The Number One Indicator that You Might Be in a Dysfunctional Church

You might be in a dysfunctional church if everyone is complacent. Actually, the Apostle Paul starts off his letter to the church at Corinth on a high note:

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—in all your speaking and in all your knowledge— because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (I Corinthians 1:1-9, NIV)

He starts off by expressing how thankful he is of them. He praises them because God has given them gifts of utterance and of knowledge; in fact they have all of the gifts. They not only have the gifts, they are strong in these gifts. Paul sees this as a confirmation that the message has taken. In other words, this relatively new church, started by Paul has continued to live the gospel. This confirms the message that Paul preached!

Paul also states that God will keep them strong up until the end. In fact, they will be found blameless when the Great Day arrives. This is because of the faithfulness of God who has called them into fellowship. The Greek word for fellowship is interesting; koinonia. It is a deeper word than our word fellowship is understood to be. Fellowship is a deep relationship. It denotes unity and communion. When we become Christians, we enter into this koinonia with God and with one another. We experience this relationship with one another in the church.

Well, why do I say that the church at Corinth was complacent? It sounds like Paul was just telling it like it is. They ought to feel good about themselves. The problem is that I read the rest of the letter. Paul's praise actually borders on sarcasm. Of course, Paul wasn't lying about the church receiving all the blessings. But, the problem was that the church wasn't in fellowship with one another. They were divided. They didn't show love to one another. They tolerated, even gloried in their immorality. The gifts were used to show one-up-manship to one another. They were smug. I can picture them reading this paragraph and saying, "Yes!" They were clearly dysfunctional, yet they were complacent.

We ought to have good self images -- as individuals, and as churches. There is a fine line between self satisfaction and complacency. Paul says elsewhere that he has learned to always be content. Contentment is great, but with Godly complacency there is always an "itch" for something more. Like Paul who although he was content, he was always pressing for more. Complacency is a contentment that doesn't "itch" for more. We have it all. Let's eat drink and be merry. There is no room for complacency in the church. May God always give us this "itch" for something more.