The Rise. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” For the early Church, the struggle was between an ungodly world and Christ’s Kingdom. The tension brought Rome’s wrath, whose leaders murdered Christians and severely limited their ability to engage in commerce. Yet, Christianity grew at about 40% per year!
How? Christians understood that adversity is a natural part of the journey and that perfection and hope emerge (Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4). They took the mandate to image God through imitation and replication seriously. For the compassionate, newly transformed, there was no other way. Being a costly faith and valuable religion also contributed to growth. Dietrich Bonhoeffer explains this well in The Cost of Discipleship: “Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it, a man will go and sell all that he has. … Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow… It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son.”
The Fall. Conversely, Western Christianity declines by about 20% each year. Only 5% of churces make disciples who make disciples, and a mere 15% of most memberships live obediently. Spiritual lethargy through passivity has removed tension and stunted growth. Casting Crowns’ song Start Right Here states things well: “We want our coffee in the lobby. We watch our worship on a screen. We got a Rockstar preacher who won’t wake us from our dreams. We want our blessings in our pocket. We keep our missions overseas. But for the hurting in our cities, would we even cross the street?”
Spiritual lethargy and focusing on ‘nickels and noses’ produce a cheap grace that embraces comfort but opposes growth (in numbers or maturity!). Deitrich Bonhoeffer’s take: “Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks’ wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, … can be had for nothing. … Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline . . . Cheap grace is grace without discipleship …”
The Cure. Growth would require a shift that naturally creates tension between our ungodly world and Christ’s Kingdom introduced through Christ-followers. No more immoralities. No more business-minded attractional buildings, programs, or religions—just discipleship-born imitation, replication, and growth out of adversity.
Summary. The early Church grew astoundingly because of discipleship’s imitation, replication, and growth from persecution. Today’s Western Church will die if it doesn’t do the same. The Thanksgiving holiday is coming, so let’s explore it next time. Until then, fight the good fight, struggle victoriously, and embrace change.
God’s blessings and peace,
Dr. Ron Braley, MDiv, DMin.
Equipping believers to become followers through discipleship! 