Many stagnant, weak, struggling, sin dominated and powerless churches abound today. This is because we have allowed the enemies of progress to gradually creep in and hold sway in the church. Today, there are more small churches than big ones; stagnant churches than successful ones; regressing churches than progressive churches. A truly progressive church most strike a balance between physical, material and spiritual kingdom progress. The opposite of progress is regress. Unfortunately, too many churches, irrespective of denominational affiliation are

fast regressing today than progressing because of these enemies. We all know what enemies do­, obstructing, hindering and using every opportunity to debar forward movement. Check out these enemies of church progress:

1. Secret Sins: Prov. 28: 13
When sin(s) are allowed unrebuked, unrepented and unconfessed both in the church leadership and membership, progress will be practically impossible.
- Sin will keep you longer than you want to stay
- Sin will take you further than you want to go
- Sin will lead you to where you don't want to go
- Sin will hold you longer than you are willing to stay

2. Living and Labouring under Curse: II Sam. 21 :1-3.
When a church pastor is under a generational or acquired course through wrong ordination, offending senior pastors, stealing, unhappy wife, parents and judgment of God, the church will find progress very difficult.

3. Visionless Leadership: Isaiah 9: 16.
When church leadership lack vision, direction, focus and purpose, the church will really flounder. There can be no discernible progress when the leadership is visionless and without focus. In a church where everything goes, nothing will really go.

4. Faulty Foundation: Ps. 11 :3.
Too many independent churches cannot achieve real progress simply because their foundation is wrong. The foundation of crisis, breakaway, false doctrine, lying, quarrel and animosity cannot but the faulty. It will always have negative effect. A church that starts in crisis will continue in crisis.

5. Position and Titles:
Many churches have wittingly and unwittingly mortgaged their continuous progress because they use positions and titles to install the wrong people. They allot positions and titles to people - new converts, sinners, church goers, rich and educated so as to make them to stay. They later become albatross in the neck of the church and progress is jeopardized.

6. Wrong Associates:
The quickness and impatience to choose associates that result in putting people that are strange bed fellows together have wrecked so many churches. Wrong associate pastors, deacons and elders have rather hindered church progress more than any other factor.

7. Internal Wrangling:
Churches cannot progress when internal politics, ethnic bias, tribal considerations and favouritism are being practised. When some animals are more equal than others, then progress will be a mirage. When politics, then progress will be gradually killed and muzzled.

8. Disobedience to God:
Progress will always be impossible in the church when there is clear disobedience to the word of God and His leading. Disobedience will bring backwardness and retrogression to an otherwise forward moving church. Try as much as they can, progress cannot come to a disobedient people.

9. Clinging to Tradition:
when a church refuses to change and is skeptical of worthwhile changes happening all around, progress, will turn to retrogression. When old methods, systems, strategies and church tradition are still being held onto, despite their fruitlessness, growth and progress will be a thing of the past.

10. Peace over Progress
Sometimes, peace is the enemy of progress in the church. But when church leadership want peace at all cost and are ready to appease people rather than provide dynamic leadership, progress will be a mirage. Church leadership that is afraid of rocking the boat, confronting the problematic person but surrendering leadership to disgruntled elements can never lead the church forward.

11. Failure to Tackle Problem:
Problems are part and parcel of progressive march. When problems are tackled and solved in a matured transparent and robust way, the church will move forward. But when the opposite is the case, the church will soon begin to crumble under the weight of unresolved problems and conflict.

12. False Doctrine:
No church can really achieve kingdom impact and expansion in the absence of the undiluted word of God. When the balanced and true word of God is expounded in a church faithfully; God will bring progress. When the word of God increases, the church will prevail. But when false doctrine and one line of truth are being extremely emphasized, progress will give way to downward spiral.

13. Polluted Altar:
The altar should be the life wire of the church, where life and living issues should flow to the church. It should be the place of God’s presence and power. It should be the throne room of God in the church, but sadly it has been polluted in many churches through sin, ungodly leader animosity and infighting and the presence of God have had to be withdrawn. Life and vitality has ebbed away from such altar, no wonder there is no' tangible progress.

"...Progress will always be impossible in the church when there is clear disobedience to the word of God and His leading. Disobedience will bring backwardness and retrogression to an otherwise forward moving church..."

14. Maltreating Ministers:
Many churches have not and will not see progress because they have made it their past time to maltreat and short change God's servants. They spread lies, deny him of salary, emolument, deal with him by punishing him without pay and sending him away from the church. Sometimes, church elders have overthrown pastors. Well, progress will be far away from such church people.

15. Oppression of Members:
Of course, when members are being oppressed, taken advantage of and cheated or cursed by church leaders, there will be no progress in such church. When church leaders behave as despots and dictators, forget true progress.

16. Contentment with Present State: Luke1:53
When a church is contended with her present state, then there can be no forward movement. When a church is maintenance conscious and fails to reach and stretch further, then bye bye to multiplication. A church that is consumed and controlled by the present have jeopardised the future.

17. Weak Programming:
Programmes have the power to' move a church forward or backward. Right and relevant programmes can transport a church to mighty all round progress. Wrong and weak programmes can also move a church to a very backward retrogressive position.

18. Demonic Activities:
Witchcraft inside a church has always been a formidable barrier to progress. Demonised members and environment has hindered growth from within. Witchcraft activities that result in lukewarmness, calamities, death, apathy and ungodly scenarios all contribute greatly to spiritual backwardness of a church.

19. Maladministration:
Progress in the church will always be impossible when there is maladministration of affairs. Wrong administration that leaves much to be desired will lead to complain and murmuring. Especially, wrong administration of money. This will make the church to be at loggerheads and thereby jumping at a spot.

20. Pastors Family:
This is the last but not the least in enemies of church progress. Wrong examples and models by pastor’s family have served as effective barrier to church progress. Wayward living, demonized wife and kids, problematic marriage, irresponsible spouse and the church.

How to overcome these enemies.
1. Make a choice: If you don't make a choice you will give room to chance.
2. Determination to Progress: Your determination will strengthen you to pay the price.
3. Progress-Oriented: Model, imbibe and champion progress both in your personal and ministerial life.
4. Programmatic Change: Be ready to change unworkable policies and methods for progress to happen.
5. Obedience: Demonstrate obedience to God and willingness to restore and restitute.
6. Prayerfulness: Pray and work at paying the price that will bring turn-around and progress.

Dr. Francis Bola Akin-John is the Founder and President of International Church Growth Ministries and International Institute of Church Growth. A ministry and institute teaching church growth in African context. He is in much demand as a conference speaker all over Africa and beyond. He has written so many resources and books on the growth and health of the Church in Nigeria and Africa. For more information, visit him at his website www.akingrow.org

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