“The State of the Church” Revelation 3:14-22

TRANSCRIPT

Date: January 4, 2026 Author: Wayne J. Edwards

The phrase “today’s church is a mile wide and an inch deep” means that the church has many members and boasts large attendance, but lacks spiritual depth, theological substance, and a genuine commitment to the Word of God, as manifested in the lack of reverence for Him and obedience to Him. Over the last 50 years, the Contemporary Church Movement has used the methods of the world to attract the unchurched and increase attendance. However, in so doing, they forfeited the very discipleship ministries that would lead their believing members to spiritual maturity. For too long, the Church has prioritized fun, entertainment, catchy phrases, and the affable personality of the “speakers” to draw the crowds. In other words, success was measured by attendance, activity, or the emotions of the attendees, rather than by their transformed lives. Therefore, the focus was on conversions, i.e., getting people in, rather than on making disciples through life-to-life transformation. So, if, as the Rick Warrens and Bill Hybels of the 90’s, and the J.D. Greers, Andy Stanley’s, Steven Furticks, and Mark Driscoll’s of our day told us; that all these changes had to be made to reach the unchurched, why has overall church attendance gone down? The title of this Sunday’s sermon is: “The State of the Church.” We are deeply grateful for your continued support and for sharing these sermon study guides with those you think might be interested. According to the latest report, during October – December, we had a total of 8,612 viewers in 132 countries, including eight foreign countries and 3 U.S. territories and D.C. Obviously, you are forwarding these study guides to others, and I appreciate it!

The phrase “today’s church is a mile wide and an inch deep” means that the church has many members and boasts large attendance, but lacks spiritual depth, theological substance, and a genuine commitment to the Word of God, as manifested in the lack of reverence for Him and obedience to Him. Over the last 50 years, the Contemporary Church Movement has used the methods of the world to attract the unchurched and increase attendance. However, in so doing, they forfeited the very discipleship ministries that would lead their believing members to spiritual maturity.

For too long, the Church has prioritized fun, entertainment, catchy phrases, and the affable personality of the “speakers” to draw the crowds. In other words, success was measured by attendance, activity, or the emotions of the attendees, rather than by their transformed lives. Therefore, the focus was on conversions, i.e., getting people in, rather than on making disciples through life-to-life transformation.

So, if, as the Rick Warrens and Bill Hybels of the 90’s, and the J.D. Greers, Andy Stanley’s, Steven Furticks, and Mark Driscoll’s of our day told us; that all these changes had to be made to reach the unchurched, why has overall church attendance gone down?

The title of this Sunday’s sermon is: “The State of the Church.”

We are deeply grateful for your continued support and for sharing these sermon study guides with those you think might be interested. According to the latest report, during October – December, we had a total of 8,612 viewers in 132 countries, including eight foreign countries and 3 U.S. territories and D.C. Obviously, you are forwarding these study guides to others, and I appreciate it!

Download the following translated Sermon guides:

Old Testament Reading: Joel 2:12-17, 28-32 New Testament Reading: Ephesians 3:1-21

While reports show a slight uptick in church attendance, especially among the Gen Z group, according to the three major reporting agencies, Barna, Lifeway, and the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, the long-term trends indicate that overall church attendance will continue to decline as it has for the last 80 years.

According to those who were surveyed, the primary reasons for this drop in attendance and membership include:

While the heavenly, invisible Church, i.e., that Universal Body of Christ that Jesus has been building for 2000 years, is alive and well, the visible church, especially in America, is in serious trouble, not only in the decline in membership, but more importantly, in the church’s influence on the culture.

In describing the spiritual characteristics of the church in Laodicea, Jesus also described the last of the seven church ages, which began in 96 A.D., and will end with the Rapture of the Church. Therefore, the Church is now in the Laodicean Church Age, characterized by the “spirit of the age,” rather than the “Age of the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus characterized the spirit of the age as:

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