I recently read a summary of a new book on spiritual warfare and among the quotes was this paragraph with a great start and, in my opinion, a weak finish:

Satan hates the church and is continually seeking to destroy it (Rev 12:13–17). He tries to find means to derail the church from its mission. This attempted destruction can be done through hypocrisy, false teaching, and persecution (Acts 5:1–11; 1 Tim 1:18–20; Rev 2:9–10, 13; 3:9). [Emphasis mine]

[I’m withholding identification of the book because I haven’t read it, and maybe my concern is addressed elsewhere.]

How does Satan “derail the church from its mission?” These authors say “through hypocrisy, false teaching, and persecution.” How about distraction? We see this clearly in Acts 6 with the widows. And what the apostles would not be distracted from was teaching the word publicly and from house to house:

Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables…We will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” (Acts 5.42, 6.1, 2…4, NIV)

Today’s pastors are distracted by myriad duties associated with “running a church.” Few are able to implement Paul’s basic instruction to Pastor Timothy:

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2.1, 2, NIV)

Once at a meeting where I was encouraging the staff of a church in some basic spiritual disciplines, one staffer astutely observed, “We’re so busy doing the business of the church that we don’t have time for the business of the church!”

There are other means Satan uses to derail the church from its mission, and I’ll address them over the next few days.

(A Parable about being distracted by busyness)
And as the king passed, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, “Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.” And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone. (1 Kings 20.39, 40, ESV)