So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach.  He must be faithful to his wife.  He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation.  He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.  – 1 Timothy 3:2 (NLT)

A quick Google search has told me that there are approximately 380,000 church congregations in America.  At first, that seems hard to believe, but when I drive just a few miles in any direction, I pass several churches.  Here is a question that I’ve often posed to my Christian friends:  Are there enough real deal Christian men, men who truly choose God’s way over the world’s way, men who truly serve God with all their hearts, men who meet the above requirements in 1 Timothy 3:2, to put ONE in each of the churches in America?

If there are 330 million people in the US, 165 million of which are men, and we need at least 380,000 men to put ONE in each church, we need almost .25% of the population’s men to be true God-fearing men.  Consider at least one associate pastor, one youth pastor, and one care pastor (not that every church has one of each), but we get close to needing 1%, one out of every 100 men, to be solid followers of Jesus.

Another quick Google search estimates that Sodom and Gomorrah had around 1,000 people.  Of course, we can’t truly know because that place got utterly destroyed.  Abraham had asked God not to destroy the place if it simply had 10 righteous people (see Genesis 18).  10/1000 is 1%.  Abraham had started with the number of 50 righteous people, that would have been 5% of the population.

Are we at a place in America where we don’t have one out of every hundred people loving God with all their hearts, with all their minds, and with all their strength?

The people I have asked have all said, “Yes, we are at that place.”  I’ve asked students over the years if there is one student in their school that truly loves God and chooses Him over vaping, sex, cussing, social media drama, partying, and whatever else teens so naturally and quickly gravitate to.  Most cannot think of ONE!  In fact, over the years of my teaching at least a thousand students . . . I can think of 4.  One, I will never forget.  Two girls were berating him because he hadn’t had sex outside of marriage yet.  He looked at them and said, “I can become like you anytime I want, but you can’t ever become like me again.”  I never forgot that answer.

I’ve been in a lot of churches in my lifetime.  If you simply can play an instrument, and it proves beneficial to the worship team, most will let you play during a church service regardless of your character.  If you simply make Bible study a priority in your life, most church people will assume you are destined to preach.  Do a quick search on how many Christians read their Bibles, it is dismal.  I would, from my own experience, say that most of the church leaders, elders, and deacons do not make Bible reading, Bible study, and Bible application a priority.  I think they make church attendance a priority, but not spending alone time with God.

I really hope that I’m wrong here.  But the sad reality is that there are absolute giants of the Christian faith falling hard right now.  Preachers that I would swear would have been above reproach are causing some serious damage.  I know my faith is in Jesus and not in man, but I am beyond concerned. 

I remember the first church where I really grew up spiritually for a few years.  The church was decimated by adultery amongst the leaders.  I remember thinking, “Does anybody actually live this stuff out?”  I remember the church I went to after that, some 50/50 vote caused possibly the best church I’ve ever attended to split.  To this day, I still don’t know what it was about.  I remember the church I went to after that, there was this business meeting.  They had borrowed some money from the bank.  The pastor had negotiated a lower interest rate than they thought they were going to get.  He SAVED the church money!  Someone there quickly let him know that he should have NEVER accepted that offer without bringing it before the church.  They told him not to make a decision like that again.  I thought I was in the Twilight Zone.  But I’ll always remember how humble and gracious that pastor accepted the rebuke.  He was one of the real deals. 

Maybe I’m being too brutally honest.  Like I said, I really want to be wrong on this.  I hope it is a case like Elijah when he was depressed in the cave.  He was overestimating his own importance and God let him know that He had thousands who had never knelt before Baal (See 1 Kings 19).

What I think has happened is that we have taken the last part of that verse, “able to teach,” and made that the only requirement.  We have chosen good communication over good character.  We have also learned that a great communicator can build a church empire.  Unfortunately, when that communicator proves to be NOT above reproach, we see the devastation we are seeing now. 

Lord, I pray for a spiritual awakening in America.  Would You please send revival?  Would You set the stage for the hearts of men to truly be turned towards You again?  Strengthen the churches that exist right now, Lord.  May they turn from obvious sin.  May You reignite in the spirit of the congregations a love for Your Word and a passion for Your Name.  I’m not claiming to be anyone here, so will You keep my heart, mind, and soul inclined towards You.  Thank You for being the author and finisher of my faith!  Let us, Your people, see a true revival take place before Your soon return.  Amen.