Mission is being used interchangeably with vision here. How dare a little sheep expect to get fed at their church! That is actually what we are talking about here. You see the purpose driven model markets the brand to the lost; I mean the unchurched. So the worship is always cheery and sappy but not necessarily biblically correct. In some cases it is simply secular music. We have seen recently ACDC, Miley Cyrus, and the Backstreet Boys make their way into worship sets at mega churches. After all, it is about entertaining the goats, not worshipping the King. The sermonettes are motivational or self-help in nature and never deal with sin or the need to repent. It is not even milk beloved -- it is spoiled milk. Don't want to scare the "seekers" away with something as pesky as the truth. The people who raise their hand and object are the people Carey Nieuwhof is saying are off mission. Disgraced mega-heretic Perry Noble once referred to such people as the "jackasses in my church." The reality is that they are the ones who correctly see that the mission is not God's mission. The purpose driven mindset is revealed here in that pastors are taught that who you reach is more important than who God has already entrusted you with. If for every sheep that is escorted out of the pen the hireling finds two goats willing to come in, that is actually considered a net win. It is counted as gain even though that sheep is now wandering alone without a shepherd.
"4. When Someone In the Crowd Leaves - Every church has a 'crowd' -- even small ones. By 'crowd' I mean people who attend but never engage. The crowd in your church is really divided into two sections, those who are leaning in and those who aren't. Those who are leaning in are people who are new to faith or new to your church who you hope will make decisions to follow Christ, get baptized and become engaged members of your community. When you start losing people from that section, pay attention. Those are people you don't want to lose. On the other hand, you have some people in the crowd who will never engage. You've tried everything. They simply want to attend. That's it. No matter what you do, you can't engage them. You will inevitably see some loss from that group. There's not much you can do about it, and you shouldn't really worry about it." -- Carey Nieuwhof
You really shouldn't worry about them. Wow. How breathtakingly callous. Notice again how the purpose driven pastor is taught to value people. By whether or not they are engaged in your church. In other words -- are they working for free in one of your ministries? The truth is that most mega churches are cold by nature. There are just too many people. Many do shy away. Many have social anxiety issues. Many people have multiple jobs, special needs children or any number of legitimate reasons why they are "not engaged." Are purpose driven pastors encouraged to work harder to help and reach these folks? Nope. They are taught that they are not "great" people, potentially toxic, and not worth worrying about. Nieuwhof continues:
"5. When a Serial Church Shopper Leaves - Serial church shoppers are a thing. Don't get too worked up about their coming and going. If someone left 5 churches in the last 5 years, they're probably leaving yours too. Let them go evaluate someone else's church. They don't need to take up energy at yours." -- Carey Nieuwhof
Yeah! We can't be bothered actually shepherding someone! I just love the notion of someone preaching on the love of Christ and then casting someone out because they have had a hard time finding a church. We can't have them using that thing to evaluate your church"you know" the Bible! So according the carnal mind of the purpose driven pastor people who have had a hard time finding a church must be not worth our energy. We all remember when Jesus taught about not letting people suck up our energy, don't we? Thankfully, we come to the last scenario:
"6. When You've Lost a Toxic Person - As much as you may not want to admit it, there are toxic people in this world and in the church. An unhealthy person can infect your team like toxins infect the human body. After some exposure, everyone feels sick. The optimist in you and me hopes toxic people will become better. The good news is, sometimes they do. Unhealthy people can grow healthier with the right care and attention in a healthy environment. But some toxic people just don't. Some remain difficult, despite all attempts. And as you know, if you don't address toxic people--or worse, let them gain influence--they can infect your whole organization, diminishing your effectiveness and taking everyone's focus off the mission. When they leave, be thankful." -- Carey Nieuwhof
We all remember when Christ was thankful that people left His teaching? No? That's probably because it never happened! This is the blueprint for creating an army of hirelings beloved. We have gone from "Is this the kind of person to build my church on" to "don't worry if they leave" to "be thankful if they leave." All based upon some carnal and subjective measurement of "toxicity" which is largely based upon whether they buy into the pastor's flesh-driven vision or insist upon biblical standards for a church. Are there genuinely some toxic people? Sure, we are all human but do they still count to God? Are they somehow beyond His redemption? Are they outside of His grace and mercy? Or course not but Carey Nieuwhof and the Purpose Driven Industrial Complex do not care about growing the kingdom. They care about growing the church building. If they have 100 they want a thousand and if they have a thousand they want ten thousand. All for Jesus of course, wink wink, pass the offering plate.
The key verses remind us that a hireling has two primary facets. They do not care about doctrine by allowing the wolves to enter the sheep fold and they do not care about the sheep. The Purpose Driven Industrial Complex exists to perpetrate the brand. It exists to grow the business. Carey Nieuwhof appears very genuine in what he believes. I do not doubt his sincerity; only his doctrine. He is raising up an army of hirelings who do not care about the Bible and do not care about the sheep. He will answer one day though as will every hireling who sought only to grow their personal kingdom at the expense of the blood of God's sheep. Time is running short beloved and Jesus is coming back. Salvation is not measured in the carnal tricks and sleight of hand displayed here by Carey Nieuwhof and it is time to ask ourselves an uncomfortable question. Am I saved or merely churched?
