“The Church Today.” There are lots of books and articles with titles like this. Yet whenever I see one, I feel a slight but perceptible tightening of my chest.

The reason is that pretty much anything anyone says is true.

According to various prominent Christian writers and thinkers, the church in America is “transitioning,” “increasingly unwelcome and alien,” and possesses an “entitlement ethos.” It is “headed towards the oblivion of irrelevance before God” and “should feel uncomfortable.”

Is your church in trouble? Well, here are the “top seven signs of a health church.” Or are there four such signs?  Wait – maybe there are 12!

We can also find many adjectives that characterize the American church.  Consumerism, acquisitiveness, materialism, superficiality, racial division, apathy, self-absorption, acculturation.

Then there are our many problems. Divorce, various sexual sins, substance abuse, addiction to pornography, child abuse and neglect, and so forth.

And let’s not forget theological compromise, unnecessary and petty divisions in Christ’s body, weak teaching, and neglect in making disciples.

My concern is that we American believers spend an awful lot of time pondering ourselves.

On the other hand, the American church is generous, caring, unjustly marginalized by a hostile culture, stereotyped by its opponents, falsely accused of hate because it stands for truth, family-oriented, forgiving, and evangelistic.

There are tens of thousands of believing churches and ministries doing the best they can to love God, love people, share the good news about Jesus in word and practice, serve their communities in multiple ways, and pray for and give to the church in the developing world.

Too Much Time Pondering Ourselves

My point is not to disparage sound analyses by Godly people. Nor is it to sow confusion about who we are and where we stand.  It’s not to condemn or excuse or exalt any of us who know and follow Jesus.

Rather, my concern is that we American believers spend an awful lot of time pondering ourselves.  

I plead guilty: I teach university courses in Christian worldview. On a regular basis, I look at articles, books, surveys and sermons that deal with the state of the church in the United States. Many of them contain valuable insights we should apply in our lives, our local churches and our ministries.

Yet I have a sense of discomfort at my own ongoing analysis. As well as those of many of my peers. In differing degrees, almost anything we say can be shown true.

Should we abandon healthy introspection? No. It’s much needed. But too much of anything can do harm. Swimming is great exercise but push yourself too hard and you’ll drown.

That’s why we should remember that there’s never a time when the basics are not important.

Never a Time to Ignore the Basics

First, if we want to be more like Christ, we need to pursue knowing Him. We need to contemplate all that the God of the Bible is, His awesomeness and His intimacy, His consuming fire and His tender mercy, His infinite power and His immeasurable compassion.  

Second, we need to do what Jesus said, in the power of the Holy Spirit He bestowed upon us.  He called us to be witnesses of His atoning death and life-giving resurrection to the “uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8).  He called us to make not only converts but disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).   Bringing people into right relationship with God through new birth into Christ and then helping them grow in their walks with Him is at the core of our Master’s business until He comes.  We are, as it were, His employees in that business.  Are we good ones?

Third, we need to care deeply for the broken – and so many in our culture are broken – and sacrificially minister to them.  None of us, and no one church or ministry, can meet every need of every person in our spheres of influence or relationship.  But we can seize the opportunities God gives us and, under Him, either directly interact with those needing help or point them to others who can better serve them.  This kind of effort requires time, energy, perhaps money, and spiritual vitality.  It can be draining.  But it’s why God left us on earth: To represent Him in His hatred of sin and His love for sinners.

Fourth, we need to sustain and enhance the essentials of strong and maturing walks with God.  In his classic book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney writes, “Although God will grant Christlikeness to us when Jesus returns, until then He intends for us to grow toward it.  We aren’t merely to wait for holiness; we’re to pursue it.”  Prayer, the Word, deep fellowship, worship, evangelism, and acts of mercy are among the ways we become more holy.  More like Jesus.

What is the condition of the church?  Ask yourself that question, Christian.  The answer starts, at least in part, with you.