5. Lukewarm
Why have I listed the Lukewarm churchgoer under functional atheists? Because these are the type of people whose lukewarm devotion to Christ is so distasteful to Jesus it makes Him want to spit, kind of like the Christians in the church at Laodicea:
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:14-16)
These people may show up, but that’s it. They are not hot for Christ — and His church — or cold, they just sit there. They aren’t interested in being discipled, but they aren’t leaving. You can’t recruit them to serve, and they don’t give. They are utterly lukewarm.
6. Lost
In most churches, there are people who have not made any profession of faith in Christ. They may be reading and studying the Bible to learn more, or they may just be coming to see and hear. They may simply be curious; others are searching for truth or “answers to life.” They are not followers of Christ but they are willing to hear the Gospel, to learn more about Jesus and His church, because they’re showing up to at least go that far.
So the next time you wonder why your church leaders lead they way they do, especially when your local church is gathered, remember they have the challenge of trying to shepherd different types of people, and there’s nothing simple or easy about that.
Pray for your leaders!
This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.
