Hold on to the Right Things and Let Go of the Rest: A Prescription to Help an Unhealthy Church

As I began to write this week’s post, I couldn’t help but think it quite possibly could be a continuation of last week’s. You see, I truly believe spiritual warfare is the very reason why the American Christian Church, evangelicalism, and in many ways, Christianity, in general, is suffering so much.

In fact, when trying to think of a title for this post, the one that kept coming to mind was The Church is on Life-Support. However, the more I wrestled with that title, the more I realized that while that may seem true, true believers in Jesus Christ no longer need any means of artificial life support, because the life-giving truth of the Gospel is sufficient to not only save a life but seal it for the day of redemption, and in the meantime, no weapon formed against a true believer in Christ will prosper.

And because of this, I want to shift the focus of this article away from the problems I see in the Church today (I’ll still mention a few), but I'd love to spend more of my time today understanding my personal response to the problem, and hopefully encourage you to do the same.

There's a line in a song by Chris Renzema that says, “I wanna hold onto the right things and let go of the rest,” and when I heard it for the first time, I think I'll audibly said, “Yes!”

As simple as it may sound, that line resonated so deeply, because as a part of the body of Christ, I recognize a church family, a group of believers, a Christianity community that has become sick by consuming a daily diet of lies. 

We are holding on to lesser things that are making us lethargic in our faith. We are clinging to ideologies that cannot save us while they wreak havoc in our bodies. We are waging war with the very ones who make up the body of Christ (our own brothers and sisters) rather than with the enemy himself.

I know I'm making gross generalizations here, and this may not be true of you or the church you attend, but based on observations of online conversations, topics being preached from pulpits, and our responses (or lack thereof) to it all, I would say the church is struggling big time.

We are struggling to hold fast to truth.
We are struggling to recognize the true enemy.
We are struggling to live out our faith the way God called us to.

Jesus says in the Gospel of John…

“I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17:23, ESV)

The only remedy for the ailing, and seemingly failing, Church is a healthy and consistent diet of truth, and this truth can only be found in the Word of God, which teaches us about the love of God, which is the only thing that can truly save the children of God from the actual thing that has us spiritually dead, sin.

Which brings me to what I wanted to focus on in this post. My response to this crisis has to start with me — recognizing how I am responsible, knowing that I must stay accountable, and asking myself daily…

How will I hold onto the right things and let go of the rest?

I see many Christians responding to this crisis by leaving the church. I know church hurt is a real thing. I know spiritual abuse is a real thing, but I don't think the solution to our problem is to run to other sources of truth, just because someone has misrepresented Christ. I believe this is a tactic of the enemy. He twists truth and offers insufficient substitutes, and the more we stay away from being part of a healthy church body, even though she may be imperfect, the more malnourished we will become.

I must stay connected to the body of Christ. I desire unity among believers. And if I want connection and unity, I must seek it out in humility.

No church is perfect, but I want to seek out one where God’s Word revered, His truth is upheld, and His Gospel is not only preached, but lived out (even if imperfectly) among the body and in a world beyond me. I want to worship God in spirit and truth and yield to His authority, not give in to the lies of the enemy.

Church, we’ve watered down the Gospel far too long. We’ve mixed it with things that have been toxic for our bodies spiritually, and it has weakened us against the attacks of the enemy. We have allowed him to deceive us and trick us into thinking it would be better to abandon faith altogether than to simply trust the author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus.

“Do not be deceived” was Jesus’s response when I asked by His disciples at the Mount of Olives how they would know his return was imminent (Matthew 24:3-8). Deception will grow the closer we get to Christ's return, and I for one do not want to be deceived.

So, won't you join me in this effort to stay healthy spiritually? Let's hold onto the right things and let go of the rest, as we release what we can’t control, and embrace what we can. We can’t control others, their decisions, the churches they plug into, the truth they choose to believe, but we can control what we do in response to their decisions, their actions, and their words. We can choose to forgive. We can choose to speak truth. We can choose to continually seek Jesus, focus on Him, and ask Him to search us. We can know His Word, the Sword of the Spirit, that will cut out the things keep us distant from Him.

Our personal growth is not just personal, because we need to be a part of the body of Christ, the family of God. It is crucial for our spiritual growth. Together, let’s allow Christ in us to grow us, change us, and transform us more and more day by day as we surrender to His will, submit to His authority, and walk with Him in humble obedience.

Holding on while letting go!