Sat, 12 Jul 2025 06:11:07 -0700WeeblyTue, 16 Jan 2024 21:09:34 GMThttps://www.camaschurch.net/blog/10-temptations-of-church10 Temptations of Church

Introduction

I recently encountered a new book.  The word choice of encountered was intentional.  I could have used discovered, surveyed, browsed, sampled or a myriad other words.  Encountered suggests a kind of confrontation or unexpected meeting.  It wasn’t a book I was seeking but it nonetheless found me.  The title is awkward — 10 Temptations of Church — rather than a more grammatical title of Ten Temptations of the Church.  In fact, the entire book is awkward and uncomfortable because it vividly, unflinchingly and honestly describes the unflattering habits of churches and their members that (often unwittingly yet sometimes intentionally) contribute to a church’s decline.  

Though I could vigorously defend some church behaviors and offer some contrarian views, the authors still make a persuasive and compelling argument that many churches are bled dry from a thousand pin pricks.  So like a doctor who tries to persuade us to exercise to stave off disease and premature death, the authors diagnose our ailments and prescribe radical treatments to avoid an early demise.  But, unfortunately, few bother to change unhealthy habits and thus succumb to them and die.

I aim to summarize these habits in a series of reflections that will be posted on Facebook and Freshmail (and may find their way into a sermon).  There won’t be ten postings because a few can be consolidated.  Regardless, the sheer number of temptations should convince a reader to acknowledge a painful truth:  pastors, church leaders and members must hastily change habits, practices and routines or prepare for a church’s inevitable demise.  

The authors aren’t embracing fatalism but reality  — they vividly see dire trends and they want us to do something about it with practical, reliable and viable antidotes.  I hope we hear their admonitions and heed their prescriptions.  (—Pastor Don)
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