“You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Galatians 5:7-9 ESV
I’ve seen it more times than I can count: formerly solid churches seemingly suddenly finding themselves in a place they never planned on being. These churches may have had the best of intentions. They may have had good men at the helm. But they weren’t on the lookout for 2 of the most dangerous ways a church can fall- doctrinal drift and culture creep.
The lurking problem
I say seemingly suddenly, which I’m not even sure is grammatically correct, because though it may seem sudden, it never really is. What has been happening underneath the surface has most assuredly been happening for years. Like having a low-grade fever but feeling otherwise fine, there is a problem lurking. Even if it is unnoticeable on the outside.
This problem, like the fever, is rarely addressed until it is a full-blown illness finally revealing every possible symptom at once. The late-stage symptoms my husband and I have seen over the years at churches we’re connected with have included: compromising beliefs when hiring staff, elevating looks/charisma of a pastor over the ability to teach the Bible and make disciples (literally one search team member said about a pastoral candidate, “He’s easy on the eyes!” while also not even knowing biblical qualifications for pastors existed), undiscipled staff and congregants who care more about things of the world than things in the Word, unbiblical teaching from stage, pride/love of self among staff and elders, elders who relegate their biblical responsibilities to others who are unqualified, and pastoral sexual sin.
And by the time the problems grow to this size, they most certainly produce consequences for all associated with the church. All because doctrinal drift and culture creep were growing beneath the surface for years, and nothing was done to correct it.
Defining doctrinal drift
Doctrinal drift is when the theology of or the teaching of the theology of a church begins to slowly and subtly go off course. It may not be noticeable at first. No major red flags are waving. It’s not as if the pastor suddenly denounces Jesus as Savior on a Sunday morning. It’s much less noticeable than that. It may begin because the leaders within the church are uneducated in theology. It may begin due to a personal crisis. It may begin because the leaders listen to others who are drifting themselves or are trying to be cool more than they’re trying to be biblical. These “small” issues can end up leading a church way off course and cause far-reaching and lasting damage to all on board.
My husband likens it to a 1979 New Zealand flight that, due to a typing error, ended up just slightly off course. This small mis-type ended up leading the plane to be a whopping 31 miles east of where it usually flew, and because of its altitude and white-out conditions, it crashed into the side of a volcano, killing all 257 people on board. Ironically and tragically, the name of the volcano, Erebus, means darkness.
Unchecked doctrinal drift will lead any church to a similar place of darkness if they remain blind to the fact that they are flying off course.
Defining cultural creep
Cultural creep is when the theology of the church may be fine, but its leaders are not cautious of worldly influence sneaking itself in. This is not something that is allowed purposefully, but rather passively. It primarily happens when leaders pay no attention to the spiritual and personal lives of their staff and key leaders, including themselves.
In an individual’s life, when a greater emphasis is placed on things our culture prioritizes and prizes such as self, celebrities, traditions of man, money, safety, entertainment, etc., God’s Word automatically gets demoted. And the further God’s Word gets demoted, the more cultural creep happens. It can quickly become a self-perpetuating cycle.
When this affects just one leader, it could be noticed and helped by the godly leadership, discipleship, and encouragement of other leaders. However, when it is affecting most or all leaders, the system becomes unbalanced and unchecked. This can actually begin to lead to doctrinal drift. And if doctrinal drift is already happening, then it is all the more dangerous to the health of the church, as I’ll further explain below.
My husband and I have stepped into churches where staff and elders could tell us all about the latest movies, musical artists, and trending fiction books, but also claimed they had no time or interest in reading the Bible. This was shocking to us and led us to ensure all leaders were being biblically discipled. Some were open to this and some weren’t. Those that weren’t slowly ended up leaving, and that’s okay. Leaders in the Church need to be okay with the leaving of people who have no desire for God’s Word. Church staff and leadership aren’t positions for lukewarm believers. We can pray for them, we can offer to disciple them, we can encourage them, and we can be an example for them. But we cannot force them to truly follow Jesus. And we cannot let them remain as leaders within the Church as this quickly compromises the flock.
The influence of “Christian” resources
Another big influence in the Church that I’ve seen at play over the last decade, and especially the last 4 years, that has had tremendous impact on both doctrinal drift and culture creep is the ambiguous world of Christian resources.
This may not sound like something that we should care about sounding the alarm on. After all, if a resources claims to be Christian, it must be, right? Wrong. Now more than ever before, the label “Christian” can mean a thousand different things.
- For many, being a “Christian” is a still simply a cultural label. They may live in the Bible Belt, have grown up going to church (at least on Christmas and Easter, right?), and believe there is a God. But they’ve never come to a personal, saving faith. They are not Christians.
- Others, who call themselves “Progressive Christians” claim Christianity, but deny the Bible is objective truth and willingly choose to not live according to it. They are not Christians.
- Some claim the title of “Christian” but worship a false Jesus. One that is, in their minds, a genie in a bottle who exists solely to make them healthy and wealthy this side of heaven. I would caution these people who claim to love Jesus so much, that it’s not the real Jesus they love, it’s a life of comfort and ease. But what happens when life doesn’t go according to our plans? When God allows seasons of suffering for His glory? These people, though so passionate about their perception of Jesus, have been deceived and may not actually be true Christians.
- Still others, who claim the Christian faith have one foot in the Church and one foot in the world. Jesus Himself warns us, they are not Christians (Matthew 7:21-23).
Yet, these people, who claim to be Christians, are influencing the true Church at alarming rates. Books, podcasts, curriculum, videos, music, “Bible studies”, children’s books, conferences, Bible “translations”, you name it! And the Church is eating it up. But the problem is, when we don’t pay attention to what these creators believe and what books are being studied and curriculum is being used by small groups, discipleship ministries, and family ministries, we are allowing these beliefs to infiltrate our churches. Then we have things that would never be taught in a sermon, being taught everywhere else in the church, discipling the people toward false truth.
Why doctrinal drift and culture creep are a dangerous combination
One of these issues alone could cause plenty of damage. But both could very well cause eternal damage. That’s because if doctrinal drift begins to happen, but your people are uninfluenced by the world, then you should have those in leadership or the congregation who will notice and call it out in love. And if culture creep is happening, but the doctrine of the church is solid, then it too will be noticed and called out in love. But when both are happening simultaneously, a situation is created where no one is spiritually strong enough to notice the damage being done. This begins the downward spiral. The end result? A worldly and lost church that Jesus Himself would not recognize as His followers. And that, friends, is not a place we should ever find ourselves.
Signs that your church is drifting
I list the following based on the fruit I’ve seen produced over 20 years of observation and church turnarounds. Some may seem irrelevant to the inexperienced eye and some may seem like I’m taking out all of the fun. But I promise you, church gatherings can be excellent and fun and biblical all at the same time. And we don’t have to follow the patterns of the world to do so. I’ve seen far too many churches walk down this road and regret it. It’s time for a new way.
The signs of doctrinal drift could be, but are not limited to:
- A lack of love for God’s Word and adherence to it
- A lack of love for people
- Bitterness toward the historical Church
- A holding back and/or fear of teaching unpopular truth
- A lack of biblical qualifications among pastors and elders
- A lack of spiritual fruit in the personal lives among pastors, elders, staff, and key leaders
- A heavy reliance on source material for sermons that isn’t God’s Word, such as movies or books
- The manipulation of Scripture to make a point
- Sermons that sound more like TED Talks than Bible teaching
- The allowance of sub-par curriculum to be taught in any ministry
The signs of culture creep could be, but are not limited to:
- The parroting of common cultural phrases at the moment such as “my truth”, “follow your heart”, “you are enough”, etc. in any ministry
- The prioritization of cultural tools to solve problems such as the enneagram, frameworks based on Critical Theory, leadership training, etc.
- The elevation of cultural icons/celebrities in leaders’ personal lives
- The playing of cultural songs in the church
- The elevation of Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and Halloween in Kids’ Min
- A low view of the sanctity of life
- The prioritization of being the “cool church” over being the biblical church
- Leaders who try to make a name for themselves or build their platform
- Leaders who care more about being culturally “nice” than being biblical
- Leaders who excuse culture creep in the name of relevance or reaching people
Our people can get these things anywhere, and do. However, the Church has a specific mission and we must remain mission-focused.
What can be done about it
So how do we protect against these things? How can we make sure we are paying well-enough attention to these little things so that they don’t snowball into big things? Well, first subscribe to my occasional newsletter so that I can keep helping point you toward solid resources on all of these topics. Second, if you are a church leader, stay tuned because I plan to offer church audits and consultations later this year. (Interested? Go ahead and reach out to me!)
But there are three things of primary importance that you can do right now. Don’t skim past these, because they are far more impactful than anything else you may be tempted to do.
- Take care of yourself spiritually. Make sure you are in the Word daily. Make sure you are listening to truth. Make sure you aren’t getting caught up in the lies of the world. Make sure you are in prayer for your church. Make sure you are becoming more and more like Jesus. Make sure you surround yourself with biblical teachers and resources.
- Get busy discipling the staff, elders, and key leaders. Not a leader yourself? That’s okay! Invite those who are over for dinner, pour into them, gift them theologically solid books, invite them to be in a Bible study with you. You have more influence than you know. Be bold (in love)!
- Pray. Pray fiercely for eyes to be opened, hearts to be softened, and for biblical truth to reign in love.
Signs of a healthy church
The signs your church is on the right, narrow road:
- A genuine and passionate love for God’s Word and adherence to it
- A genuine love for people
- Respect for the historical Church
- Pastors who bravely teach all of Scripture, even the culturally unpopular parts
- Pastors and elders meet biblical qualifications
- Bountiful spiritual fruit in the personal lives among pastors, elders, staff, and key leaders
- A heavy reliance on God’s Word as the primary source material for sermons
- The clear and proper use of Scripture for teaching, based on a thorough study of the verse, chapter, book, and context.
- Sermons that teach the Word of God and help apply it to the lives of all who are listening
- The use of carefully vetted curriculum in all ministries
- The parroting of Scripture
- The prioritization of God’s Word to solve problems
- The elevation of God’s Word as our primary influencer
- The playing of theologically sound songs in the church, in all venues
- The elevation of Jesus’ birth and resurrection over all cultural aspects of these days- these can be fun! (Again, the children in our ministries get Santa, the Easter Bunny, and Halloween everywhere else. Those influences are not lacking! But we have something better and more exciting to offer!)
- A high view of the sanctity of life from womb to grave for all people with all abilities and financial situations
- The prioritization of being the biblical church over being the “cool church” (but it is possible to be biblical and excellent)
- Leaders who humble themselves through service and deflect recognition toward God
- Leaders who care more about being biblical in love than the world’s definition of “nice”
- Leaders who vehemently guarding against culture creep, knowing how much it actually prohibits reaching people
The time is now and the responsibility is ours
Many would leave a church when they see signs of doctrinal drift and culture creep. Should you? That’s another article for another day. But I will say that godly people leaving struggling churches isn’t going to help the Church get back on track. Prayerfully consider staying to be a missionary within your church. Lead the way! Influence those around you! Make disciples who will make disciples! Pray for opportunities! There is always hope because of Jesus!
This world is not our home and on earth there is no perfect church. Let us all remember why we are here and live on mission, even within our imperfect churches! Let’s do our part by owning our own personal responsibility to the Church.
A note to those who may feel offended or convicted
Whether you’re a church leader or a church member, I understand if you may feel offended by the above lists. At one point in my life, I may have too. But I ask that you please don’t close this article with frustration in your heart. Take some time to pray about anything that you felt a sting about. Unfortunately we’ve all, at one time or another, been duped into believing a lot of lies about what the Church is and isn’t. Not all secular things are wrong. But their influence in the Church is the greater concern. Above all else, we must first and foremost seek objective truth that is found in God’s Word. Want discuss further? Send me an email! I’d love to hear from you!
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