Since February 1975 when God led me to establish the Jerry Drace Evangelistic Association He has allowed me to preach in more than 1,000 churches in our nation. During that time I noted observations where my team and I spoke.

Lowered standards of holiness. It appears we are seeking to develop happy, not holy churches. One pastor stated that he wanted his people to leave the Sunday morning worship feeling, “affirmed, approved, and applauded.” Whatever happened to leaving feeling confronted, convicted, confessed, and cleansed?

Seductive fashions. Teenage girls, their mothers, and even men wear clothes to church they could neither wear to school nor the workplace. We have developed such a laxity in our attire the result has numbed the spiritual senses of being in the presence of Deity.

More churches have fewer revivals. Real revival that takes prayer and preparation, sees scores ushered into the kingdom, and church members rekindling the fire within is quickly giving way to one-day events. We have stopped singing “Take Time To Be Holy,” because we don’t have the time.

Churches decreasing from mortification. In some churches there is more life outside in the church cemetery than inside on the pews. If there is not a revival in our land, rural churches will become bed and breakfasts and larger ones will become antique malls. If you don’t believe this, visit Great Britain.

Transferring letters vs. transforming lives. Given the right staff and programs anyone can fill a church. However, there is an eternal difference between filling a church with people and filling the people inside the church.

Preaching someone else’s sermons. The call to preach has often been replaced with the desire to succeed. Being an expounder of the Word requires time alone with God. Preaching someone else’s anointed sermon doesn’t guarantee your anointment.

Unethical and even immoral conduct from religious leaders. The graveyard of compromise is filled with those who listened to the sirens of the world. When Christian leaders become legends in their own minds the ice has already broken.

Policies of the community dictate the policies of the church. We now schedule the events of the church around the athletic calendar. Many parents allow their children to play their favorite sport on Sunday morning. We even close our churches on Sunday nights if it is a national holiday. Good thing God doesn’t cancel his services.

Trends over doctrine. We have churches full of people who can quote from the latest church growth guru, but can neither recall nor defend any of the doctrines of the Bible. We can be seeker friendly and purpose driven, but if we fail to seek Christ, all the books and mega conferences will only impede the salvation of the lost and the disciplining of the saved.

Expression of worship without experience of worship. No one enjoys beautiful choruses more than me, yet with the freedom of style we must be careful not to allow our performance to overshadow His presence. Celebration without commitment leads to worthless worship.

Big business religion. Some religious leaders have evolved from troublers of society to trendsetters in society. We have religious personalities who are known as much for their political creeds as their theological convictions.

A few proclaimers have a cowardly commitment to God’s Word. This brings about a deceitful delivery of devilish doctrines. The end result is pandering to the people and prostituting the proclamation. When wickedness enters the doors of the church it soon spreads throughout the land. Satan could not have better allies. Pulpits thirst for sound biblical exposition.

Righteous remnant with a hunger. It is this group, both young and old, who will pass on the teachings and doctrines of Holy Scripture to the next generation. Praise God for ministers and members who are not driven by fashions and trends, but remain faithful and true to fulfilling the Great Commission.

 

Jerry Drace is the president of the Jerry Drace Evangelistic Association. He has served as the president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists. He can be contacted at jdeainc@juno.com, www.jdea.tn.org, and www.HopefortheHome.org.