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On the surface, American churches appear to be thriving. They look successful, strong, vibrant, and spiritual. But nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is far more sobering.

Much of the church in America isn’t on life support; it has flatlined. We are witnessing something that resembles life but lacks the very thing that gives life: the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. If there isn’t a realization of how far we’ve strayed from what Jesus has called us to be, and repentance for what we’ve become, we run the very real risk of making Him sick. Ichabod is not a distant warning; it is a looming reality.

We have built gospel networks, church coalitions, and conventions centered around personalities, movements, and men. Massive worship concerts fill arenas with celebrity pastors and professional artists. Churches resemble corporations, complete with sleek buildings, meticulous branding, massive budgets, and religious professionals who know how to draw a crowd.

Many of these churches are rich, prosperous, and in need of nothing, at least in their own eyes. That should sound familiar. In Revelation 3, Jesus warned the church in Laodicea about being lukewarm. They were neither hot nor cold. They said, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.” His response was chilling: “I will spit you out of my mouth.” That is not just a warning for a first-century church; it is a mirror held up to the American church today.

The Worship

We have substituted the sacred for the superficial. What once was reverence has become a show. Lighting, fog machines, deafening music, and carefully orchestrated production have replaced worship in spirit and truth. We’ve traded doxology rooted in sound theology for emotion and repetition, “worship” that focuses more on felt needs than the holiness of God.

We gather in darkened auditoriums, staring at spotlit stages, surrounded by massive screens and countdown clocks. But in all of this, it has become increasingly difficult to hear the still, small voice of the Spirit. I’ve sat in services where the volume, lights, and atmosphere were so overpowering that there was virtually no chance to focus on the One seated on the throne. Warm feelings and goosebumps are not substitutes for true worship.

Just because we paste the words “Jesus,” “Savior,” or “gospel” on a screen does not make what we are doing pleasing to God. We’ve reduced worship to repetitious chords and emotionally driven lyrics, often making Jesus out to be little more than a companion to serve our needs rather than the sovereign Lord to whom we bow. There is no doxology without sound theology. We must return to worship that is anchored in who God is, not in how we feel.

The Machine

What many call “church” today has become a well-oiled machine. Success is measured by attendance and giving. Strategies, formulas, and systems ensure growth. Churches hire consultants and retain firms, paying thousands of dollars annually to help them cast a vision and expand their reach. Pre-packaged sermons are available for purchase, removing the necessity of seeking the Lord.

We’ve made it a priority to have something for everyone: events, giveaways, entertainment, and experiences designed to bring people back week after week. But somewhere along the way, the message changed. The gospel is no longer “Jesus came to save sinners.” It has become “God has a wonderful plan for your life.”

Jesus said, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” The modern church says, “Come as you are, get plugged in, find community, and belong.” Instead of going into the world to make disciples, we try to win the world by becoming like it. This produces movements that look like revival but are born of hype, not prayer, and of entertainment, not repentance.

The result? Not holiness, but an increasing appetite for more experiences. We hang banners, craft mission statements, and fill our halls with spiritual language. But the focus is often getting people into our buildings, not to the cross.

The Men

We have also seen a shift in leadership. Where we once believed God equips the called, we now operate as though organizations call the equipped. Executive search firms, coaching teams, and vision-casting experts have replaced dependence on the Lord. Scripture says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain.” Yet we labor with every tool except reliance on Him.

Preaching has changed as well. Where sermons once dealt with sin, holiness, eternity, and repentance, many so-called “pastors” now offer TED talks masquerading as sermons, about becoming a better version of yourself rather than being crucified with Christ.

We have traded shepherds for hirelings, prophets for performers, and Spirit-led men for spiritual influencers. Pastors are often treated like celebrities, building platforms rather than pointing people to the cross.

Churches look for polished, gifted communicators rather than broken, contrite men who tremble at God’s Word. And tragically, many rarely speak about sin, judgment, hell, or eternity. It is an eternal tragedy, a watered-down gospel that comforts people on their way to destruction. As has been said before, if there’s no brokenness in the pulpit, there will be no brokenness in the pew.

Business as Usual

I’ve written before that there is no time for business as usual, and that truth has only grown more urgent. What we have done is tailor the church into a comfortable Sunday experience. A wide road that doesn’t alarm anyone.

You know the scene. Friendly greeters, a polished welcome, a countdown clock, lights dim, and powerful, emotional music swells. Then a short, encouraging message about living your life to the fullest. An invitation to connect, belong, and get involved, then a closing song. People leave, encouraged, entertained, unchanged, and unwarned about hell and eternity. We send attendees out to spread the good news about our church, not Jesus. This is happening in tens of thousands of churches across America, and collectively, we call it success.

A Call to Repentance

This is not a call to abandon the local church; it is a call to restore it. It doesn’t matter if a church is large or small. What matters is whether Christ is at the center and the Spirit is present. What would happen if we cleared our schedules? If we laid aside our programs, strategies, and events for a season?

What if we stopped striving for visibility, relevance, and growth and instead sought the Lord in prayer, fasting, and repentance? What if we humbled ourselves and admitted that much of what we’ve built has been in our own strength? Perhaps then, He would meet with us again. Perhaps then, our churches would once again become places where His Word is honored, His Spirit is present, and lives are transformed for eternity. This is a call to pastors, leaders, and every believer: Let’s get before the Lord on our knees, in humility, and seek Him.

“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” -Jesus

Because if nothing changes, we run the very real risk of continuing to “do church” without the Spirit of the Church. Jesus made it clear: Without Him, we can do nothing. But if we return, if we truly return, He may yet revive us again. There is a remnant of true Christians and some local fellowships who make much of Jesus and His word. But for many American churches, this is an urgent call to repentance and restoration before it’s too late (Revelation 3:22).

All for Him,

Howard

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Link to the original article on Concerning The Times: https://concerningthetimes.com/a-warning-to-americas-lukewarm-church/

Link to our deep-dive podcast on America’s Lukewarm Church: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-warning-to-americas-lukewarm-church/id1565453348?i=1000756386953

Link to YouTube video of A Warning to America’s Lukewarm Church: https://youtu.be/JrQP7ZTcnbk?si=4LALDuIe_0jOUvTL&t=1

I want you to think about the adversaries in your life.

No, not the tax man or the bill collectors. Everyone deals with them. And I don’t mean pain and distress, health issues, past traumas, your HOA, family problems, or financial uncertainty. Most folks I know can relate to all – or a lot – of those things.

This is not about your job either. A lot of us get up every morning wondering if we have the strength to put our nose to the grindstone again. We all struggle in that space from time to time.

I’m talking about people.

I’m referring to the folks that don’t like you, who attack you, who put you down, and who conspire against you. I’m talking about people who mutter against you behind the scenes and who seem to disagree with you at every available opportunity.

I’m talking about those who have found part of their own identity in being a constant thorn in your side. Yeah – I’m talking about THOSE kinds of adversaries.

What!?! You don’t have any? What’s wrong with you?

In conversations I’ve had with several people lately, we’ve talked about these kinds of adversaries.

I didn’t bring the subject up. They did.

Those chats went something like this: General discussions about national affairs, Biblical doctrine, or politics gradually got more personal. Somewhere along the line, they told me they aren’t at odds with anyone – and as far as they see it, nobody’s got any issues with them.

What bothers me is they seem proud of that. They feel it’s some sort of badge of honor, a sign that they’re getting along and doing something right.

Excuse me while I barf!

Our world today doesn’t need any more dead fish that float downstream. It needs live, vigorous, determined fish who fight the flow and forge upstream. The world needs more fish who will battle the currents, bounce off the rocks, and assume the risks and challenges of swimming up and apart.

I am not a fish, and nor are you. But this analogy applies. Our current times are awash in compromise, spiritual erosion, and ‘wokeness.’ We urgently need people who will stand for virtue, speak the truth, and not endorse ‘politically correct’ opinions and ideas.

Said another way, the world desperately needs more people who are willing to take a few bumps and bruises and earn some adversaries. Even fierce ones!

I chanced upon an excerpt by 19th-century Scottish poet Charles Mackay. He pens this issue much better than I. Here is what he wrote:

“You have no enemies, you say?
Alas! my friend, the boast is poor;
He who has mingled in the fray
Of duty, that the brave endure,
Must have made foes! If you have none,
Small is the work that you have done.
You’ve hit no traitor on the hip,
You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip,
You’ve never turned the wrong to right,
You’ve been a coward in the fight.”

I’m not clear if that’s the whole poem or part of it, but it’s enough to make the point. If one has earned no adversaries, then one has not stood for anything – or anyone.

They are a coward. That’s nothing to be proud of.

Look around you. Our world today is being ripped apart by unprincipled people. They are not concerned with law and order, and for them “the end justifies the means.” Their corruption is marked by an activism that’s fueled by ignorance and confidence.

They are determined to speak their mind, collect fake signatures, bury facts, promote senselessness, silence opposition, torch cars, assist criminals, and pull triggers.

What about the rest of us?

Speaking as a believer in Jesus Christ, I am mostly concerned with those who claim to be of the Christian faith. Many of that crowd gather each Sunday preoccupied with ‘fitting in,’ showing their tolerance, or being ‘attractive to the lost.’

Basically, they do whatever is necessary to not ‘rock the boat,’ ‘upset the apple cart,’ or ‘make waves.’

We live in perilous times when those in the faith are often more concerned with what they don’t want to be than they are concerned with what they SHOULD be. They’ve largely dismissed the fact that people who have chosen darkness rather than light (John 3:19) are often at odds with – and even hostile to – the truth.

Why?

Jesus Himself said we should expect the world to hate us – and that includes the things we stand for and support – because it first hated Him (John 15:18-20).

Several conclusions can be made here. First, if the lawless and misguided factions of this world have no bone to pick with you, if they feel you’ve got a lot in common with them – then you’re not standing for the truth!

Second, it’s not possible to do what’s right and avoid earning adversaries. You cannot have it both ways. In the same way you cannot run around with skunks without smelling like one, you cannot be a pioneer for truth without receiving arrows in your back.

And third – that whole badge of honor thing? It’s really about earning adversaries the right way.

While we are instructed to be at peace with everyone if it’s within our means to be so (Romans 12:18), this is no instruction to sidestep our personal responsibility to stand up for the truth. It’s to our own gain when we do the right thing the right way for the right reason (Luke 6:22).

The basic point needs to be stated again: to be right with God has often meant to be wrong with man. It’s always been that way…

When we demonstrate a right relationship with God; when we properly say the things that need to be said; when we stand up for law and order; when we ‘build our house upon the rock’ (Matt. 7:24-27); when we support God’s divinely created order of things; when we stand on the infallibility, authority, and completeness of God’s Word; when we expose the deeds of darkness; and when we fight for justice, we will become a target. We’ll gain adversaries.

That’s just the way it is. It’s part of living life as we are supposed to. It’s about REALLY being ‘salt’ and ‘light.’ There is no way around it.

If you don’t have any adversaries, you’ve got a problem.

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A Warning to America’s Lukewarm Church :: By Howard Green

Got Any Adversaries? :: By Steve Schmutzer