THE FORTRESS HAS FALLEN: Why the Church Needs to Change NOW or Die

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus proclaimed,

"I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

I heard more bad sermons on that verse than I can count. I preached several of those bad sermons. Most pastors misinterpret that verse. And that misinterpretation has shaped how we see and do church today.

For many years, the picture that came to mind when I heard that verse is of an impenetrable fortress. Something from “The Two Towers” from the Lord of Rings trilogy.

Frodo and friends were hiding behind the strong walls of Helms Deep while an army of orcs attacked them. Of course, in the movie, the walls failed and an army of orcs come charging in. But at the last moment, the resurrected Gandalf charges in on a white horse to save the day. It’s almost as if Tolkien read the Bible or something.

That's how I saw the Church. The Church was a fortress built by Jesus to protect God's people from the big, bad, evil enemies of this world. If we wanted to stay safe, all we needed to do was to stay behind the walls of our church buildings.

Well, I have bad news for you.

The fortress has fallen.

The orcs got in. The walls are broken down. What wars, famine, and persecution couldn't do, an invisible virus did. The COVID-19 global pandemic has shut the doors of hundreds of thousands of churches. Worship services for millions of believers have been canceled for months.

Today, we are living in a completely different world than the one we had only a few months ago. Most churches quickly adapted. We began using technology that was unimaginable only a few years ago. Now even the most old school church is familiar with Zoom and live-streaming. Now, a "Digital Shepherd" has become one of the most important roles in the local church.

We are experiencing the most radical cultural and technological shift. We haven't had a shift like this since Gutenberg invented the printing press. And remember that shift in technology directly led to the Reformation. Now we are experiencing another radical shift. We’re going from Gutenberg to Google. 

No one can be sure of where this radical disruption will lead the Church in the future. But one thing that I'm certain about is that "the fortress has fallen." 

The fortress model of the Church was declining anyways. Church attendance has been declining for decades. Our influence on the culture is nearly unseen. Churches will be surprised when they reopen for public worship services. There will be a noticeable decline in attendance. And the "come and see" approach will no longer be effective. Big events and programs will no longer connect with the unchurched.

But this is not all doom and gloom. I have some very good news for you.

Yes, the fortress has fallen. But the Church wasn't meant to be a fortress in the first place. 

Let’s take a closer look at the words of Jesus:

"I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

There are two things we need to correct in our understanding of the Church.

1) The Church is a people, not a place or organization.

First off, the English translators got this verse flat wrong. The original Greek word for "church" is the word "ekklesia" referring to the people of God. Literally, it meant "a gathering of people called out by God."

The English translators choose to borrow the German word "kirche" in place of "ekklesia." That's how we got the idea that the church was a place and an institution. That's how it became a fortress.

Writer Ed Rotz puts it this way:

"something significant and eventually heartbreaking happened in 313 A.D. when Constantine legalized Christianity... the Church ceased to be a movement; it became a location. Eventually, a German word, kirche, was substituted for ekklesia. Kirche and ekklesia refer to two very different ideas. A kirche (church) is a location while an ekklesia (church) is a purposeful, often powerful gathering of people united by identity and purpose."

Andy Stanley sums it up this way, “You can lock the doors of a kirche. Not so with the ekklesia of Jesus.”

2) The Church is playing offense, not defense.

Remember, Jesus said,

"I will build my church (people) and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

I've read this verse the wrong way for years. I assumed that the Church was a fortress of protection for God's people against the armies of hell. That's how you probably read it too.

But let me ask you a question:

Have you ever seen a "gate" attack a fortress?

Of course not. Gates don't attack. Gates are stationary. 

So according to this verse, who is on offense and who is on defense?

Don't you see it?! We're on OFFENSE! But most Christians don't realize that we got the ball!!! I think that's why we keep losing. 

We've been playing it safe. We’ve been playing “prevent defense" when we've had the ball the whole time.

The Church of Jesus was never supposed to be a fortress of protection. The Church that Jesus promised to build is an ARMY of people called out of the world and given a mission. Our mission is to attack the Gates of Hell! And when we do that, Jesus promises us victory.

Do you hear me? Jesus never promised us safety, but victory!

So the fortress has fallen! Woohoo! Ding dong the witch is dead. We weren’t supposed to be a fortress anyways. With the fortress mentality gone, now maybe, we can become the army that Jesus intended us to be all along.

I have never been more hopeful and excited for the Church of Jesus in America than I am at this moment. Throughout the years, I heard amazing stories of past revivals and movements. My heart would long and yearn to see it happen here.

Movements arise in times of massive change. And we’re in the middle of the greatest disruption anyone can remember. Now that the fortress has fallen, maybe we can embrace our calling to become God's Army.

I'm enlisting for the fight. Are you ready to join me?

Let’s change the world together.