"Putting Christ back into Christian" article

There is no doubt that the church today has declined in her commitment to Jesus Christ. Members do not show up regularly, Pastors are caught in scandals, and we are caught wondering where the lack of faithfulness is from. Although, there are many reasons for this, three have caught my attention. The first problem starts right at the root, and that is our doctrine of salvation. We have made salvation too easy in that we have handed out a prayer as though God gave out tickets to heaven for us to pass to all those around us. We have not thoroughly explained God’s plan for salvation, but instead have made the entrance exam a no-brainer for the lost. We encourage each other to make wise decisions not based on emotions, but when it comes to salvation, we have found that the easiest way to convert the lost is through the emotions and then wonder why we never see them at church. The second problem is a lack of discipling new believers. The last few decades we have had Sunday School for that, so what need is there for small group (2-4 people) discipling? The problem is not the available teaching, but the lack of ability to integrate discipleship and accountability. Once we utilize a better system for discipling we will not see the fallout rate we see now. Thirdly is an overall deficit of integrity in leadership which flows down to the followers. Between our Christian pride, materialism, bad influence, scarred testimonies, and no desire for personal holiness or understanding of the lost, we have not been effective in displaying Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. We need Believers who are on a mission to put Christ back into Christian!