciples in our churches. I almost stated in the previous sentence “the decline of true disciples in our churches today,” but I am not certain that this is a new phenomenon. Likely the church has always had difficulty training true disciples who attempt to fulfill Jesus’ admonition in Luke 9:23 “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

It is obvious that church membership, attendance, and discipleship are on the decline. David Thompson, writing in The Atlantic, observes that 25 percent of the American population identifies as agnostic, atheist, or unaffiliated. In the last 25 years, 40 million Americans stopped going to church. He states that this is the “largest concentrated change in church attendance in American history.” He lists several reasons for this decline. There is obviously some overlap among these reasons.

1. Politics, as evangelical Christians have embraced the Republican Party, Christians of liberal political persuasions have nowhere to go and have left the church.
2.  Divorce, particularly men who tend to drop out.
3. Our decline in face-to-face socializing. We rationalize, “Why go to church when I can watch services on television?” This spills over to other social events in our lives.
4. Disengagement as we withdraw and reduce the level of our volunteerism, our dissatisfaction with our community and social life. We are lonely.
5. Fewer shared spaces where connections are made. We find it easier to sit at home rather than go out and “do things” with other people. We don’t sit around over a cup of coffee and solve the worlds problems as we once did.
6. Community has been replaced by technology. We stare at our iPhone screens, in deference to interacting with others.

Religious rituals are the opposite of these factors. I am not talking just about singing, preaching, praying – the things we do in Sunday morning worship but the broader landscape of church activity. Small groups gathering just for socializing, groups banding together to help meet needs of those outside the church, having “work days” to help our community, groups meeting for Bible study. Thompson states that these rituals “put us in our body.” Religious ritual is embodied, synchronous, deep, and collective.” We have lost much of this today.

Bill Leonard, in writing for Baptist News Global stated that Thompson’s article is a “plea for the survival of faith communities that offer safe harbor amid the turmoil of isolation, loneliness and enduring social and political conflict. For Christian faith communities, that kind of safety is grounded in the teachings of Jesus, although determining the meaning and application of those teachings is the source of considerable debate, even conflict, inside American Christianity. The Bible is our guide, but it sometimes does not give us definitive answers to our social, political, and other questions that arise in daily life.”

Ryan Burge, discussing “casual dechurching” has taken note of reasons people leave the church. His observations are that these reasons are often boring, logistical reasons that escape the headlines. The number one reason people dechurched was because they moved. Rather than find a new church, they determined it wasn’t worth the time and effort. Other reasons include marriage, having kids, change in jobs or schedules. Just plain nuts-and-bolts reasons. 

This statement by Burge is quite an indictment of the church today. It tells me that today’s church is irrelevant, has lost its religious significance and has become not much different than a social club. I was once part of a church (name changed to protect the innocent) that met this definition. Many attended this church to be seen and to be identified as a Christian man or woman. I referred to it as the First Congregational Church Country Club.

The church is declining because it is not meeting the Gospel needs of the population. Many today may identify their faith as “spiritual but not religious.” I realize their intent is to avoid being labeled religious due to the shortcomings of many religious leaders. I do not identify as spiritual. Someone reminded me that Satan is a spiritual being, so I needed to be more specific. I am a Child of God, my allegiance is to a spiritual being we know as Yahweh, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit.

A leading cause of the woes of the church today is the church itself. Well-publicized scandals of sex, money, and other misdeeds have eroded our confidence in our church pastors and leaders. Burge states “All these stories continue to come out about religious people doing dumb things, doing immoral things, and that fits this larger narrative that’s going on in American culture right now, especially amongst young people. Cynicism is at all-time highs. Only about 9,999 in 10,000 pastors are doing their job as best they can. But the one in 10,000 who does something terrible gets transferred to all pastors.” All of us are fallen beings, no one is perfect. In a listing of characteristics of successful leadership, the number one characteristic is often “authenticity.” Many of our church leaders today lack this characteristic.

Rick Renner, writing for CBN, stated that it may eventually seem that there are three churches. One, those holding fast to the truth and facing opposition for doing so. But we must be careful to hold to the TRUTH and not tradition. Second, Renner cites a church in the middle, seeking accomodation or compromise, much like the church in Pergamum in Revelation 2:12-17.  They have not renounced Christ, but they have adopted false teachings. Third, he cites a lukewarm Laodicena-like Church that has watered down the Gospel message (Revelation 3:14-22).

Leonard speaks of a conversation he had with the last three sisters at Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH. He asked the sisters “How do you feel about the disappearance of your order?” One of the sisters replied “We regret it deeply, but we know the Spirit will reveal itself again, somewhere, somehow. They may not call themselves Shakers, but they will live a kingdom life.” 

And that is the good news. Despite widespread rejection or misapplication of the Christian faith, the church will survive. We do not need to worry excessively about the future of the church. The church is the Body of Christ. Christ is eternal, the church will be with us until called home. As believers, we are to remain a part of the Body, doing all we can for as long as we can.

All scripture unless otherwise is from the New American Standard Bible.

Photo Credit @doidam10 via Canva

In many churches and Christian circles today, discipleship is a popular topic. In my opinion, much of what passes for discipleship falls woefully short of what Jesus and scripture had to say about discipleship. I did a Google search to see what others said about this term and found a number of articles and lists that attempt to define discipleship. “Six (eight, ten, the number varies) characteristics of discipleship.” Not being satisfied, I looked at what Jesus said. In Luke 9:23 Jesus laid out three requirements to be His disciple: “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’”

My first observation was that Jesus was NOT talking to the twelve, He was addressing all of His followers. He had just finished the feeding of the five thousand. It is reasonable to assume that “them all” included more than just the twelve. He laid out three requirements for a disciple. The lists I previously alluded to probably contain these three, but elaborate on them as supplemental material. I like to keep things simple, so we will elaborate on the three components Jesus mentioned:

• • • • • • • Deny self
            • Take up YOUR cross 
            • Follow Him

Deny Self  I see these three as a progression toward discipleship. In denying self, Jesus is telling us that, if we are to be His disciple, we must love Him more than we love our family. In Luke 14:26 we read “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” God is a god of love, how can He speak hate? My first observation is that God’s hatred could be more a matter of priorities rather than a despising of another individual or object. Think of a continuum. At one end is God. Everything else is less than the love we have for God. So we are not being told to hate, or despise others. We are being told that God should be number one, by far, in everything. Second place is not even close. Thus we place God as the most important thing in our lives and deny ourselves whatever not according to His plan.

Luke 26 goes on to say in verses 28-30 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘this person began to build, and was not able to finish!’”

We must be careful that, in denying ourselves, we do not ignore ourselves. We may take the attitude that any desire we have is sinful, we ignore the fact that God provides good things for us here on earth.

Discipleship carries a cost and we are being told to determine if we are willing to pay the cost. When I see this scripture, I am often reminded of the “Eyesore on I-4.” If you’ve traveled on that highway in the Altamonte Springs area, you’ve probably noticed it. The building has been under construction since 2001 and remains incomplete. It is known as the Majesty Building and was designed to house the not-for-profit Christian TV station WACX and was funded with contributions from viewers. For any number of reasons, it remains incomplete. But comparing the Majesty Building to Christ’s statement is a glaring example of what He was referring to. The cost of the building was not fully considered. In making the commitment to follow Jesus, we need to count the cost. Is there anything in our lives that hinders us from putting Christ first in everything?

Take Up Your Cross This command of Jesus is often misunderstood. We often use it in reference to a burdensome task. If, for example, you have a loved one who needs you to be their caretaker, that task may be referred to as the cross you have to bear. In this regard all of humanity, a follower of Jesus or not, will experience difficulties in this life. That is not what Jesus was referring to. 

Also, taking up our cross is not a symbol for us figuratively bearing Christ’s cross. He bore His cross. Here, he is telling us to take up OUR cross.

What is the cross? Although we may use a cross as a Christian symbol, the actual cross is an instrument of death. When Jesus tells us to take up our cross daily he was telling us that we need to die to self each and every day. We are sinful, fallen human beings. We will stumble. By dying to self daily, we help maintain our discipleship. In Luke 9:24 Jesus elaborates on taking up the cross by saying “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, this is the one who will save it.” 

Follow Me Jesus is calling us to discipleship. The definition of disciple varies depending on one’s perspective. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a disciple as “one of the twelve in the inner circle of Christ’s followers.” This is entirely too narrow, as Jesus calls us all to discipleship. A second definition from the same source defines ‘disciple’ generically as “one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another.” We can be disciples of someone other than Christ. We might think of ourselves as a disciple of a strong, charismatic leader. But this can be a misplaced allegiance. Jim Jones had disciples who followed him, and drank the Kool Aid, killing over 900 souls.

Following Jesus means that we do what He bids us to do. Jesus does not have a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all discipleship. Jesus has a task for us and there will be consequences when we follow Him. Whatever He calls us to do we should do our best. A Christian not working hard is a poor example. Colossians 3:17 tells us “Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Do it well, as you are doing it in the name of Jesus. Be thankful for the task God has given you.

I would add that a task or assignment from God is not necessarily for life. As we go through this life, the tasks that God has for us may change. There are seasons in our human lives, there are also seasons in our Christian life.

Never forget that discipleship is a task we don’t face alone. When Jesus ascended, he promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit would be with them. In Acts 1:8 Jesus tells us “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.. There may be difficulties but ultimately we can’t lose.

Cross picture by Freepix. All scripture is from the NASB unless othewise stated.