3. The False Idols of Programs
Many churches elevate beloved ministries into untouchable fixtures. A program that once bore tremendous fruit becomes an end in itself.
Instead of serving the church’s discipleship mission, it becomes the mission.
A program is not a savior.
It’s a tool—useful only when aligned with the Great Commission.
How Leaders Can Tear Down Modern “Bronze Snakes”
Point people to Jesus again and again.
Only Christ is worthy of worship. Only Christ changes hearts.
When His beauty increases in the eyes of His people, idols lose their shine.
As the old hymn says:
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus… and the things of earth will grow strangely dim.”
RELATED: 4 Idols That Kill Leadership Development
Continually clarify the church’s purpose.
A church exists to make disciples.
When that mission stays central:
• Programs become tools—not idols.
• Buildings become resources—not shrines.
• The past becomes testimony—not an anchor.
The Lord once commanded the bronze snake to be made—and later affirmed its destruction. What mattered wasn’t the object. It was the people’s hearts.
And Scripture says of Hezekiah:
“Hezekiah trusted in the Lord God of Israel; not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him.” (2 Kings 18:5)
May every church leader have the same courage to confront the idols that grow quietly in the hearts of God’s people.
