“For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Corinthians 4:5)
The message can be subtle or overt, but it will be there. The discerning will pick up on it; the simple will believe every word. The intention of the speakers is to “draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:30). The focus is not on what Christ has done; it is on what “we” are doing and where “we” are going. Sheep are groomed to not want to “miss out” on the great things in store. Defection is discouraged as the flock is encouraged to trust the declarations of earthly shepherds. “Stay with US.” “Hold on.” “The best is yet to come.”
The mission of a church has never been to build the church; it is to preach Jesus who said that He would build His church. In his day, Paul saw the personal ambition and competitive spirit that drove many in “ministry building.” Likewise today, the lust to be successful and a “cut above” the competition is the driving force behind the constant drumbeat of how special we are, and “where God is taking us.”
When Paul listed the works of the flesh he included “variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies” (Gal. 5:20). These more subtle sins of the spirit manifest where men desire vainglory, and seek earthly recognition and honor. Such a spirit compels them to distinguish themselves from others who don’t have the revelation they have or aren’t entering the “realms” they are ascending into.
What distinguished Paul from so many of his peers? “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s” (Philippians 2:21). If the church is to grow as God intends, each member must be exhorted to “hold the Head” (Col. 2:19). Leaving a church might be the best thing you can do for yourself when that “church” makes your spiritual welfare contingent on abiding in them. You don’t want to go where God is taking them. Pride goes before a fall.
Instead, find a company of saints who preach and exalt Christ. Your one true need is to abide in Him.