View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Liberty University Digital Commons LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY HOW THE CHURCH HAS LOST ITS VISION; A BIBLICAL MODEL TO REGAIN ITS MISSION A Thesis Project Submitted to Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY Robert James Kauffelt Lynchburg, Virginia November 2011 Copyright © December 2011 Robert James Kauffelt ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I would like to thank God for getting me through this Thesis Project. When I first started this project my wife and I were hit with what seemed to be some insurmountable situations but God got us through them and my project. I would also like to thank my wife, Darla for putting up with me while I worked on my project and her countless proof readings. I would also like to thank Dr. Davidson and Dr. Hawkins for their, prayers, understanding, and helpful input and guidance on my project. I would also like to thank my church, Woodberry Hills Baptist Church who also put up with my countless questions and my sometimes forgetfulness do to focusing on my project. There are also many others who need to be thanked for their help and support while I was working on my project. I would like to give them a heart-felt thanks to everyone! iii LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY THESIS PROJECT APPROVAL SHEET ___________________________ GRADE ___________________________ MENTOR, Dr. Charlie Davidson Director, Doctor of Ministry Assistant Professor of Counseling ____________________________ READER, Dr. Ron Hawkins Vice Provost Professor of Counseling and Practical Theology iv ABSTRACT HOW THE CHURCH HAS LOST ITS VISION; A BIBLICAL MODEL TO REGAIN ITS MISSION Robert James Kauffelt Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, 2011 Mentor: Dr. Charlie Davidson The mission of the church is to make disciples of all the nations. However the church has lost focus of its mission to reach the lost people outside of the church. Over the last several decades the church has become inwardly focused on itself and its members. This has caused the majority of the churches to be in a serious state of decline to the point that many are on the verge of closing. If the church does not rediscover the biblical model that Jesus gave it, it could lead to the end of the church as we know it. Abstract Length: 100 Words v Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................2 Statement of Limitations ..........................................................................................4 Theoretical Basis ......................................................................................................5 Methodology ............................................................................................................7 Review of Literature ..............................................................................................14 Chapter 2: The Problem with the Church in America .......................................................20 How Bad is it? ........................................................................................................24 The Inwardly Focused Church ...............................................................................28 The Isolated Church ...............................................................................................30 Self-Obsessed Christians .......................................................................................33 How Non-Believers View the Church ...................................................................35 Chapter 3: How the Church in America Lost its Focus .....................................................39 Prosperity of the Nation and the People ................................................................40 Rebellion and Exodus of Young People ................................................................43 Mobility of the People ...........................................................................................46 vi Liberalness of Belief Systems ................................................................................48 Pastors Gone Astray ...............................................................................................51 Program Driven Churches......................................................................................55 Chapter 4: The Proof is in the Numbers ............................................................................59 Chapter 5: The Solution .....................................................................................................66 Getting Back to the Basics .....................................................................................67 What the Bible has to Say ......................................................................................69 Some Changes Will Need to be Made ...................................................................75 Regain the Trust of the People ...............................................................................80 More than just Professionals ..................................................................................85 Chapter 6: Implementation of the Solution ........................................................................88 Deprogram and Reprogram....................................................................................89 Evaluation of Church Programs .............................................................................95 Disciples Must Make Disciples .............................................................................98 Outreach Ministries ..............................................................................................101 In Closing .............................................................................................................109 Appendix A ......................................................................................................................111 vii Bibliography ....................................................................................................................113 Vita……………………………………………………………………………………...117 viii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION With the majority of the churches in America today being in a serious state of decline in membership and denominational churches dying at an alarming rate and closing their doors for good, we need to figure out what is causing this problem and see if it is correctable. The main question that needs to be answered is what is causing the decline in membership and the closing of so many churches in America? Is it something that the church is doing or not doing that is causing people to turn away and leave, or is it a societal issue in that people today feel the church is out of date and irrelevant to them? This is a serious issue that the church in America cannot continue to ignore. We need to take a good hard look at ourselves and figure out what we need to do to fix the problem. If we continue to ignore this problem we could see the death of the church as we now know it within the next two generations. The author was lead to this topic because he is currently serving as pastor of one these above mentioned dying churches. He realizes if things don’t change the church he serves could close within five years. This church is very similar to the majority of the traditional churches in America. When the number of members started to decline and things started to get tough, the church circled its wagons and started to focus inwardly. All the effort and energy of the church was shifted from outreach and evangelism to inward life support to try to keep the church alive. Instead of focusing outwardly on the needs of those outside the church they are focusing inwardly on what they want and need and what is best for them on the inside of the church. One of the main problems that has brought on these problems is the church has tried to merge the American dream of 1 prosperity with their faith and have the best of both worlds. They sit in their beautiful buildings waiting for the people to clean themselves up and come to them instead of leaving their buildings and going to the people. This model of church growth goes totally against what the Bible teaches. Christ is very clear in his commandment to believers to go to the people and not sit around and hope the people will come to us. This is not a problem that will be solved by trying new programs and strategies for church growth. This is a problem that can only be solved by teaching the church how to return to the biblical model for church growth as found in the bible. As one looks around, the church is losing its influence not only on its members but also on our society at a rapid rate. If the church does not correct this problem quickly and right the ship, America will no longer be the Christian nation that it once was. Some would go as far as saying we are no longer a Christian nation. This issue should be at the forefront of every church and denomination in our country. We need to quit trying to stop arterial bleeding with a Band-Aid. The sad part is the church knows what it needs to do to fix the problem, but it is not willing to go through the pain to correct it. If we do not address this problem head on, we could see the end of the