Is your church healthy?

Are you happy in your church?   Even if your answer is a resounding 'Yes', your church may be unhealthy for you.

Here are some signs of an unhealthy church.

1. Formalism.  People come, following the order of worship, say hello, then go home. Where is the building up and the encouraging of one another?  Is there so much order that the Holy Spirit is quenched? Can anyone stand up and share what God has just done for them, or does he have to make an appointment with the pastor before he can share the Lord's blessings? I know this is not possible in a large church, but the large church structure should encourage these and not obstruct them. 

2. Power in the hands of a few. Whether it is the pastor or elders or deacons, it doesn't really matter. Any group can abuse its members.  Is there accountability in the leadership? Who does the pastor or elders give account to in the local church?  Many I've seen are a law unto themselves. Some spend the church's funds with little accountability. I've seen a pastor who sends people to an expensive training course because it is run by his friend, and he justifies it by stating that this is the best course available (btw it happened to be a pilot course where no one has attended before).  

3. Open discussions. Does your church handle open discussions well? Can members raise issues so that it is discussed openly without getting personal? In some cases, people who dare ask questions are targeted later and accused of causing disunity.  Are questions raised are always seen as threats or criticism of the leadership or pastor?  The inability of the leadership to handle genuine criticism is telling you that it is an immature church. If the pastor cannot handle difference in opinion, he is an immature pastor. If a member cannot openly place issues on the table for discussion without getting verbally attacked, we have an immature carnal leadership.  These are the traits of a cult and not a church. 
The body of Christ has many parts and each has its function, and we must respect each other enough to acknowledge the difference in viewpoints instead of squashing every question raised as a challenge to the leader's authority.  I see more respect of each other in private corporations than in a church.

Is the leadership activities clouded in secrecy? Are they open to discuss deacons and elders meeting decisions or do they hide such discussions from the church?  

4. Bullying in the church.  Does the leadership , especially the pastor, bully members into submission? Do they threaten them with excommunication or God's holy displeasure if they don't listen to the pastor?  One elder I know personally threatened to excommunicate another member because he dared to question the eldership's handling on an issue. How arrogant! Jesus calls leaders to serve, not to lord over the flock.
Do you hear summons that put down people in the church (preachers who use the pulpit as a sniping weapon are cowards and abusers).   Do they take responsibilities away from someone who rocks the boat, and push them into cold storage by treating them as if they don't exist?  If you find your pastor or leaders doing this, you can be sure they're wolves and not shepherds. A genuine shepherd will try his best to reconcile with the sheep, not attack it from the pulpit.

5 Is the church leadership balanced, i.e. made up of people who are not just 'yes' men? When there is a problem, there will be different viewpoints put across and prayerfully discussed.  Has the pastor surrounded himself with Yes-men so that everything he decides gets done his way? Are the leadership made up of buddies of the pastor only?  I find this a really good sign that it is an unhealthy church.

6. Are the leadership godly men? How is their prayer life and do they really know the bible? When I say 'know the bible', I mean understand the spirit of what Christ teaches and not just the accumulation of knowledge. Do their lives show it?  
In contrast, I've seen churches run by professional people - business men, accountants, doctors, engineers, etc. These highly esteemed people (in the world's eyes) are assumed to be godly Christian. This may be true or may not be.  I've come across godly doctors as well as worldly doctors.  If the church places these professional men who are not godly men into leadership, guess what? In a few short years, the church will be run like a worldly organisation - strategy meetings, committees, marketing department, communications officer, fund raising manager, etc. 
Human wisdom has replaced dependence on God. Before long, it will just be another 'club', and members come to be entertained each Sunday.   

7. Spectator worship services. This is where the bulk of the church watch the performance of the band up front, and later watch the performance of the pastor up front. Then they pay for the entertainment though the collection plate, shake hands with each other and go home to their TVs and computers.  Observe the degree in which the audience participates. Do they come with the express intention of worshipping God? Or is it just a routine thing that every good tradition?

8. Emphasis on anything other the Jesus Christ.  Listen to the messages and announcements. What do they tell you that the church is interested in? Fixing the broken toilets? Better air conditioners? Get together meals? Holiday programs?  Managing your finance programs? Improving your self-esteem courses? Medical needs of the church members? Instead, how often do you hear announcements on - discipleship, evangelism, supporting those in need?   Are most of the prayers focussed on inward activities or on bringing people into the kingdom of God?

9.  Inward focussed church vs. outward focussed.  Are the activities of the church self-sustaining only i.e. for itself only?  Does it have any impact to the community where the church is located?  If it is self-sustaining, it just keeps the members coming to pay its bills and has no impact to the community. A Burger King restaurant has more value to the community than the church. You may as well not have a church there as no one will miss it. These churches are not the salt of the earth.  The real world is outside the four walls of the church building. Whatever happens inside is to prepare the believer to serve outside. If it only serves itself, it is worthless.

10. Prayer meeting attendance. What percentage of the church attend the corporate prayer meetings? Granted that there are home study groups that do double as prayer meetings, but where are the rest?  Do you see all the elders and deacons there? I know of one pastor who refuses to announce the prayer meeting because someone else (he doesn't like) is leading it.   How petty!  Prayer meeting attendance is a good sign of the health of the church. 

11. What happens after the church worship service?  What do most people in the church talk about after the service? Lunch? Entertainment? Do they talk about the word of God, or some blessings they have received?  Do they talk about people whom they have encouraged or brought to Christ?  What topics are people interested in? There is a lack of conversations that focus on Christ or the bible.  This is a good sign of the heart of that particular church.  Most conversations I've observed tend to focus on trivia and superficial matters - weather, cars, movies, sports, food, etc.  These churches have degenerated into a country club of 'do gooders', like the Scouts. This is not what church is about. 

12. Social gathers replacing fellowship.  Many churches organize meals after the the church worship service and call them fellowships. Are they?  Usually it is just a gathering of friends catching up with each other. This is a social function, not a fellowship. Genuine Christian fellowship involves encouraging each other, sharing scripture with each other, praying with each other, supporting one another, sacrificing for the sake of others.  Can you see any of these happening in the social gatherings we now call 'fellowship'?  These gathering are no different from old friends meeting up together for lunch or meetings in country clubs.  

13. Here is the acid test - have you grown in your love of the Lord and in holy living as a result of the ministries of the church you are in? Notice I didn't ask if your knowledge has increased. Have you grown? Do you love the Lord more, and by implications, do you now love other Christians more?  Have you changed to be more like Christ after sitting in your church for 5-10 years? If your answer is a negative, you need to seriously examine your relationship with God, and you need to discern if your pastor is ministering the word of God or merely putting on a performance every week.

If you find yourself in one of these toxic churches, consider looking for a real church ...and thank God if you can actually find one near you.