Why are our churches ineffective at reaching the lost?

Could it be that we are not growing because we have such poor eschatology?  I am not suggesting that we should begin to schedule prophecy conferences.  I am not a big fan of prophecy conferences, some of which are little more than commercials to sell books that sensationalize current affairs and take scripture out of context.  Our poor eschatology is of a more profound nature than the simple folly of setting dates for the second coming.  It tends to be selfishly focused.  It is about how you can have some sort of advantage in the last days, inside knowledge, first in line in the Rapture, or stock pile food for the Tribulation all depending on your convictions or audience. 

In the movie Twelve Strong the Afghani General Dostrium (Dostum) is quoted as

You live in a place where life looks better than the after life.

saying to the American Army officer:

“Your anger comes from your fear.  Because you live in a place where life looks better than the after life.  That is not this place…. You will fail because you fear death.  Taliban welcome it.” 

In the west, and in the American church in particular, our lives are so good we can’t fathom any radical improvement to life.  We would all agree that our lives need some minor adjustments.  A small alteration here, a little modification there would make things a little better, but by and large life is pretty good.  We have luxury unmatched in human history, medical care that is accessible and effective, we have entertainments and distractions and wealth and pleasure.  We have begun to think of heaven as an improvement on all that we have.  We joke that Heaven is where ice cream will not make us fat.  It is a joke but it reflects a deeper and more fundamental understanding, or misunderstanding, of the afterlife.  We have begun to see Heaven as better rather than different.  Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the authors of scripture were stretched to find symbols and metaphors for Heaven.  These symbols and metaphors were highly cultural and contextual so without that culture and context it is easy for us to lack understanding of Heaven.

We all want a little improvement in our lives, but we are incapable of imagining the fundamental changes that heaven will bring. So the church has made the mistake of preaching a gospel of improved life and self help rather that quantum change.  “How to” sermons have replaced the “Kingdom of God is at hand” as our theme.  Our appeal is having a better marriage, family, financial standing, community, physical condition and the list can be endless. 

Our failure in eschatology is the same failure we face in our worship, evangelism, community service, prayers, again the list could be endless.  So, how do we preach good eschatology (and everything else)?  By focusing on Christ.  In my role I have the privilege and sometime the distress of worshiping with a great many different churches.  The pattern I see too often is that church and all of our theologies have begun to orbit around us.  From the description of the incarnation as, “It is like God became a dude and hung out with us,” to, “What God wants is for you to receive what you want”, Jesus is presented as someone whose role is to solve our problems, answer our requests and make life here and now better for us.   We have mistaken God’s love for us with a narcissistic expectation that God will spoil us. 

As long as Jesus is presented as a means to an end we cannot expect God’s blessings on our ministry, His power at work in our lives or His Spirit calling fallen humanity to repentance.  In terms of therapy, Jesus may not be the best option.  In terms of feeling good about myself, Jesus is not the first choice.  In terms of better, economic performance, family relationships, sex, political power and social stability Jesus is likely never going to be the top ranked option.  As long as these among others are our teaching and preaching themes we can expect the church to grow more and more inconsequential.

When we turn the conversation to the greatness and glory of the second person of the Trinity and the Biblical and apostolic preaching of the cross we will see people drawn to Christ, not the temporary trinkets they think they want.  When we want Jesus so much we do not care if anyone else wants Him, then we will be compelled to tell the world what a great Savior He is.  Then if He wills our churches may grow.