I had a drug problem in my youth. I was drug to church every time the doors were open. (I know, it’s an old joke.) In truth, many of us who grew up in church culture took for granted that the church was doing what it was supposed to be doing. Especially in the deep south, leadership was never questioned. That’s why I am so grateful for a younger generation of Christian pastors and leaders who are devoted to biblical literacy and to reexamining the church’s mission and methods.

I recently listened to a podcast that led me to look back on the early days of my church experience and discern how lacking it was in biblical discipleship. Back then, it was a numbers game, and success was gauged by attendance figures. A person’s spirituality was measured by conformity to fundamentalist standards. Immersed in that legalistic atmosphere, it was hard to see what was missing.

I’ve come to realize that the danger of losing focus exists in every generation. We can get so caught up in church busy-ness that we forget what we’re called to do as Christ’s church. Thinking about this has reminded me of three objectives every church must have to be a truly biblical congregation:

1. Biblical Literacy

Pastors are called to equip their members for ministry, not just by teaching the Bible, but teaching them to love God’s Word--to study, memorize and communicate it to others. This is the purpose of Sunday School and Adult Discipleship at our church: the primary resource for the believer’s edification is Bible study.

One of the problems we face is sacrificing Bible study for community. Evangelical voice Voddie Baucham stated, “the modern emphasis of churches on community and small groups has led to a tragic decline in biblical literacy. We’ve exchanged biblical discipleship for fellowship and call it growth. But true discipleship requires grounding people in the truth of God’s Word.”

Small groups have their place and are valuable in helping people connect, but most small group ministry lacks real discipleship.

2. Making Disciples

Many church members are not intentionally engaged in disciple-making. Many leave the commission of our Lord Jesus to pastors and church leaders. My hope and prayer for my church is to see more and more of our members recognize that responsibility to make disciples falls on every Christian.

Francis Chan once said, “we’ve reduced following Jesus to the equivalent of joining a club where membership means nothing.” Membership isn’t simply about attending services and hanging out in small group with Christian friends. Every church should focus on this primary objective of leading people to follow Jesus and sending them out to do the same.

3. Being Counter-cultural

Jesus taught that the church’s presence in this world is to be salt and light. Among other things, there is the idea here of restraining corruption and exposing error. Sadly, some churches are so afraid of offending sinners they fail to address moral and ethical issues. This isn’t about politics; this is about sound doctrine. We must not refuse to stand for truth because we’re afraid of being labeled or cancelled. We should be more concerned about being biblically faithful than seeker-friendly.

A biblical church’s objectives focus on teaching God’s Word, making disciples, and confronting secular culture with love and grace.