Are You a Part of an Unhealthy Church?

I strongly believe that we are living in the lukewarm church era that Jesus talked about in the book of Revelation. Jesus in his message to the church that was in Laodicea was very stern, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other. So because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold- I am going to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”- Revelation 3: 15-17

We are living in a church era where the people of God are prospering, churches are actively involved in different social program; but the church is not healthy- there is an unbalance. The congregation at Laodicea was comfortable with their social programs and the people prospering that they never stop to look at the spiritual aspect of the church and if the Holy Ghost was the head of the church. Like the Laodicea church, many of the churches of today have forgotten its roots and have become spiritually unprofitable.

The question I would like you to think about is, are you a part of an unhealthy church? If you are then you need to think about your next move.

Here are some things to look for to see if you’re a part of an unhealthy church; in other words, is your church growing, not only in numbers but is it manifesting the Spirit of God?

[tweetthis]What are the characteristics of an unhealthy church?[/tweetthis]

Signs that you’re church are an unhealthy church

  1. The church is not a praying church. There is no spontaneous, heartfelt praying that is led by the Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit. Prayer seems to be mere formality and is very limited in each service. Moreover there are no vibrant prayer meetings where the move of the move of the Holy Ghost is evident.
  2. Preaching is mostly about prosperity. I do agree that God wants his people to prosper and be in good health, but surely he did not say that 90% of all the messages that comes from the pulpit for the whole year should be about prosperity and material things. God cares more about the souls of his people than about giving them material things.
  3. There is no active move of the Holy Spirit moving in the services. The Holy Ghost is not the one that runs the services but men. Services are programmed and everything has to be done according to a certain program, there can be no deviation.
  4. The church seems to be sleeping and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not being manifested. Because the church is sleeping spiritual, people comes to church with their issues and dying inside and leave the same way they came without receiving even a word from the Lord.
  5. There is no accurate revelation and word from the Lord. By all sign, the only revelation and the only time the Lord speaks is through the written words. God seems to have stopped speaking with the death of his apostles. The Bible has stopped being written, but God still speaks to his people.
  6. Very poor understanding of the scriptures. The church leadership and members do not have accurate understanding of the scriptures and there is no vibrant weekly studying of the scriptures taking place.
  7. Worship is not spontaneous but planned. When praise and worship is done it is programmed and only last for few minutes. There seems not to release of praise and worship even when it seems that is what God requires from his people at the moment.
  8. Everyone, at least the leaders, seems to be comfortable in the growth of the church and how services are being managed. It takes great sacrifice to keep the church flowing in the Holy Spirit and most times when the church is unhealthy the leaders are not willing to make the necessary sacrifice to bring the church to fruitfulness, and the people seems to be going along with this mindset and that everyone is okay
  9. Baptism and the infilling of the Holy Spirit/ Holy Ghost is very rare. New members are rarely added to the body of Christ, and there is not much emphasis and time allotted for the persons seeking the Holy Spirit, because of this people are rarely being filled with the Holy Spirit.
  10. Sin is not looked on as sin and Leaders teach that everyone will go to heaven despite their lifestyle; God will never send anyone to hell. Many churches tells their members that God does not condemn certain sins and once you are taking care of your family and attending church regularly, paying your tithes and offerings then you are okay with God. They do not show up sin for what it is, but choose instead the road of making everyone comfortable. They are afraid that if they tell their members that the homosexuals, fornicators, gamblers, whoremongers, liars, those who do not forgive and all those who lives in sin will not enter into the Kingdom of God but will go to hell.

How many of these can you identify as being present in your church? If you can identify with most of these then your church is unhealthy and a change is needed urgently. Each one of us is responsible for the part we play in the success or failure of the church. Each one of us has our part to play, maybe what you’re not a part of the decision team, or an officer of the church, but you can pray and fast for the growth of the church.

What are your thoughts on this matter? Please share by leaving a comment below

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