Theology vs Culture: How to Lead When Your Church Starts Drifting

Church members drifting from biblical truth happens slowly and often unintentionally, much like a boat untethered from its dock. Understanding why people drift - whether from cultural pressure, emotional influence, or theological confusion - helps us address the root causes with both grace and truth.

• Cultural pressure creates tension between fitting in socially and holding to biblical truth
• Emotional influence can lead people to prioritize personal experiences over scripture
• Many aren't rejecting Jesus outright but absorbing contradictory cultural values unknowingly
• Speaking truth in love creates conversation instead of confrontation
• Teaching biblical literacy helps counter the influence of competing worldviews
• Building faith-encouraging community strengthens resistance to cultural drift
• Prayer for conviction recognizes this is ultimately a spiritual battle
• Start by identifying those who are drifting and commit to praying for them by name

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Chapters

• 0:09 Identifying The Problem of Drifting
• 1:13 Why People Drift Theologically
• 2:53 Four Biblical Steps for Guidance
• 5:59 Taking Action With Prayer
• 7:33 Closing Thoughts and Question Prompt

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:09

Okay, I got a question for you. What do you do when people in your church start drifting away? Now, I'm not talking about attendance. I'm talking about drifting away from biblical truth. Maybe you've noticed that long-term members are starting to embrace some ideas here and there that contradict scripture. Maybe they're questioning even some foundational beliefs because of all the cultural pressure that is going on right now, or perhaps they're just disengaging from the faith altogether. This is happening everywhere. Culture shifts and suddenly theology feels like it's up for debate. But here's the truth, and we're going to talk about it today. The Word of God hasn't changed. How do we, as church leaders, lovingly and biblically respond? Stick with me. Today we're going to dive into how to shepherd a drifting church member back to biblical truth. Thanks for joining me. My name is Todd Rhodes, I am one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom and you are listening and or watching to the Healthy Church Staff podcast. All right, so let's dig right in.

Speaker 1: 1:15

Why do some church members seem to drift with culture? Okay, let's start here. It's easy to think that people drift just because they're rebellious or they don't care. Usually, that's not true. In reality, most people myself, yourself included don't drift intentionally. It happens slowly. It's like a boat that's untied from the dock. And here's why it happens.

Speaker 1: 1:42

You have this cultural pressure that comes in these social norms as they shift and people start to feel torn between fitting in and holding on to biblical truth, because sometimes those things are diametrically opposed. Sometimes it's emotional influence. Personal experiences shape our beliefs and sometimes our personal experiences, if we're not careful, will shape our beliefs, sometimes even more than scripture, for example. I know the Bible says this, but my friend is living differently and they seem to be happy. Maybe I shouldn't judge that. Maybe that's another option. So maybe there's cultural pressure, maybe there's emotional influence option. So maybe there's cultural pressure, maybe there's emotional influence, maybe there's just theological confusion and many people I really believe aren't rejecting Jesus outright. They're just absorbing culture without realizing that it contradicts with their faith, because they don't know what theologically they need to believe. So if we want to help them, we need to understand their struggle before we offer them solutions. So how do we guide them back to the truth? Here's where I think for many, the real work of pastoring really happens. So if someone in your church is drifting, these are four, I think, biblical steps that you can take to guide them back, to get them back on track.

Speaker 1: 3:09

First is you just have to speak the truth in love. That's what Ephesians 4.15 says. It tells us to speak the truth in love, and if we only speak truth, we can come across as harsh. Many churches do this. If we only show love, us as harsh Many churches do this. If we only show love, we risk watering down theology, and many churches do this. But according to Ephesians man, we have to do both. We have to speak the truth and love. Okay, so here's an example Instead of saying you're wrong, try saying something like I can see why that perspective is appealing, but let's take a look at what scripture says together.

Speaker 1: 3:47

Okay, the goal is conversation, not confrontation. Too many Christians and too many pastors from the pulpit use it as a bully pulpit to say you're wrong. And here's why, rather than saying, we have to understand why people think this way. And sure, it does look appealing, but let's really dig dive. Let's do a deep dive in here and see what scripture says about that. Okay, so the first thing we need to do is teach and speak the truth in love. And the second thing and unfortunately a lot of churches are missing the boat here is teach biblical literacy. Many people are drifting, as I said, because they don't actually know what the Bible says. If they're consuming more social media than scripture, their worldview will shift accordingly and over time.

Speaker 1: 4:33

So how do you fix this? Maybe you offer a teaching series on theology and culture. Maybe you encourage daily Bible reading habits. The church that I go to, that I attend, has an app where they have daily Bible readings and they have daily prayer prompts where you can pray for other people in the church. It's a way to encourage those spiritual disciplines. Maybe you encourage your church to think critically about what they hear, not just to go along with what the culture says. The Bible just isn't a reference book. It really should be the foundation for everything, and if we don't teach it, our culture will teach something totally opposed to it.

Speaker 1: 5:08

Okay, number three build a community that encourages faith. Hebrews 10, I think it's verse 25, reminds us not to give up on meeting together. Okay, so faith is often strengthened in community, but if people are surrounded by voices that pull them away from Christ, their strength weakens. So how do you create a strong community? It's really hard. It's getting harder and harder. Small groups may be focused on Scripture, not just discussion. Maybe you have a church that values discipleship over entertainment, and maybe you have leaders who model that unwavering faith just as examples. People won't just believe what we say. They'll really follow what they see. So we as church leaders need to be the example here and then finally, pray for conviction and pray for transformation.

Speaker 1: 5:59

This isn't just a strategy problem. This is a spiritual battle. I truly believe that, because culture may change, but only the Holy Spirit can transform hearts truly. So we have to pray for those who are drifting. Pray that God would open their eyes and soften their hearts and draw them back. All right, so here's the bottom line. Here's where I think you could take some action this week.

Speaker 1: 6:24

Make a list of people in your. I was just having a conversation last week with another person, a person I've known for a long time, where we're just talking about how some people have that we both know have gone. I don't want to say off the rails, but they've definitely changed, at least in reading what some of the things that they write on social media. They've changed their theology based on culture. Some of them have changed. I'll just leave it there. I was just having this conversation, though, but make a list of people in your church or people under your leadership who you at least according to your thinking you've seen drifting, and first of all, just commit to praying for them by name. God does work through prayer. Okay, so that's it for this week. I just want you to acknowledge it, to identify those people and then put some of these things into step, into place, but first start with just praying for them by name, because here's the deal. And, as I close, this is my closing for you today. Culture is always going to change. The word of God does not change and as pastors and leaders, we are called. We have to stand firm, we have to teach boldly and we have to love deeply, even when people are drifting, especially when people are drifting.

Speaker 1: 7:42

If this podcast or this video if you're watching on video has helped you, I would love for you to subscribe. That helps us get the message out to more church leaders. And let me know in the comments. If you're on YouTube, you can leave a comment. If you're listening on the podcast audio version, you can send me your comment podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. Here's what I'd like to hear from you about today. What's the biggest theological challenge you're seeing right now in your church. What's the biggest theological challenge you're seeing right now in your church? Leave a comment, send me your comment Podcast at chemistry staffingcom and if you need help navigating some of these conversations with your staff or church member, let's talk. Schedule a free call with me. You can do that at chemistrystaffingcom. All right, thanks so much for listening. We'll be back here tomorrow with another episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. You