Spiritual Sleepiness: Shallowing Theology And The Church Growth Movement Series

Spiritual Sleepiness: Shallowing Theology and the Church Growth Movement

July 13, 2025

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

2 Peter 2:1-3, 1 Timothy 4:1-3, Revelation 3:14-16, 2 Peter 1:5-8

Introduction: Navigating The Fog of Modern Faith

On September 1, 1983, Korean Air Flight 007 drifted silently off course while flying from New York to Seoul. Its pilots, unaware of a tiny navigational error, crossed into Soviet airspace during the height of the Cold War. Soviet radar picked it up, mistook it for a U.S. spy plane, and ordered it shot down. In minutes, 269 innocent people fell from the sky.

The world reeled. How could such a catastrophe happen? Investigators discovered the chilling truth: the aircraft’s autopilot was engaged, but the flight crew had failed to notice a slight deviation early in the journey. Over time, that small drift became a deadly trajectory.

It’s a haunting picture of where much of the Western Church finds itself today. It’s not just about sleepiness; it’s about a course error that felt imperceptible but proved catastrophic.

We live in an age where church platforms shine brighter than operating rooms, worship teams rival pop bands, and the Sunday sermon has been carefully distilled into a 28-minute TED Talk with a side of Scripture. But beneath the gloss of production and the metrics of success—attendance spikes, social media impressions, giving campaigns—lurks a growing hollowness.

The Church, in many corners of the West, is asleep. And worse—it’s dreaming that it’s awake.

We have traded the prophetic voice of the pulpit for polished programming. We have exchanged discipleship for brand loyalty. What we’re seeing is not just a drift; it’s a delusion.

This isn’t about bashing the Bride of Christ. God forbid. This is about loving her enough to say, ‘Wake up before it’s too late!’ Jesus warned the Laodicean church: “You say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

Could it be that in our generation we’ve mistaken activity for anointing? Are we building disciples or collecting consumers? Are we shaping souls or sculpting influencers? But make no mistake, this is spiritual warfare and intentional deception of the enemy.

Like KAL 007, the Church didn’t veer off course in one big, obvious turn. It was a slow drift—just a few degrees at a time. A compromise here, a neglected truth there, and suddenly we find ourselves in enemy airspace, not even realizing the danger. This is how the Enemy works. He doesn’t need to convince us to abandon Christ outright—he only needs to nudge us toward comfort, entertainment, and compromise until we’re flying blind.

Theology matters. So let’s ask the hard question: Where did the drift begin? How did theology, once the lifeblood of the Church, become shallow enough to drown in a puddle?

I. The Apostolic Alarm (2 Peter 2:1–3)

1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:1–3)

Peter wastes no time with ambiguity. He warns of a subtle invasion—"false teachers... who will secretly bring in destructive heresies." This isn't an all-out frontal assault on orthodoxy; it is subterfuge. Truth gets diluted. Heresy wears a smile. "Many will follow their sensuality," Peter says—not just physical indulgence, but emotionalism that replaces repentance. Feelings over faith. Hype over holiness.

Like Flight KAL 007, the Church didn’t wake up one day and decide to abandon truth. It was a slow drift—one small compromise at a time.

Once, the pulpit was a sacred desk where God’s Word thundered. Now, in many places, it has become a stage for motivational talks sprinkled with Scripture, carefully designed not to offend. In the name of “church growth,” theology has been dumbed down, rebranded as divisive, and replaced with marketing strategies.

Notice Peter’s warning: “There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies.”

These heresies don’t come in shouting; they creep in.

They sound spiritual, even biblical, but they are designed to empty the truth of its power.

Instead of the full counsel of God, people are fed half-truths that tickle ears and keep them coming back for more.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, (Hosea 4:6)

Theology matters. What you believe about God determines how you live for Him. Shallow theology produces shallow Christians. Flimsy doctrine produces fragile disciples—people who cave under cultural pressure because they’ve never been rooted in truth.