The Deeply Formed Leader: Is the Church Facing a Discernment Crisis?
Satan, our Enemy, specializes in deception and counterfeits. These are lies designed to look so close to the truth that you must know the original intimately to tell the difference. It would be easier if he showed up in a red suit with a pitchfork, but instead, he quietly dresses up lies to look like truth. And lies always lead to bondage.
In a time of misinformation, over-information, and a culture where “everyone is an authority,” discernment within the church is waning. As Jesus warns us in John 10, “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.” These thieves slip in unnoticed, using fine-sounding arguments and appealing to our deepest desires, subtly leading the sheep away from the Good Shepherd.
Let me give you a prime example of the subtle strategy of Satan:
Satan wants you to become so focused on your personal safety and self-preservation that fear begins to rule your heart.
When fear takes root, love withers. We stop living with compassion, empathy, and self-sacrifice.
We begin to see those who are different from us not as neighbors to love but as threats to avoid.
Racism, prejudice, and systemic injustice are lies disguised as truth - powerful tools the Enemy uses to divide, deceive, and destroy.
The church is often guilty of the following…
Allowing fear to dictate their decisions.
Putting their personal rights over the good of others.
Confusing power and the way of the kingdom of God.
Elevating a brand more than making disciples.
In our noisy, distracted world, many in the church are losing the ability to distinguish His voice from all the others. The result? A discernment crisis. Christians are drifting, chasing half-truths and confusing cultural narratives for the gospel.
If Satan’s greatest weapon is a counterfeit lie, then our greatest defense is intimacy with the Good Shepherd. As we immerse ourselves in the heart of the Father and the life of the Son we find ourselves tuning into the voice of the Spirit.
I taught on this subject Sunday at City Church…
Another mass shooting. Nowadays, they come so often we almost don’t have space to process the event or mourn the reality before the next one breaks the headlines. Rich Villodas, Pastor at New Life Church in Queens, wrote an article worth reading: Not all Thoughts and Prayers are Created Equal
A Dallas Willard classic that answers the question: Why do so many Christians struggle with sin and fail to put on the character of Christ? Willard argues that true discipleship is not about external behavior modification but about renewal of the heart, an inner transformation of the mind, will, emotions, and character through the work of the Holy Spirit.