We had the pleasure of inviting pastors Neal Karsten and Matt Schneider on to talk about what it means to be decentralized as a church or pastor, what challenges face the Church, and how they are prioritizing discipleship over building permanent churches.
The modern church has become more of an experience for Christians to partake in, rather than a hands-on situation. The Bible, and our Lord, gave each individual believer immense power within the body of Christ, yet much of that potential goes to waste due to top-down churches where the leadership supplies the experience for the spectating audience. It is easy to see how church-goers could become complacent in such a relationship; however, very little is gained for the kingdom of God in this scenario. The Western Church has lost the flare God implanted within us, that the new churches all across the globe are still applying every day. The churches in hostile areas of the world tend to be stronger because people feel more ownership, and there are no luke-warm attendees due to the conditions.
Instead, the Church and its followers were meant to be doers for God. Spreaders of the gospel, and curators of future disciples. These goals can never be accomplished as long as the modern American church is stuck in its current status quo. North America is in dire need of courageous ministers to spread the good news to the lost. Each one of us as followers of Christ are empowered and able to begin building up the kingdom with more disciples and spreaders of the good news, rather than trying to keep a congregation satisfied, or managing a business-like institution. More time should be spent on the lost, rather than the budgets of these massive and stagnant churches. The followers of Christ can bring about a great movement!
Show Notes
- Learn more on how you can become a disciple at Pastor to Pioneer!
- Check out another great organization Neal and Matt work with, Biglife.