(Blog) Why Christians are Falling Away from Their Calling - Ep. 990 - October 5, 2026

Why Christians Are Falling Away from Their Calling

You can attend church every Sunday and still leave the work God has called you to do untouched. In episode 990 of The Smith and Rowland Show, Alan Smith and Jeff Rowland connect the falling away from church life with a failure to recognize and exercise the ministry God gives every believer.

Their concern is a church culture that leaves people as spectators, even while they receive teaching week after week. The discussion begins with changes in church participation, then turns to the responsibilities of leaders and congregations in preparing believers to serve.

Church decline reaches beyond denominational membership

The decline in mainline participation

Smith and Rowland begin by recalling their recent discussion about the condition of denominational churches. They describe a sharp decline since the 1960s, citing a figure of 52% of Americans belonging to mainline denominations and attending church on Sunday in 1960, compared with 8% today.

Those figures frame their concern about the falling away. However, the conversation soon moves beyond attendance because they see a related problem among people who remain in church but never become active in their calling.

Movement toward independent and traditional churches

The hosts also describe an exodus from mainline denominations into independent churches over roughly the past 50 to 60 years. Alongside that movement, they observe renewed interest in Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity.

Rowland speaks as someone who has spent his life in independent church settings. He values the local church as an autonomous body, uniquely formed by God, but he doesn't treat independence as a guarantee of spiritual health. Every church structure faces the question of how believers remain accountable and carry out the work God has given them.

Biblical accountability belongs in every church

Autonomy can leave gaps in accountability

For Rowland, each local congregation is a microcosm of the body of Christ. He believes the functions Scripture describes belong within every local church, and their absence indicates dysfunction.

Yet he also acknowledges a serious weakness in independent churches: they can operate with little accountability and no clear structure beyond the local leader. That freedom can become toxic and devastating in people's lives, just as failures within denominational structures can cause harm.

Neither host presents a particular organizational model as protection against these problems. Their concern applies to denominational and non-denominational churches alike.

Congregations need their own knowledge of Scripture

Smith raises another concern about denominational life. Congregations may depend heavily on their pastors' formal training and assume their leaders will supply all the biblical understanding they need.

Rowland agrees that this dependence becomes a problem when people stop studying Scripture themselves. Independent churches can develop the same habit, with everyone looking to the pastor alone.

"The true accountability is the Word of God."

That standard requires knowledge of the Word. As the hosts explain, people can't apply biblical principles they don't know. A church may affirm Scripture's authority while neglecting the study that makes biblical accountability possible.

Good leadership directs people toward Christ

Smith and Rowland distinguish healthy leadership from dependence on one person. Following a good leader has a place in a believer's growth, especially while that person is learning and developing spiritual maturity.

However, a faithful leader directs people toward Christ rather than gathering them around himself. The goal is a personal relationship with the Lord that continues even if the leader moves away or can no longer serve.

This is why the hosts resist the idea that every pastor-led church must become a one-person show. That danger exists, but it isn't inevitable. Believers also carry responsibility for their own spiritual lives, which Rowland connects with the biblical instruction to work out one's own salvation.

Maturity changes the relationship with leadership. A believer can receive teaching and follow a godly example without making that leader the foundation of his or her faith.

Recognize church functions before assigning titles

Removing a title doesn't remove the function

Rowland argues that pastoral care exists in a functioning church whether the congregation uses the title "pastor" or avoids it. Someone is still caring for people, guiding them, and carrying out that responsibility.

He applies the same reasoning to elders and deacons. A church may reject a title because of pride, painful experiences, or associations with a particular church culture. Nevertheless, the biblical function remains.

His reasoning rests on Christ's promise to build His church. Rowland believes Jesus establishes the functions Scripture describes through the Holy Spirit's work in local assemblies. A change in terminology doesn't erase that work.

The Shiloh example: 32 people functioning as elders

Smith and Rowland recall reaching a practical decision during their time at Shiloh: they would observe how people already served and recognize them according to that function.

Smith remembers that this led to recognizing 32 elders. The point was that 32 people were already doing the work of eldership, rather than the church deciding it needed 32 titles.

Rowland prefers this approach to choosing someone first and then asking that person to become a deacon or elder. Recognition follows the service already taking place. In their view, this allows the church to acknowledge what the Holy Spirit is doing through His people.

Spiritual gifts prepare the congregation for ministry

The hosts return to the biblical roles of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Smith acknowledges that some Christians believe apostles and prophets have ceased, but the discussion centers on the purpose of ministry leadership: equipping the congregation to do the work of ministry.

That purpose places responsibility throughout the body. Leaders teach and prepare people because every believer has a ministry, and spiritual gifts enable that service.

Smith and Rowland describe the church's ministry in two direct terms:

• Bringing people who are lost to Christ.
• Discipling those who have come to know Jesus as Savior.

They see no need to make that purpose more complicated. Gifts belong in the service of that work rather than becoming an end in themselves.

Rowland also connects dysfunction with a failure to recognize that every person has a gift and a function. When people neglect their own place, or become occupied with someone else's role, the body fails to function as it should. For the hosts, this is part of what the falling away looks like within church life.

The Fellowship of Ministries helps people own their calling

A fellowship made up of the congregation

Smith describes a Fellowship of Ministries he has started at the church he attends. Its purpose is to help members identify the ministry God has given them and recognize that they have work to do.

This fellowship belongs to the congregation, rather than only to a small group of recognized leaders. Smith recalls that during the revival years at Shiloh, their Fellowship of Ministries included between 500 and 600 people.

He believes a ministry can have a name that helps someone identify and take ownership of it. Using his own analogy, he describes a person's ministry as that person's baby: something entrusted to their care and given a name.

Remembering a name God had already given

Smith tells of a man who recently came forward for prayer because he knew God was calling him into ministry. After praying, Smith asked whether the Lord had given him a name for that ministry.

The man initially said no. Smith encouraged him to ask God, and the man returned to his seat. Within about a minute, he stood up and remembered that he had received a name years earlier.

For Smith, the calling had been there all along. The man needed to recognize what God had already shown him.

"If you don't own your ministry, I can't recognize it."

That statement describes the relationship between personal responsibility and church recognition. The individual acknowledges the calling, and the congregation can then affirm and support it.

Recognition should include practical support

Smith and Rowland agree that a church has a responsibility to recognize, bless, and empower the ministries within its congregation. Recognition alone leaves part of that responsibility unfinished.

Because much of the work happens beyond church walls, the congregation also has a role in supplying resources where it can. Rowland points to people at the church in Morgan who show strong gifts of mercy and hospitality. He believes those gifts need recognition, room to operate, and practical support.

At the same time, he supports a structure of leadership and vision within the local assembly. Different gifts need direction as they relate to the church's shared work.

This combination matters to both hosts: the church acknowledges the individual's calling while its leaders help the congregation's gifts work together. Empowering someone for ministry doesn't automatically mean scheduling that person to preach the following Sunday.

Ministry extends beyond the positions inside a church

Smith illustrates this distinction with the elder-led church he attends. It has ten elders, and he explains that elders already fill its established teaching and leadership responsibilities.

He compares that number to two basketball teams, with five players on each team. His point is that the church already has people in those places. The Fellowship of Ministries isn't an appeal for more members to fill the same internal positions.

Instead, the church wants to support the work its members carry into the community. Their relationships and influence still matter inside the congregation, but their calling can extend well beyond its scheduled activities.

Rowland adds that Christians have developed a culture in which the word "ministry" often suggests a pulpit or platform. As a result, someone who hears that every believer has a ministry may assume that means preaching before the congregation.

The hosts reject that limitation. Much of the work of ministry happens outside the church building, where believers meet people, care for them, and share Christ.

Peer guidance can support sound doctrine and character

Accountability through mutual relationships

Smith reads the accountability statement he has written for the Fellowship of Ministries at New Life: "To help maintain sound doctrine, ethical standards, and godly character through peer guidance."

He describes peer guidance as an interactive relationship among people with similar standing or shared life experiences. They offer mutual advice, emotional support, and practical direction.

The emphasis is on shared understanding and equality rather than placing every interaction into an expert-and-learner hierarchy. Members remain accountable to one another because they live and serve in relationship.

Elders still have responsibility to intervene

Smith also makes clear that the fellowship operates under the church's eldership. If someone departs seriously from sound doctrine or appropriate conduct, the elders have the responsibility to meet with that person and address the problem.

Rowland affirms this kind of oversight. He believes the work of ministry needs accountability, including the guidance supplied through the leadership functions Scripture describes.

The accountability also applies to leaders. Smith says a pastor answers to God, to the elders, and to the congregation. Pastoral responsibility doesn't place someone beyond correction or remove the congregation's place in that relationship.

Individual ministries have autonomy and relational obligations

A personal ministry can't take over the congregation

Rowland describes two sides of accountability. A person's ministry has its own calling and direction, yet that ministry also has a relationship with the local church.

He has seen people assume that the entire congregation exists to support their particular ministry. In that situation, one person's work begins to take precedence over everyone else's.

This is where elders and overseers have a clear role. They help guide the ministry's relationship with the assembly so the shared life of the congregation doesn't become centered on one member's vision.

Guidance outside the church depends on invitation

Beyond that relationship with the congregation, Rowland respects the individual's walk with God. He says he doesn't assume authority over someone's ministry outside the church unless that person invites him to speak into it.

When someone asks for his thoughts about a direction they believe God is giving, that invitation opens a place for guidance. Otherwise, he recognizes the ministry as that person's calling and responsibility.

Smith agrees that individual ministries need their own autonomy. He favors working through relationships rather than hierarchical demands.

To explain mutual willingness to yield, Smith gives a small example: if a friend found his use of "ain't" offensive, he would try to change it because the relationship matters. Their point is that trusted relationships make correction easier to receive, even when the issue seems minor.

Churches and believers share responsibility for spectator habits

The hosts connect these questions of calling and accountability to the falling away. A congregation becomes dysfunctional when people remain in the pews as spectators instead of carrying out the ministry for which they receive teaching.

Church gatherings have a purpose in that process. Believers come together to learn and prepare for service. However, a routine of attending, listening, going home, and returning the next week can leave that teaching without practical expression.

Smith believes churches contribute to the problem when they call people to salvation but fail to call them into service. He also objects to a pattern in which people return each Sunday only to repent again, without growing into their responsibilities.

Rowland identifies the other side: some professing Christians prefer the spectator role. They want to attend, listen, and remain undisturbed until the next gathering.

Neither host places all the blame on leadership or all the blame on members. Churches have a responsibility to equip and recognize people, while believers have a responsibility to respond to their calling. They also acknowledge that many factors contribute to the church's dysfunction.

For them, a lack of active ministry helps explain why people become apathetic, cold, or indifferent even while they continue hearing biblical teaching.

Different congregations can contribute to a shared regional ministry

Distinct gifts can work in fellowship

Rowland extends the discussion beyond one local assembly. He suggests that New Life and the Grace Place may express different gifts and strengths, yet their fellowship can produce a harmonious expression before the Lord.

One congregation may show a strong gift of mercy, while another may show a strong gift of helps. Together, those gifts contribute to the work of Christ's body in a region.

Rowland describes believers as expressions, or "breaths," of the Holy Spirit on the earth. He believes local assemblies participate in that shared life whether they fully acknowledge their oneness or not.

Everyday care is part of the work

The discussion then returns to the individual believer. Rowland gives the example of a woman cooking a meal for someone who is sick and taking it to that person.

That visit can also include giving a Bible and asking whether the recipient knows Jesus. Practical care and sharing the gospel belong together in this example.

For the hosts, this is a clear expression of ministry at the grassroots level. As believers carry out such work, ministry can grow through their relationships and service.

Smith and Rowland close by planning a second conversation that will draw on David Jeremiah's teaching about the falling away.

A functioning church prepares believers to serve

Smith and Rowland locate part of the falling away in the distance between receiving teaching and carrying out a calling. Church attendance can continue while the work entrusted to believers remains undone.

Their central emphasis is equipping the whole body. Leaders recognize and support what the Holy Spirit is doing, and believers take responsibility for their part.

A functioning congregation gives that calling room to become active service, both within its relationships and beyond its walls.

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