Tuesday, February 15, 2022
by Reverend Dan on February 15, 2022“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
Based on conversations I have with many pastors; I fear there are some churches and people losing their direction because they are ignoring God’s vision. For many, the church is no longer the place from which people are sent into the world to share the gospel. It is becoming nothing more than a private club for “people who think like I do.” It is no longer Christ-centered, it is self-centered. While homeless people are dying right outside its doors from cold and starvation, inside it is fighting over rules of order. While young people are lying dead and dying in crack and meth houses with needles in their arms, it debates over the color of the carpet. Church constitutions and by-laws have replaced scripture as the authority of the church. Energy better spent on serving others is instead used to fight internal skirmishes. Personal opinions based on emotion have replaced the power of prayer. While the world around it adapts and adjusts to progress, its feet are mired in dogmatic and outdated statutes and traditions of the past claiming them as doctrine. No longer is the church known by what it stands for. Instead, churches are now labeled by what they are against. Appeasement is more important than truth. Grace is cheap; it comes without responsibility or accountability. It’s more important on Sunday morning to leave feeling good than leave convicted by the Word of God. Boards gather and discuss landscaping and the budget but never celebrate souls brought to Christ. The church is becoming more and more irrelevant in the world around it because it is ignoring the field in which it is called to labor. The harvest is not inside the church, it’s outside the doors. The church must tear down the walls it hides behind and become something more than a building with a budget. It ain’t rocket science, folks . . . “love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s what being the Church is about. It’s really very simple.
“Creator God, open our eyes and hearts to Your call to be the Church, and then give us the courage and wisdom to be that Church in grace and in love. In Jesus name and by His blood we pray, AMEN."
backBased on conversations I have with many pastors; I fear there are some churches and people losing their direction because they are ignoring God’s vision. For many, the church is no longer the place from which people are sent into the world to share the gospel. It is becoming nothing more than a private club for “people who think like I do.” It is no longer Christ-centered, it is self-centered. While homeless people are dying right outside its doors from cold and starvation, inside it is fighting over rules of order. While young people are lying dead and dying in crack and meth houses with needles in their arms, it debates over the color of the carpet. Church constitutions and by-laws have replaced scripture as the authority of the church. Energy better spent on serving others is instead used to fight internal skirmishes. Personal opinions based on emotion have replaced the power of prayer. While the world around it adapts and adjusts to progress, its feet are mired in dogmatic and outdated statutes and traditions of the past claiming them as doctrine. No longer is the church known by what it stands for. Instead, churches are now labeled by what they are against. Appeasement is more important than truth. Grace is cheap; it comes without responsibility or accountability. It’s more important on Sunday morning to leave feeling good than leave convicted by the Word of God. Boards gather and discuss landscaping and the budget but never celebrate souls brought to Christ. The church is becoming more and more irrelevant in the world around it because it is ignoring the field in which it is called to labor. The harvest is not inside the church, it’s outside the doors. The church must tear down the walls it hides behind and become something more than a building with a budget. It ain’t rocket science, folks . . . “love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s what being the Church is about. It’s really very simple.
“Creator God, open our eyes and hearts to Your call to be the Church, and then give us the courage and wisdom to be that Church in grace and in love. In Jesus name and by His blood we pray, AMEN."
