The Zero Church

"So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do." - Luke 17:10

If you are going to the best church in your area, and it’s not feasible for you to move, then that’s understandable…but some of you are intentionally settling for a “zero church.” You might assume that a zero church means a church that does nothing for the Lord, but what I mean by a zero church is one that does the bare minimum.

“Pastor Zero” might read from the King James Bible, but he’s not King James only. He might say he is King James only, but he studies commentaries by authors that use other versions. He might have a soul-winning program, but a church member had to push him to start it--or perhaps he had to be asked to reform his tracts or website to reflect the correct plan of salvation. He might preach the right doctrine, but his guest speakers don’t. He might tell his people to win souls, but he doesn’t teach by example.

Sometimes to avoid persecution, people decide to settle for one of these more watered-down churches. Consider the story in Numbers 32 where Reuben and Gad decided they were content to settle outside the promised land. They still ended up being required to fight the battle, just with a lesser result in the end. God can still put trials in your life even if you don’t go to a church that is on the front lines in the spiritual battle.

“Yea, and ALL that live godly shall suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12

If you have no choice but to settle for a zero church, you should do your best to bloom where you are planted. Whether you are in a good church or a mediocre one, don’t be a zero Christian. Realize that when you do the minimum, you are at zero.

Go to church more than just on Sunday mornings. Read more than one Bible verse a day. Pray more. Go soul winning more than you’ve done in the past. Love your enemies--not just the people that love you. Don’t ever get to the point where you feel like you have arrived.

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

A zero Christian is not someone who does nothing. It’s someone who does the minimum.

Here is a sermon on the Zero Christian.