By almost any metric, the churches in our nation are much less evangelistic today than they were in the recent past. In my own denomination, we are reaching non-Christians only half as effectively as we were 50 years ago (we measure membership to annual baptisms). The trend is disturbing.
We certainly see the pattern in the early church where “every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). In too many of our churches today, the congregations are reaching no one for Christ in the course of an entire year.
The Poll
I conducted an unscientific Twitter poll recently to see what church leaders and church members thought of this trend, My specific question was: “Why do you think many churches aren’t as evangelistic as they once were?”
The responses arrived quickly and in great numbers, both in public tweets and in direct messages to me. Indeed, I was still receiving responses four days after I sent my Twitter question.
The Results
The response was highly informative for me. Here are the top fifteen responses listed in order of frequency:
- Christians have no sense of urgency to reach lost people.
- Many Christians and church members do not befriend and spend time with lost persons.
- Many Christians and church members are lazy and apathetic.
- We are more known for what we are against than what we are for.
- Our churches have an ineffective evangelistic strategy of “you come” rather than “we go.”
- Many church members think that evangelism is the role of the pastor and paid staff.
- Church membership today is more about getting my needs met rather than reaching the lost.
- Church members are in a retreat mode as culture becomes more worldly and unbiblical.
- Many church members don’t really believe that Christ is the only way of salvation.
- Our churches are no longer houses of prayer equipped to reach the lost.
- Churches have lost their focus on making disciples who will thus be equipped and motivated to reach the lost.
- Christians do not want to share the truth of the gospel for fear they will offend others. Political correctness is too commonplace even among Christians.
- Most churches have unregenerate members who have not received Christ themselves.
- Some churches have theological systems that do not encourage evangelism.
- Our churches have too many activities; they are too busy to do the things that really matter.
So What Is the Solution?
I received hundreds of responses to this poll. There is obviously widespread concern about the lack of evangelism in our churches and among Christians.
First, let me hear what you think of these responses. Second, and more importantly, offer some solutions to the challenges. Make certain those solutions include what you can do as much as what they should do. I look forward to hearing from you.
photo credit: people talking in paris via photopin (license)
Posted on February 23, 2015
With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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7. Walk in the Spirit of Truth
I said at the beginning of this that many of you will reject my words and many won’t like them. I purposefully quoted many scriptures throughout my response without providing the Scripture and verse because I know that if you really want to know God’s heart and truth of what I have written, then you will seek the truth. If not, no number of Scripture quotes will reach you.
Look at the first church. Look at how Jesus discipled the twelve. Look at how He instructed them. Look at the miracles. Listen to what He says to the disciples, the twelve and then listen to what He teaches…especially to Peter, His church. Watch how Peter lives from the time of Christ’s ascension. Look how he led. Look at how the other disciples lived, loved and spread the Gospel. Look at their sacrificial living. Look at the miracles, the healings, deliverance, empowerment of the Holy Spirit upon ordinary men and women to do the extraordinary! They came against opposition. They came against persecution. They were imprisoned. Stoned. Martyred for their faith. They pressed on. They continued to run the race before them. They intended to be victors. They feed the hungry. Clothed the naked. Visited the imprisoned. They healed the sick. They, too, cast out demons. They led multitudes to find the freedom that can only be found in the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ.
We have a lost and dying world before us. They have a multitude of needs. Those needs are unmet because we are too busy trying to pay for our buildings and staff…and musicians and we’re afraid to send our grown Christians out because we don’t trust God to meet our own needs…needs perhaps we shouldn’t even have. How much more might God bless our communities, towns, cities and states if we forego our brick and mortar for building the lives in those places? How many more might we reach if we stop looking so much like the rest of the world…greedy, and caring about the things of the world (big comfortable church buildings…fancy equipment…mission trips around the world when we have mission fields around our community?
I believe if you walk in the spirit of truth…God’s truth…you will know that everything I have said is truth. At the end of this life of ours….God isn’t going to care about how big our church was, or how great our music service was, or even how many members we had. He’s going to want to know did we care for the least of these. Were we BEING the church that Jesus, Himself built? I can assure you He will not care what was built in vain. He will care about lives that give Glory to Him for the great things He has done. He may ask why people stopped crying out to Him to meet their needs (which He is willing do though His body…the human church, not the brick and mortar one) and began crying out to the government to meet their needs.
Because of this, our country is becoming spiritually bankrupt. Murders of law enforcement officers are being reported nearly weekly, Gang killings and even gang attacks against elderly are rising rapidly, the institution of marriage has been redefined, homosexuality and transgenderism is considered acceptable, Christian business owners are being persecuted for standing on their faith and beliefs about God’s Word…and the friend of the needy (the government and its entitlements) has made an enemy of the church and the greatest enemy against Christianity, ISIS, has a big red target on America and Christianity around the world.
All this, and we still think the (brick and mortar) church is okay. The seven letters to the seven churches says otherwise. You can say those letters don’t refer to the church today, but you would be wrong. God doesn’t change. God is saying the same thing to His Church (the human church) today. He is also saying it to the corporate churches as they exist today. Only one in seven of us have it right. Perhaps that is why many will hear “Turn away from Me, I never knew you.”
Many brick and mortar churches today have become entertainment centers with leaders who are content to have the glory that belongs to Christ alone and give their flock what their itching ears want to hear. Their church was built in vain, and their numbers may increase but not necessarily from new converts but rather from a member moving from one church they are dissatisfied with to another they soon become dissatisfied with because the brick and mortar is not doing what the early church…the church built upon a disciple who stepped into a leadership role and the other disciples who stepped into leadership roles and WENT OUT spreading the Gospel of Christ Jesus.
It is not about a building. It is about building. Building lives within communities and teaching and training (Discipleship) spending time talking, walking and supping together. Gathering together in small or large groups and meeting needs, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for orphans and widows in their times of distress. The church should be ashamed that we have veterans on our streets sleeping tonight, and elderly people and families with children without enough food to eat, or money to pay for heat, electricity or water anywhere, but especially in America. We can do better than than this. We should do better than this. We must. God expects it of us.
Now my prayer is this. That is if none of what I say is Truth….led by the Holy Spirit to share…that it will fall to the ground null and void. But if it is Truth…God’s Truth, led by the Holy Spirit to awaken the brick and mortar churches to dare to let go of anything built in vain, and to rebuild according to the early church – Peter….and the disciples….then I pray God will pour out a fresh fire of anointing upon you to do as He instructs, without fear but with reckless abandon to hear His call to “Follow Me”. Then follow Him. Follow Him…go back….lead disciples out into the highways and byways and compel them (the lost) to come into relationship with Him. Meet their needs. Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you from on high to do the unimaginable….the seemingly impossible…and than watch God step in and do the miraculous!!
Then maybe…just maybe we may see a world who truly begins to see the heart of Jesus for them…and maybe just maybe we will see 11 Chronicles 7:14 fulfilled. (That one’s on me).
It’s not too late. Awaken.
Blessings and love.
6. The Holy Spirit
When is the last time you felt the power of the Holy Spirit upon you. When was the last time you prayed for the Holy Spirit to truly lead your service. Prayed. Was silent. Let go of your church agenda and just allowed the Holy Spirit free reign and rule over you and your service. Sure, God is a God of order. I know His Word says everything should be done decently and in order. Do you really think if you call upon the Holy Spirit at the start of your service and was silent for a bit and allowed Holy Spirit to move that the Holy Spirit will cause “disorder”? Surely, you can’t believe that? But when you set your church agenda up, in time to print your bulletin a week ahead, and the music director time to plan his music ministry for the service to line up with your preset sermon….where in the service is the Holy Spirit welcome? What if God has something really special planned for your service but your agenda was so prepackaged and planned that there was no invitation for Him to take control. Holy Spirit won’t force Himself upon you or your service. Uttering that you invite Him as you do the opening prayer, but leaving no room for Him to truly come…well, that’s really no invitation at all. And how many times have the gifts of the Holy Spirit been squelched in your service? How many of your members are not really “lazy” at all, but rather you don’t know (and perhaps don’t care) what their spiritual gifts are? Perhaps you are the pastor of a church and that isn’t not even YOUR calling. Perhaps your call is to the mission field…not to Africa or Baghdad….but perhaps right here at home. Perhaps you weren’t supposed to build a big multi-thousand or million dollar church building….but perhaps small “village communities” of affordable straw bale houses (in the south) or tiny home structures (in the north) for homeless vets and homeless families and children. If you had done that, rather than building a church building, then perhaps other parts of the church body would be called into their spiritual gifts of teaching (reading to those unable, cooking, parenting, repairing cars, building furniture, or more affordable housing and mentoring, ministering, sharing the Gospel as they are meeting real needs in towns, cities, states across the country and nations around the world. Maybe some of your men who currently are not attending or active in your church now (because as we all know….or some of us do…men, warrior men….they need a purpose…they need to feel valued….and they could be…would be) would be an active member of BEING the church in their community…building, creating, teaching young boys to hunt, fish, build an engine, cook on a grill or open fire, to be strong men…leaders…treating young girls, women, their mothers and sisters as the Bible instructs (as the weaker vessel) and married couples could work as teams and show young or older single women and young girls and boys what a good and healthy marriage should look like, and could perhaps give a single mom a little “time out” during the week, where she could study and work toward a career or degree. Instead of single moms being overwhelmed financially because their husband walked out for another women (there’s another ministry) and she’s working all day, struggling to get dinner on the table, kids bathed and ready for bed, laundry done, etc before she goes to bed to do it all again.
Rather than building churches, or trying to keep them going…we should be building the real church….lives…people…helping a lost and dying world believe that Jesus is real…that God loved them SO much that He sent Jesus to die for them….and because of OUR relationship with Jesus…He sent us to GO and to disciple them by showing them just exactly what Christ-like love looks like. They can’t see that looking inside a building, with people all dressed up in their Sunday best, without a hair out of place. They can’t see that looking at the big building of brick and mortar, when they slept on the street outside of one the night before. They can’t see Jesus’ love, when they walk into a church hungry or strung out on drugs without hope of recovery.
We will all one day, stand before the Bema seat of Christ….our salvation is assured, but what will your rewards be? What have you truly done with the gifts God has given you through the Holy Spirit? Have you trusted God to send your healed, grown, spirit-filled members out to add to the Kingdom daily?
You wonder why 1-15 as responses to the survey above exist? Perhaps you must look at 1-6 of my comment…and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s truth to you. Which brings me to my final point…
Where are your storehouses? Why must those in need jump through a benevolence committees’ hoops to get help? Why? Jesus tells us that we will always have the poor among us, and that “If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. If you do not, if you harbor ill-will (make him needlessly jump through hoops or think there is another way he can get help)…He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. The Word of the Lord says to “Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.”
What, church leader, are you doing when the poor come to you? Be careful that you won’t be found guilty of sin. I can’t help but think, and perhaps you should, too, how much world-wide hunger there would be if the tithes were going to the storehouse so there would be food? Clothes? Help for shelter? America is screaming out for help for our homeless veterans, for assistance to the elderly, for hungry sometimes, homeless families and children. They are screaming to our government for help. Why is the church not responding? When there were only 12 disciples spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they realized widows were being neglected in the daily feeding (I am sure from the storehouse) the twelve called together the “congregation of disciples” and instructed them to “select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task” so they could continue spreading the Gospel of Jesus, discipling and sending out.
Maybe you need a “building”…a place where the “sick” (sinners) can come and be taught and then to be discipled. Although, Jesus taught on mountains, shorelines, and in Jewish temples…I don’t recall a single disciple being taught to build a building. But that could be done, as it was then, in people’s homes. Cell groups is a great concept…we just need to get rid of the Church buildings. Think about how much poverty world-wide could be eradicated if all those churches (especially the Mega-churches) sold their buildings, furnishings and land!!
Sure the Scriptures say not to forsake the gathering together with other believers. That is extremely important. The gifts of the Holy Spirit would hardly function as a “whole” body without this gathering. But that gathering together is never declared to be in church building.
In fact, when Jesus said to Peter “Upon this rock I build my church”, He referred to HIS church. Not His churches, not many churches or many denominations…He, Himself had trained His disciples how to BE the church. The gifts of healing, prophesy, pastoring shepherding – gathering the sheep together, speaking in tongues, teaching…ALL of the gifts of the Spirit of God were functioning perfectly well without a building.
Today, we have many buildings…yet the gifts of the Holy Spirit are often squelched….or not operating at all. In fact, that is the next solution….
3) Discipleship.
Discipleship isn’t a class. Well, it isn’t just a class. Jesus taught the disciples, absolutely. But He did so much more than that as He, Himself was discipling the disciples. He spent time with them, He supped with them, He walked and talked with them. He questioned them and allowed them to ask Him questions. There was a level of intimacy with them from Jesus. That intimacy, the teachings, the questioning and answering and spending time together was such in integral part of their growth in knowing and understanding who Jesus was and who they were in Him.
There isn’t much true discipleship in churches today. Not the kind of discipleship Jesus did. But there needs to be. But perhaps the church must remember its true purpose first. Then they may be better prepared and understand the need for true discipleship.
5. The Church Purpose.
The church is not a building. It never was meant to be. It is the body of believers. If there is a building at all, it is not for the saved and grown in Christ. The grown in Christ should be out of there. They should be leading disciples…as Jesus did. And they should be on the “GO” not in a pew.
The Church. if it is any sort of building at all, is a hospital/rehab-training center. Jesus built His church not upon a building but upon a person…Peter, a disciple of Christ. Jesus taught in a temple, occasionally, and in doing so, He gave the instructions of the Great Commission to His disciples to “GO and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus never said build buildings. He never said, put yourselves in debt to do so. He never said “Upon this brick and mortar I build my Church.” The church (yes, now I am talking about a building) is not for us to come into, get saved and take up a pew every Sunday. Nor are the pews reserved for us. You should not be saving “your” seat by placing your Bible so others will know that is “YOUR” seat. Most of you should not even BE in the church…you should be “Go”-ing.
Jesus said it Himself, He did not come for the healthy but for the sick. “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” It is not the healthy who need to be occupying the seats in church, once they have been sufficiently healed (made whole by the Salvation blood of Jesus) and rehabilitated and trained (consider it not physical therapy, but spiritual therapy —discipleship training) Then they should be “discharged”…sent out…to “Go and make disciples.
The church has got it all wrong. We are not called to “Go into the highways and byways and compel them to come in” to a church building. We are called to compel them to come into relationship to Christ…fellowship with Christ…Eternal Life…the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Pastors and deacon boards, I know that’s scary for you. If you send your members out…if you tell them to “GO” you think your tithes and offerings will go, too. But I don’t think so. God’s Word doesn’t indicate that either. The tithes are not for the church building, anyway. But then, you know that already, now, don’t you?
The tithes are for the storehouse, that there might be food in the house. God gives you all a promise that if you put the tithes into the storehouse there would be food. And He says if you will trust Him in this, see “won’t He open up the floodgates of Heaven and pour out blessings you won’t even be able to contain”. He said that to the disciples. He says it to the church body….not the church building.
1) Love.
If you have not love (pure, unbiased, non-competitive, genuine love) for the world then you have nothing. That’s what Christ says to each of us. LOVE first. That means every person, who comes through the doors of your building feels that unconditional love…you and everyone inside the walls of that building shows this love. Warm, caring, nurturing, compassionate love. No matter how they look, smell or live. It begins here, just as it did with God…sending His Son, Jesus. It was all about His undying, unconditional (He loved us first, without condition) love for the world. A lost and dying world. This world is still lost and dying. It needs to see the love of Christ. But it’s difficult to see from outside the walls of a church.
2) Vision.
Not necessary your vision for your church building. But the vision to see the deeper need in a soul. That angry member. That busy-body member. That strong-willed member. That seemingly unmotivated, (“lazy”) member. The doubters. That member living in sin.
Jesus came across those kind of people nearly every single day in His ministry. The vision to see, as Jesus did, that with the right discipleship training, there are before you some of the greatest disciples of our era.
Just think about who Jesus had among Himself along His walk of ministry years before laying down His life for our salvation.
The woman caught in adultery, upon whom Jesus showed extreme mercy and compassion. Jesus clearly understood, that although the accusers – Jewish leaders, had a commendable zeal for righteousness, theirs was a shallow righteousness that shows no concern for the soul of this woman. While first, convicting her accusers of their sin, He then simply showed the woman compassion and challenged her to no longer live in a sinful way as she had been living.
Then there was James, (the son of Zebedee) who was known as being somewhat “hot-tempered” and rather judgmental of the enemies of Christ; then we have “Doubting” Thomas, who was particularly slow to believe in Christ. Thomas is also characterized by being somewhat gloomy and easily discouraged. While he was very much a pessimist, Thomas became a strong believer in Christ and followed Him loyally throughout His life. Thomas is known for often being unable to see the forest for the trees and Jesus often had to help him to see the whole forest. Never more so then when Jesus appeared before Thomas after the resurrection, when Thomas insisted he had to be shown the nail holes in His hands and the wound in His side.
Of course, then there was Peter. Peter, who had walked with Jesus. Had talked with Him, slept with Him, was side-by-side with Jesus throughout His entire ministry. Peter who had seen Jesus perform miracles, cast out demons, and heal the sick, blind and lame. Peter, whom Jesus would ask not once, not even twice, but three times, “Do you love me?” And whether confident or cocky, by the third time, Peter answered “Yes, Lord.”, Peter was feeling a sense of hurt that Jesus would question him this way. Peter thought he loved Jesus more than any of the others. Perhaps arrogant. Perhaps a little too prideful. He would all too soon become ashamed as he stood, as the cock crowed, denying Jesus not once, not even twice, but even a third time. Yet, Jesus restored Peter to Himself in forgiveness and mercy and Peter went on to be a strong leader among the disciples who spread the Gospel near and far and made disciples wherever they went.
It was also Peter that when Christ asked His disciples “Who do you say I am?” replied “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. And Christ declared “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”?
Some of these, must surely sound like some of the members in your church, right? And what was Jesus’ response to these often foolish, sometimes sinful, occasionally prideful, arrogant people….who would over time come to truly know and love Jesus? These seeming misfits, who would later go on to boldly (dare I say far more boldly, in the face of death threats from government authorities and religious leaders than any Christians or even church leaders today) proclaim the Gospel of Christ Jesus and Him crucified, in the spirit of truth and love! They knew without the speaking of truth the souls of those they were ministering to would perish into an eternal death.
I think the church and its leaders have lost their spiritual sight. But just as with Saul, along the road to Damascus, Jesus has a way to restore it. It is time. Now.
I was raised Catholic, and then as a young adult, made the choice for myself, to leave the Catholic faith and became a born-again believer. My walk has been been a steady, though sometimes weakened climb, to grow in Christ. I have been walking steadily with Christ more than 30 years now. I quite accidentally (or was led by the Spirit of God) to this website. I was compelled to read the 15 points as well as all the responses. I will give my heartfelt honest opinion of the questions and responses of this survey. I am known to be brutally honest, but try diligently to not offend. I ask forgiveness now to anyone who feels any offense, I truly do not intend for it to do so.
I truly believe we needn’t look any further than the examples of Christ, Himself for the problems and solutions to the church, outreach, evangelism, church-growth, and vitality in the church. IF we will do that, we wouldn’t have to attempt to “change” how we do things with each generation or cultural change that occurs. We can continue to do the things God has called the church to do and be a steady, strong, bright shining light in a world of much darkness today.
Jesus’ example is quite simple to follow. You just follow Him. He had 3 short years to His ministry, here, on earth. I think if you examine His ministry…I mean REALLY examine His ministry, you will find all you need right there to build a strong church, full of vital disciples, ready to heed the call of God to “go” and build disciples.
Here’s my take…and I will preface it by saying many of you will reject it, some of you won’t like it, and prayerfully some of you will be so convicted by the Holy Spirit that it will not leave you alone.
(more to follow)
I have to call on what my own heart has struggled with before. That is I believe there is a great number of folks who have not truly given their hearts to Jesus. Once you have truly been saved then there is no denying your calling to go and reach the lost. The trouble comes when one gets saved, then build their relationship with God on un -sound church doctrine or worse yet on what their church believes or differs as a whole. God has called us to work out own salvation out with a personal relationship with Him first. If we do this then we will follow His call. Not the call of the denomination we are in. My own church that has the services with 1300 a service. What a opportunity does not believe you need to bring the lost to church to get them saved, but that you go out and reach them. Which is correct thinking except, not all folks you tell Jesus about are ready to get saved just yet. I had cold feet. They want to test the waters. Now here is a issue. The churches folks don’t want to spend any time bringing in those unclean souls. We will do a outreach if they don’t come to church after that, that’s their problem. Our job is done. Bad attitude and not Christ centered. We have to sacrifice our time to interact with the list in relationships, inviting them to church with us with no pressure to get saved. The Holy Spirit will do this for us, through us. We just need to be real. Folks know when your looking to add another Mark on your tassle. This is a multi effort task, to reach the lost. So I will stop here. I hope I have some good fedd back and it helps. Ooh yes. Prayer is key. Learn how to pray fervently before the Lord.
Much love Tom
I think people just do not know how to evangelize, and apparantly churches (pastors) are not teaching how. The believers think it is something that will end up in some theological debate that they are not prepared for. My goodness, all it takes is 5 verses in romans, and a desire. For the past 3 weeks my sidekick and I have been knocking doors, going to the park, and anywhere else where people are, and simply saying ” We are just talking to some of your neighbors, and are here to ask one thing of you, …is there anything we could pray for you about today? …or in other words, if you needed something changed that only God could do, what would it be? We then listen, pray for what they say, then simply ask, before we go, could I show you a neat little story that is related to what we just prayed about? If they say yes, we show them a “sharing Christ with the bridge” (look that up on youtube) or simply show them some scripture that could insure that they have a place in heaven. Then we simply ask, is there anything you can think of that would keep you from accepting this gift of God today? …and thats it, if the holy spirit moves forward into a salvation we go for it, if not, we shake the dust off our feet and move to someone else.
People think this is so hard and awkward to do, but it is easy really. We are not out there trying to win them to a religion, we are not even talking church, we are just talking about them and a relationship with the Lord, …but first we show care that we want to pray for them and whatever their needs may be.
Thom, I have a man in my area of the state (Mississippi) that has give up his job, and surrendered to home missions to do just the above to train others in evangelism. He is totally dependent on the Lord right now, and is willing to share how to do the above and train any churches to do the same. He is training our church now because we were so lacking in evangelism. If you hear of other churches that want training in this, this guy is good, he is of the Lord, and he runs it by the book (bible) write me at [email protected] and I will be glad to hook you up with him for how to teach a church true Decipleing and evangelism in live application (not just theory). The man is of God … and he is good 🙂 …and his theology? Mainly the Roman Road to salvation, and some support in Acts 🙂
dear, blogger
My opinion on why churches are failing in modern times, is there to busy judging and playing God then humbling themselves like Christ and washing there brothers feet, there more flicked on money and self gain then profilzing the word of they have lost there passion and fire that inspired people to attend church it’s become a routine rather then and house of the lord to have fellowship and worship, they have become comfortable and lazy with there congergassions and don’t do gods will and that’s to reach those who need God the most SINNERS…. they tend to be self RICHEOUS, and greeedy and not warmth and comforting to those who seek help and truth. It’s really sad but I’ve attended several churches over past few months and it’s like they have lost there life God blessed them with. They forgotten why they started coming to church and that’s to help those who need God.
dear, blogger
My opinion on why churches are failing in modern times, is there to busy judging and playing God then humbling themselves like Christ and washing there brothers feet, there more flicked on money and self gain then profilzing the word of they have lost there passion and fire that inspired people to attend church it’s become a routine rather then and house of the lord to have fellowship and worship, they have become comfortable and lazy with there congergassions and don’t do gods will and that’s to reach those who need God the most SINNERS…. they tend to be self RICHEOUS, and greeedy and not warmth and comforting to those who seek help and truth. It’s really sad but I’ve attended several churches over past few months and it’s like they have lost there life God blessed them with.
When GOD is left out. There’s nowhere to go but down. I believe that is what’s happening in most of our churches today. Not the building, but our lives we as Christians are the church. We are the body of Christ. Most of the messages today are some what “sugar coded”. If all pastors would just preach GOD word as HE commanded…lives will be saved on a daily basis. For example Ezekiel preach to the dry bones…he didnt tell them I have a prayer handkerchief, a bottle of water or told them to sow a seed. All GOD told him was preach the WORD to the dry bones. That lets us know there is new life in THE WORD OF GOD.
We don’t witness. We’ve become like those “Godless liberals” who “want the government to do everything for them” yet how are we, as conservative evangelicals, any different? We want the government to rule against gay marriage but how many gays have we witnessed to personally? We want the courts to rule against abortion but how many young pregnant women have personally touched with the gospel? We vote Republican and watch Fox News and think that gets the job done. We’re hypocrites…me included.
Anyone remember the Don Francisco song from the late 80’s “One Heart At A Time”? “Everyone’s looking to the hotshot, everyone’s looking to the healer. What we don’t know, what we don’t see, it all comes down to you and me…One Heart At a Time. If we’d been doing our job as soul winners the last 40 years who knows how different things might be.
Thank you and love that song! I will share it with my church. They are Baptist, I am a Christian who just believes in the truth, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. I believe in hell and sin and the devil. The truth of God’s entire Word is NOt being reached these days because [eople want to be pacified! Thanks again, God Bless.