the basic message #E37
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
What is the church? The church, like the government, is composed of people. We often think of churches being buildings and facilities, but without dedicated Christians, the church is just another piece of real estate. I get emails from readers each week, but a recent one really got my attention. Here are a few excerpts from the note: “Our group (Church) has no outreach programs, we sit week after week with the same faces...the last time someone was baptized it was one of the member's kid.” “Part of me wants to look for a different group to worship and serve God with.” “What I want to know, is should I go find a group that is ALIVE for the Lord, or sit here with this group and DIE with them?”
Why did this email get my attention? The reader was asking for my advice as to whether she should stay in the church or leave. I have a tough time giving advice to someone when I’m in the same situation- I too, attend a dead church.
Matthew 23:13-14
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.”
Jesus lays it down clearly in this passage. How many churches would see themselves in this passage? I would guess that number would be close to zero- all churches think they’re doing fine. A church can only fit two categories: moving ahead or falling behind. I attend a small church, as does the reader who sent the note about her “dead” church. Perhaps small churches are most vulnerable, since they often have been populated by strong-willed families for their entire existence. In my church the congregation likes to keep everything very predictable and comfortable. Satan must love predictable and comfortable churches. All he has to do is a little light maintenance once in a while. Stir up a little feud now and then just to be sure no outreach program can get started. Toss in a little dissension to be sure that the church continues to have many special interest groups so that there’s no danger of everyone pulling together for God’s benefit.
There are thousands of churches with members that wear “WWJD” bracelets and other apparel. The concept of “What would Jesus do?” is wonderful. But if we only ask the question and not begin to DO what Jesus did, it’s simply an academic exercise in futility. There is no value in pondering what our Savior did unless we are honestly interested in following his example. There are all types of churches in our world. There are dead ones, like mine. There are ones who are absolutely on fire for Christ. There are ones that say all of the correct things at the correct time and raise their palms to the sky on cue that are still dead as a doorknob, and there are all kinds in between. Our goal, and it’s a tough one, is to simply ask the Lord to direct us in our decision to stay and make changes or move on. Millions of people like me keep hanging on, waiting for things to change. I would love to think that I’m hanging on to “make a difference”, but I’m probably just lazy, or reluctant to move out of my comfort zone. If God is no respecter of persons, he certainly is no respecter of comfort zones. (9/15/03 note: I left that dead church 2 years ago, and I wish I had done it sooner.)