An Open Letter to the Clergy: Why Doesn’t the Church Look Like Ephesians 4?
Dear Pastors and Church Leaders,
The church speaks often about the Great Commission. We are urged to go into the world and preach the gospel. That call matters. But Jesus also commanded His followers to make disciples, teaching them to observe what He commanded.
So I ask you to look at the people already gathered in His name. Why doesn’t the church look more like the Body described in Ephesians 4?
Paul says Christ gave ministries to equip the saints for the work of ministry and to build up His Body. The goal is unity in the faith, knowledge of the Son of God, and maturity measured by “the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Believers are to be “no more children,” easily carried away by persuasive teaching. Speaking the truth in love, every part of the Body is to contribute to its growth (Ephesians 4:11–16).
That is a searching standard. It raises questions that attendance figures and evangelistic campaigns cannot answer:
Are believers being equipped to serve, or taught chiefly to listen? Can they discern truth from error? Do they know Christ more deeply than they did years ago? When the church gathers, is the Body being built up, as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 14:26? Is there room to examine teaching and ask difficult questions?
These questions are not a claim that no congregation is growing or that pastors alone are responsible for every failure. They are an invitation to examine what our priorities are producing.
Much of the church’s public message is directed out there, toward people who have yet to believe. Meanwhile, it is possible to avoid looking honestly at what is happening in here. If the same believers remain dependent, divided, and vulnerable to every new voice, another campaign will not resolve the problem Ephesians identifies.
The Great Commission is not completed when someone responds to a sermon. Jesus said to make disciples. Paul describes a Body that grows toward Christ. Those two passages belong together.
Pastors and leaders, will you help your congregations ask whether that growth is actually taking place? If it is, show us what it looks like. If it is not, what needs to change in our teaching, our gatherings, and our shared life?
The question is not whether the church can draw a crowd. Is the Body growing up into Christ?
Sincerely,
A fellow believer