When we expect little, we get little. When we aim low, we hit low. When we ask for little, we receive little.
For example, I hear a lot of people lament the fact that Christians, in the United States, are so weak in their faith. They are uncommitted, ungiving, etc.
How do so many leaders and churches respond to this problem? Answer: We lower the expectations and standards!? This does not remedy the problem, but propagates the problem.
I believe that a lowering of the standards is what caused this mess to begin with! We watered down what it meant to be Christian so that "more" people would "enter the fold." What we actually did was make Christianity a title rather than a way of life. Our faith failed to be transformational, because we settled for less than full transformation. Christianity ceased to be a separation from the world and to the things of God and became nothing more than a form of fire insurance and ease of conscious.
We have slowly transitioned to expect less and less. Thus, people of our churches are less involved, attend worship less frequently, give unfaithfully, and some do little to work in the harvest. This becomes evident in at least one way by the fact we barely expect to see people once a week in our churches anymore. Worship of the Creator has been so disregarded that we have bought in to the average Christian attending church 2 out of 5 Sundays (or whatever the stat is now).
This article is not about Sunday night worship services, though I still have a Sunday night worship service. The problem you will hear from clergy and laity is that we have a crisis of commitment, devotion to God and His Great Commission, etc. We have expected and asked less of people and in turn they have given less. As we expect less in the process of discipleship, we will receive less.
I believe that we have lost people to the church, not because we have asked too much but because we have asked too little. Shallow expectations do not produce deep Christians. Lowering expectations never increases spiritual maturity.
So what to do about this? Raise expectations! How? Well...
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1) Preachers: Be specific about what it means to be a Christian. Address clear issues of sin and evil, but also issues of worldliness. We can do better about giving our people practical tools to recognize the influences of our culture can bankrupt our faith. That actions, lifestyles, and entertainments have the potential to lead us away from the will and work of God. Be more specific and less philosophical.
2) Raise the standards! Raise standards from the top down. Pastors must live to high standards before they can expect others to live by high standards. Be specific about what standards the leadership of your church have. Do your Sunday School teachers have to come to worship to be teachers? Do your board members have to tithe to be in that position of leadership? Do those working with minors have to have a background check and training for sexual abuse prevention? Low expectations beget low results.
3) Raise the commitment level! Challenge others to commit. To deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. That's the simple call of the Gospel anyway. Everyone should be part of a discipleship group of some kind. Everyone should regularly be worshiping Christ with their brothers and sisters. Everyone needs to be serving the Lord through their local church in some capacity. These issues are not optional, they are essential! The question is not whether people are committed, but what they are committed to.
4) Highlight the right things. If someone is born-again and has a clear life change, then have them testify publicly. If someone is not modeling a Christian life then do not allow them to be on the platform during service. If someone professes Christ as Lord but lives like they are in love with the world you are promoting the wrong things by allowing them to retain leadership and/or publicly lead in worship services or places of spiritual authority. What people see exhibited in the leadership of the church is what people will tend to model in their own lives.
What might you add to the list?
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