Wells speaks much about the detrimental shift in the wider Evangelical church in the last few decades away from theology - he argues as the church has gotten way too comfortable with modernistic philosophy both in theory and in practice. Some of these ideas will be clarified as we work through some helpful quotes in the next few weeks, but for now think through the quote below with me...
"One of many fresh studies [referring to a study conducted a few years back in the one of the larger Presbyterian denominations], it suggests that the best predictor of whether baby boomers will stay in the church or leave is the relative presence of orthodox belief. Among the subjects of the study, those who believed in the uniqueness of Christ's salvation were almost invariably in the church, and those who did not had dropped out. Furthermore, the study found that the presence of Christian orthodoxy alone was sufficient 'to impell people to commit their time and other resources to a distinctively Christian regime of witness and obedience in the company of other believers'" (pg. 22-23).
Think about this for a minute with me. One of the best predictors of whether someone will stay in church or not is whether that church collectively knows, teaches, and lives in light of historic, Biblical beliefs. Let's phrase this another way, churches that make the gospel clear and call their people to live lives obedient to God's Word don't have to stress about church growth. Wells goes on to point out that where the gospel (by which I mean the entirety of the historic Christian faith) is clear, people are willing to radically commit their time and resources to sharing the gospel and seeking to become more like Christ. Now, you may be saying, what in the world does this have to do with me? I'm glad you asked. Here are some practical tips:
1) Make sure you are reading God's Word daily. You need to discipline yourself (even when you don't feel like it) to grow in your knowledge of God and His gospel by reading His Word. God is building His church in and through your life as you participate actively in your local church. Spending regular time in God's Word is a must.
2) You need to talk about the gospel and its implications with others in your church family. When you are at church do you talk about theology and how it should impact how you live? Do you have people in your church who ask you tough questions about your growth in holiness? Do you ask others about their growth in holiness? Do you encourage the practice of corrective church discipline in your church? We must be intentional about Gospel-centered relationships in our churches. It is loving to tenderly confront sin in one anothers' lives. We can be so blind to our sin. We need help from one another as we seek to grow in godliness.
3) Do you spend time in your homes talking with your spouse, your children, your roommates, etc. talking about the gospel? If you don't know where to start, pick up a copy of Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology, and let it guide your discussion. Or go to the Two Ways to Live website, and let each section guide your discussion. Talk about these truths, sing about these truths, and then pray together about these truths... together.
You could add a hundred more things to this list...
The point is that at the center of the historic Christian faith are beliefs about who God is, who we are, and what God has done and will do. We need to think/discuss these things, and then offer our lives up to our gracious God as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1). We don't need to fret over church growth strategies. We need to keep Biblical doctrine and Biblical living at the center.
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