In over two decades of serving the Lord, one of the hardest things for me to witness has been seeing countless believers sitting silently, week after week, in pews, fully alive in Christ, yet functionally inactive. This isn’t an accusation; it’s a lament. The Church is filled with sons and daughters who carry gifts, callings, wisdom, and testimonies, but who’ve been trained, subtly and systemically, to remain spectators rather than participants in the life and function of the ekklesia.
This silent majority was never God’s design.
From the beginning, the Church was a living organism, not an institution of passive observation. When Paul spoke of the gathering in 1 Corinthians 14:26, he described a regularity of mutual participation: “When you come together, each one has a hymn, a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or interpretation.” There was no stage, no program to consume, no entertainment, no separation between “church leaders” and “the congregation.” There was only the Spirit, and the people through whom He chose to move.
But over time, especially post-Constantine, the Church inherited a hierarchical model that centralized authority and sidelined the Body. The gathering became more of a presentation, and ministry became performance. The members of Christ’s Body, instead of being equipped to minister, were taught to receive, respond, and repeat.
It’s not that modern pastors and leaders are malicious. Please listen, this is not some vendetta against church leaders. Many do not know what they do not know. There are more that are faithful, sacrificial, and sincere than not. But when a system is built on the few doing the work while the many observe, it doesn’t matter how good the intentions are; the result is spiritual paralysis in the pews. And far too many believers have come to equate maturity with attendance, not activation.
What has become the tragic outcome? Gifted men and women, full of the Spirit, never walking into the fullness of what they carry. Prophetic voices are quieted, teachers are silenced, shepherds remain unseen, evangelists are hidden, apostolic builders are confined to “volunteer positions” instead of being released to lay foundations.
This is not about rebellion, jealousy, or being an accuser of the brethren as the gatekeepers of this hierarchical system might suggest; it’s about reformation. Not about tearing down leaders but calling the Body into fullness. The truth is, every believer has a part. No one was saved to sit. We were born again to function, to contribute, to edify the whole, and when even one part is silent, the whole Body suffers.
Beloved, if you’ve felt that ache, if you’ve looked around and thought, “There has to be more,” you’re not crazy, and you’re not alone. The Lord is awakening His people. He’s calling us out of silence and into significance, not for personal platforms, but for the glory of Christ expressed through a united, functioning Body.
Saints, we can’t afford to leave His Church in the hands of the few when He died to raise up the many. It’s time for the sleeping saints to arise, not in rebellion, but in righteous responsibility. The days of watching are over. The days of walking in our divine purpose have come.
The Body must speak. The Body must move. The Body must build together.
