Does Your Church Promote Actual Christianity Or The Game of Christianity?

A percentage of people in your church are just playing The Game. Their intent is to play at Christianity without it interfering with their lives.

Most evangelical churches promote The Game. They’ve given up calling anyone to new life in Christ and are content to entertain the masses. Everyone is smiley, dressed well, money flows, programs happen, everyone is just thrilled with everything, and are happy their materialistic comfort now has God’s sanction.

Other churches have gone so far down the progressive trail that there is literally zero distinction between what they are doing and what the world is doing. They are so obvious about their worldliness that most of these churches are declining in attendance. People prefer feeling like they are actually playing The Game than knowing with absolute certainty that they are not.

The churches I’m most concerned with are the ones who don’t think I’m talking about them.

The church services are not overly entertaining, some might even call them lame. The music is slightly off key. It’s not fashionable. Anyone speaking in front of the church acts like they’ve never used a microphone before. The Bible is used. People say the pastor is “faithfully teaching God’s word” even. The pastor is so busy; he tells you he is all the time. Everyone is so busy; surely something real is happening!

Yet there’s no call to holiness. No call to Christ-likeness. Although the Bible is used, if you listen closely you will detect that the pastor isn’t actually saying what the verses that were just read are saying.

There’s a subtle switch going on. Jesus is mentioned, even made much of. But there’s just nothing there. No power. No transformation. No new life. No old man is crucified. There is a zeal for God but not according to knowledge.

It’s a fake Christianity. It’s not real. It’s The Game.

Furthermore, if you raise concerns over these issues you will get incredible pushback. These churches don’t want anyone growing in Christ because that means it’s possible. They pull you down. They will, if you actually do insist upon spiritual growth being a legit thing, accuse you of being legalistic and eventually divisive. You will be the heretic for actually wanting people to do what those verses said.

I had a couple in church who came for a while. They were rich. Enjoyed being rich. I did a series on money and the Sermon on the Mount and such passages. The wife stopped coming. Soon the husband did.

His explanation to me why they stopped coming is because “Your church doesn’t feel like church.” They wanted to play The Game; they didn’t actually want to take Christianity seriously. They didn’t want it to be possible.

If you preach and act like Christianity is possible and the Gospel has power to transform lives, your church will shrink. The Game players will leave.

This isn’t a bad thing, unless you want to be impressive and get paid and such things. You’ll have to decide. I had to. I took pay cut after pay cut. People kept leaving.

But The Gospel was doing a work in me and I couldn’t help it. It was totally worth it.

Call out The Game players by taking your faith seriously and preaching like Christianity is real, powerful, and possible to actually live. You’ll eventually be left with a fellowship of about seven souls who will glory in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Or you’ll just be lonely and heart broken. That’s where I got. But Christ was real and I was never truly alone and my heart is healing.

Christianity is possible. Live and preach like that’s true. Those who want The Game will think you’re loony. It’s ok. We are fools for Christ’s sake. Worse things could happen, and they will if you’re just playing The Game.

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