Are you DISSATISFIED with the Church?
Podcast Episode 08
Dissatisfied Christians
Are you a Christian who is frustrated with the Church? If you are, you're not alone. More and more Christians are frustrated with the Church than ever.
I recently had a conversation with a passionate follower of Jesus, evidenced by his many Christian tattoos. He even had some in biblical Hebrew, but I couldn't read it. I took Hebrew in Seminary, but that was a long time ago and I got a C.
I asked him if he was a Christian and what church he went to. He didn't know I was a pastor, so that permitted him to be honest with me.
He averted his eyes and shook his head and said, "Man, I'm done with the Church."
I felt his frustration and his disappointment. He didn't have to say anything else. I knew what he was feeling.
An uncomfortable prolonged beat of silence stretched out between us as searched for something encouraging to say. I'm usually not at a loss for words, but nothing wise and pithy came to me. When he finally reestablished eye contact with me, all I could do is nod my head in agreement and say, "Man, I know what you mean."
I used to think that dissatisfaction with the Church was a sign of an individual's spiritual immaturity or religious consumerism. But not anymore. I'm realizing that the angsty dissatisfaction and frustration that many Christians (especially among Gen Y and Gen Z) feel about the Church is becoming normative.
But we have to ask, "Is this a good thing?"
Is it okay for a Christian to be dissatisfied and frustrated with the Church?
Yes, of course, it's okay.
Do you know how I know it's okay to be frustrated with the Church? The Head of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ himself gets frustrated with the Church.
In Revelations 2-3, Jesus speaks to the Seven Churches in Asia Minor. For 6 out of 7 of those churches, Jesus has harsh words of rebuke and correction for them. In essence, he says, "I'm not happy with you. If you don't change your ways, I'm going to shut you down."
Currently today, I believe that the level of our dissatisfaction with the state of the Church is a huge problem. But the problem isn't that we are too dissatisfied with the Church. I believe that the real problem is that we are not dissatisfied enough.
We have become comfortable with how things are. We are happy and content with the mess that the Church is in. Most Christians are just fine with the way things are in the Church even though we have drifted away from God's plan and purpose for us.
If you're not disappointed with the Church, just look at what we've become known for. Ask anyone outside the Church what they think of us. What will they say?
They will say that we are political, selfish, unloving, and care only about ourselves. They will say we are tribal, judgmental, hypocritical, power-hungry, and driven by greed. They will say we are people who are angry, combative, defensive, and who react out of fear. That we are known more for our passionate fight for our politics and culture war issues, and not the Gospel.
This is not how it's supposed to be. We used to be known for our love, unity, and generosity. Reaching out to our neighbors. Caring for the needy. Advocating for the powerless. Welcoming the stranger. Loving our enemies, enduring persecution, and praying for those who persecute us.
We were bold proclaimers of the saving message of the Gospel of Jesus. We were once salt and light. A city on a hill to guide the way for a lost and dying world. But now our salt has lost its saltiness.
It saddens me that the Church today has become more associated with politics and conspiracy theories than the Gospel of Jesus. It's no wonder that we are becoming less and less relevant to the world God has called us to reach.
Jesus asked, "If salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?"
More Dissatisfaction, Not Less
How are we going to fix the mess we're in? You may not like my answer.
I believe that, if we're going to dig ourselves out of this mess, we need faithful Christians to become more dissatisfied with the Church, not less.
I want you to be bothered at how far we've fallen. I want you to be frustrated and grieve and how things are. I want you to get mad at what the Church has become.
I see far too many Christians focusing on what's wrong with the world. They get mad and complain about the world, but they ignore what's wrong with us. I want us to take that passion and energy as we look at ourselves and how we need to change.
I believe that no biblical, faithful Christian should be satisfied with the state of the Church today. I want to encourage you to be more dissatisfied with the Church, not less. But I want to make sure that your dissatisfaction is productive and not destruction.
Two Kinds of Dissatisfaction
There are two kinds of dissatisfaction. They may look the same at first glance, but that can't be more different. Sometimes it's hard to tell them apart, but one is good and healthy and the other is bad and destructive.
The first type of dissatisfaction is "Productive Dissatisfaction." This is when you say, "Wow, this place is a mess. Let's tear it down so we can fix it and make it better."
Imagine the Church is like an old house that you inherit from your grandparents. It's old and smells funny. It has a different ugly mismatched wallpaper in every room. There's termite damage, mold in the walls, faulty electrical wiring, and poisonous lead paint. But at least the asbestos glue is keeping the linoleum in place.
Even so, the house has good bones with great potential. You've watched Chip and Joanna Gaines do more with less. So you say, "We got to tear out all that stuff so we can fix it and make it better." That's productive dissatisfaction.
The second type of dissatisfaction is "Destructive Dissatisfaction." This is when you see the mess and say, "Let's tear it down and light it on fire!"
Which type of dissatisfaction do you have? Productive or destructive? What do you have in your hands? Do you have a broom or a molotov cocktail?
Signs of Productive Dissatisfaction
To make things better, we need more Christians who are filled with healthy productive dissatisfaction. There's a lot of work to do. If you're ready to put down that molotov cocktail and pick up a broom, I have three suggestions for you.
1) Make sure your expectations for the Church are biblical and healthy.
Disappoint comes from having unmet expectations. You need to make sure that the expectations you have for the Church come from the Bible. Make sure that your expectations are not selfish, immature, or politically motivated. This isn't a matter of personal preference or opinion. You should expect the Church to be what the Bible says it should be.
In Acts 2:40-42, the Bible describes the beautiful beginnings of the Church. It describes a loving community of people from diverse backgrounds who were radically changed by God. They were united by their love for each other and commitment to God's mission.
They formed a unique community of trust, vulnerability, love, and support. Former enemies and political rivals became brothers and sisters in God's adopted family. They met together daily in the public square and welcomed each other into their homes. As my father-in-law would say, they gave each other "refrigerator rights."
They gathered to study the teachings of Jesus. They ate and shared the bread and wine in remembrance of Jesus' death. They worshiped and praised God together. They joyfully sacrificed for each other. The Bible said they sold their possessions and gave the proceeds to anyone who had a need.
And God blessed them. He presence with them in a mighty way. God was at work and they enjoyed favor with all the people. God used this newly formed adopted spiritual family to radically transform their community, and eventually the entire world.
We today, the Church, are the direct spiritual descendants of that original family of faith. The bad news is that we have fallen so far from that description that it's hard to believe we have any connection with them at all.
If you read the Bible and are frustrated with how short we have fallen from God's plan and design for us, then you're in good company. I share your frustration. I also believe that how things are in the Church today is not how Jesus intended it to be.
The first step in reforming the Church is to make sure your expectations are biblical and healthy.
2) Make sure your dissatisfaction is motivated by love and concern for the Church.
Don't be a hater or a troll. Don't just stand outside and be a critic. Critics don't love what they are criticizing.
I'm not saying that you can't say anything critical or challenging about the Church. Just make sure it's coming from a place of love and concern, and not from a critical heart.
One of the New Testament Church's biggest critics was the Apostle Paul himself. He was hugely frustrated with the Church at different times. Many of his epistles were written out of frustration at how the Church was missing the mark.
The most scathing letter Paul ever wrote was his first epistle to the Church in the city of Corinth. We call it 1 Corinthians. The Church in Corinth had lost its way. It fell into moral compromise and fell into false doctrine. Paul doesn't pull any punches and speaks to them very harshly. But it worked. They receive Paul's instructions and start to turn the church around.
A little while later, Paul writes a follow-up letter (we call it 2 Corinthians). In this second letter, Paul softens his tone and apologizes for being so harsh with them earlier.
He writes:
For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you. (2 Corinthians 2:4)
Paul was frustrated and dissatisfied with the Church at Corinth. He let his frustrations be known loudly and publicly. But, please notice, that his dissatisfaction was motivation out of his love, care, and concern for the Church. He said those harsh words out of "great distress and anguish of heart." Paul cried "many tears" as an expression of the depth of his love for them.
The source of Paul's frustration is an example to us. His frustration was motivated by love.
When you see the Church going astray, it's okay to be frustrated. As long as it's motivated from a place of love, care, and concern, go ahead and let your frustrations show. Just don't be a hater, a troll, or a critic. Critics don't what they are criticizing.
Saint Augustine is a good example of this. During the 4th Century, during a time when the Church was going astray by merging power and identity with the Roman Empire, Saint Augustine valiantly lead a faithful remnant.
Faithful Christians were appalled at the level of compromise and corruption in the Church in that era. They were justifiably dissatisfied and frustrated. Many thought that the Church was irredeemable.
They complained, "The Church has become a whore! She has become a whore to the Roman Empire!"
They wanted to tear down the whole thing and set it on fire. But not Saint Augustine. While he couldn't deny that the Church was becoming more and more corrupted with power and association with the political might of the Roman Empire, he argued for a more productive way forward.
Saint Augustine is said to have replied,
"The Church may be a whore, but she is my mother."
Augustine couldn't deny that the Church was unhealthy and becoming more and more corrupt. But he loved the Church. He couldn't turn his back on her. He couldn't just tear it down and light it on fire.
In essence, he said, "I know the Church is a mess, but I love her dearly. Let's figure out how we can fix it, not blow it up."
The second step to reforming the Church is to make sure we are motivated by genuine love, care, and concern for the Church.
3) Turn your dissatisfaction into a catalyst for change.
If you're dissatisfied and frustrated with the Church, don't just complain. Don't just be a critic. Critics never change anything. Instead, allow your dissatisfaction to grow in your soul to become a catalyst for change.
One of the ingredients necessary for any change is dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction is the beginning of change. No change can happen unless you are sick and tired of how things are.
As I stated earlier, I believe our problem is that we are not dissatisfied enough. Many of us are dissatisfied enough to complain, or maybe even get up and leave. But I see few Christians dissatisfied enough to make changes.
This is how revolutions and reformations are born. They are birthed in the hearts of dissatisfied people who have had enough of the way things are that they finally decide to do something about it.
This is how the Civil Rights Movement started. Rosa Parks was sick and tired of being treated as a second-class citizen, so she refused to go to the back of the bus. This is how the Protestant Reformation got started. Martin Luther was sick and tired of all the ways that the Church was becoming unfaithful and corrupt. He wrote a manifesto and detail 95 changes that the Church needed to make and he nailed his lengthy document to the front door of the largest church in town. That manifesto is known as the 95 Thesis became the spark that lit the fire that became the Protestant Reformation.
Don't just be a complainer. Become a reformer. Allow your dissatisfaction to become a catalyst for change. Don't just talk about it. Be about it.
This reminds me of the story of Nehemiah. He's one of my favorite people in the Bible. Nehemiah was the royal servant to the most powerful man in the world, the King of Babylon. He had a cushy job in the royal palace.
Everything was great for Nehemiah. That is until he got a report about the dilapidated conditions of Jerusalem, God's Holy City. When he found out that Jerusalem was in ruins, its walls broken down and gates burned with fire, the Bible said he broke down and wept for days.
This lead to a period of fasting, mourning, and prayer. Eventually, his dissatisfaction grew to the point that it was unbearable for him to do nothing about it. That's when he started making a plan to restore Jerusalem.
From hundreds of miles away, Nehemiah architected a detailed plan on how he would rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He calculated how much it would cost, how much lumber and supplies he would need. He thought through the process of getting permits. He decided that he needed security and a line of credit. Included in his plan was an estimate of how long this building project would take.
When Nehemiah had the opportunity, he asked the King of Babylon for permission to leave his cushy job in the palace to go and rebuild Jerusalem. When the king asked him what this rebuilding project entailed, Nehemiah, show him the detailed plan he was working on.
Nehemiah said, "King, this is how much this project is going to cost. Here is the materials list. This is how many men I'll need to take with me. And this is how long it's going to take. Can I go?"
Impressed with Nehemiah's thorough plan, the king blessed Nehemiah's plan and even paid for the whole rebuilding project. When Nehemiah finally arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered up all the people living in the ruined city.
He said to them:
"You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." (Nehemiah 2:17)
How did the people respond?
They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work.
The restoration of Jerusalem started as a seed of sadness and dissatisfaction in Nehemiah's heart. It grew to become a catalyst to change. When the people saw Nehemiah's passion for change, it rubbed off on them. And they go to work.
Three Options
Things are bad right now for the Church. There's no denying it.
What are we going to do about it?
I think there are three options:
Ignore it.
Complain about it.
Or try to fix it.
If we're going to fix this mess, we first need passionate, committed Jesus-followers who are filled with dissatisfaction. But we need to make sure that our dissatisfaction is productive, and not destructive. We need a dissatisfaction that comes from biblical and healthy expectations for the Church. We need to make sure that our dissatisfaction is motivated by love and concern for the Church. And we need people who are committed enough to do more than complain but will roll up their sleeves and get to work.
Things may be bad right now. You may be dissatisfied with how things are. The Church is a mess right now, so let's pick up a broom and get to work. We need you.
Note: If you want to watch a sermon I recorded on this topic, here’s the link to YouTube: