Causes and Cures of the Dysfunctional Church, Part IV

Today I want to resume our series on the “Causes and Cures for the Dysfunctional Church.” So far we have discussed the unfathered church, the uncorrected church, and the unfruitful church. The fourth dysfunction of the American church is that is it wounded and unhealed.

DYSFUNCTION 4: The Unhealed Church

Jeremiah spoke of a wounded God’s people in need of healing in Jeremiah 6:14, “They have also healed the hurt of my people slightly, saying ‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace:”[NKJV] and the New Century Version renders it as follows, “They have tried to heal my people’s serious injuries as if they were small wounds. They say, “It’s all right, it’s all right; But really, it is not all right.”

Today’s church has deep inner wounds that can only be healed by the cross. Larry Stocksdale writes in The Remnant, “As the message of the cross moves further from the center of attention, we polarize around personalities (I Corinthians 1). The cross, however, is the central message of the church because it destroys pride, frees from bondage, releases blessing, and brings people together.”

At Kings Point in the last five years, we have seen hundreds attend our Encounter Retreat weekends. In eight powerful sessions, believers visit the cross to deal with rejection, unforgiveness, spiritual and mental ties with demonic strongholds (often acquired ignorantly) and sexual bondage. Today’s average church somehow thinks that saying a sinner’s prayer or filling out a card is the cure-all for people without dealing with the emotional and mental scars that has took a lifetime to create.

The Cure: The Preaching of the Cross

Stocksdale writes, “For many of our churches, the cross is considered excess baggage, the hold-over message from the last century that does not relate to the iPhone generation. We hide it, disguise it, and move past it. We motivate, entertain, and impress as our key members continue to divorce, look at pornography, and raise rebellious, wild children. This is what happens when we forget the cross and its powerful message.”

The cross was the secret to Israel’s healing in the wilderness. A revelation of the cross in the wilderness neutralized that poison (Numbers 21:8). It is no less life saving today than it was for Israel in the wilderness. The cross of Christ heals and delivers in every area of life.

The fourth listing in the fivefold ministry calling is that of the pastor. The healing and deliverance of believers is truly the work of pastors in the church today. I am not just referring to the position of the senior pastor in the church today, but believers in the body of Christ that are gifted in pastoring and shepherding God’s people to wholeness. A true pastor sees people not as numbers, but as gifted, talented leaders whose potential must be released.

Our megachurches in America are full of people who must have individual attention and healing. Today’s pastor must be healed and made whole so he or she can nurture, disciple, and equip other believers so that they might be healed and whole. People today are coming into our churches in need of having their wounds bandaged. They need someone to pour oil and wine on them, and bring them to an inn and take care of them (like the Good Samaritan, Luke 10). The message of the cross through the ministry of the pastor will bring healing and wholeness to the unhealed church.