The Tryanny of Inconsistency

As a disillusioned disciple my struggle has been with inconsistency, my own and in the church. As I consider the current state of Christianity in America, I see this as a root problem. Things look good from the outside with performance oriented big events, but that has nothing to do with day-in-day-out consistency in the walk of a disciple. It is easy to get excited and fired up to make a commitment at an event, but it is the long haul that counts. The church has become enamored with specialist who come in and do their program, get "commitments" and leave...wham, bam thank-you ma'am! Then on to the next event, a "one-night stand" approach to ministry!

What is needed is guidance into long term consistency. The church needs help into developing a core group of Jesus followers who live consistently in faith, and can pass it on to others. This is not a short-term fix, it is not a program, not a church growth strategy; what it is, is a commitment to personal growth, to Kingdom growth...to New Testament discipleship. What we need is gatherings where there are small groups of people who can interact, ask questions, be asked questions, focus on application, on the personal!

A culture has been created that simply lives for the next big mountain top experience. This has bled into our worship services where an experience is sought after with all the bright lights and snappy music; or through creating a service with a huge, majestic organ music and a sense of over the top grandeur. This is not what will help people grow or will deepen their walk or move them toward discipleship. Out of this come church members who move from place to place looking for the slickest Sunday morning production; whether it be traditional, contemporary or "old-fashioned gospel music"...the outcome is the same, superficial Christians who can't walk for the long haul.

The long term is what matters (Col. 1:22-23). This call to continue comes implicit with the idea of growing and deepening the faith. It is focused on becoming more and more intimate with Christ, growing both in knowledge and love. A growing consistency is the guide to see this happen; it can't happen with the performance or one-night-stand mindset!

This will require a fundamental change in how the church operates...it really is simply a return to discipleship as outlined in the New Testament. We don't need "Christian superstars" coming for one night only, what we need is people who are willing to invest their lives in the lives of others (2 Tim. 2:2). Only then can we transfer what is being learned and mastered, to what is being lived consistently in the lives of those who would be followers of Jesus. It does not matter if it is in a high school classroom or a corporate boardroom, the ethics of the life of a disciple of Jesus must be lived out! Right now, it is not happening and our country is slipping farther and farther into godlessness. This is the only hope to stop the slide...God help us!