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When churches forget why they are here, they begin to die. The people forget about the great commission and turn inward. They forget that Jesus came to serve rather than to be served. Their sanctuaries become less and less filled. Joy is replaced with fear. The average age of the congregation begins to soar. Pretty soon the handwriting is on the wall. People begin to make plans to close, to merge, to end the dream. You see this repeated all over the country.
Sometimes I take time to wonder- who were these people, what were their dreams? Where did they go? What happened to the fire?
The remedy for this disaster is simple. Churches have to recover a sense of why they exist. They must refocus on the call of Christ. They, we all need to sniff out self-centeredness as it appears in our church world view, and find again the purpose to which Jesus calls us. When we do this, the church thrives and dry bones come back to life.
When you come to church, are you primarily looking for something for yourself, or do you realize that you are an important part of the plan of God to reach out and care about the people that he brings your way? Do you find your joy in what you get or what you give?
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
2 comments:
Jeff, remember how we tend to not realize how very many lessons our parents taught us, until we are grown, or they are gone?
This morning's post contains a valuable lesson. I have a feeling that after you retire in a few years, your WCC children are going to reflect on some of these postings, and your sermons, and remember these valuable lessons, even more than they grab on to them now.
I think most of us do come to church for ourselves . . . for what we can get . . . not for others or what we can give. I know I do. I appreciate you reminding us that there is more and we should really focus on the giving part. I am aware of "giving" but not really while I am at church. I think I come to church to learn and become a better person, which helps me give more of myself randomly during the week, and your sermons help me with that. kb
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