I think that I'm so convinced of this now that I could nearly write a book on it. I've thought this for years as I served at different churches. It didn't matter where I was: Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and back to Oklahoma, I think that this relationship is true. My theory is, if you will, that church attendance is an indicator of a person's spiritual walk. If they are struggling, they tend to stay away (or are being lured away by the evil one). If they are strong or at least growing and open to growth, they are here more often than not. Now before you get your feathers ruffled, let me explain further.
I have seen this all the time, it seems. You have an individual or a family that are members or regular attenders at church. They are committed to being there, at least on Sunday mornings. They are seen on Sundays and fellowship with others in the body. Then, you don't see them. It's like they were here and then they vanished. They are like a vapor. You notice that they are missing and feel like you should call, but you don't want to offend them. If you do call they give you a LONG list of excuses to their lack of attendance (and commitment really). Maybe it's been a few weeks now and you know that you should call. Then you find out what's really going on. In many cases, they have now grown cold to God or the fellowship of the saints. They are stuck in a sin pattern and don't want to feel the guilt of facing it on Sunday mornings (even though the guilt may be exactly what's keeping them away from the church). Usually the attendance is an indicator of the spiritual walk.
Derek, our youth pastor, came to me this morning. He's had a student who was heavily involved become uninvolved of late. The student's attendance has decreased over the last 2 months. Now that student seems to be in a lot of trouble and making some very destructive choices. Regardless of age, the theory still holds true.
And it really makes sense if you think about it. When you are strong in the Lord and walking with Him everyday, it's easier to worship Him and be involved in corporate worship with brothers and sisters in Christ. When you're making poor sinful choices, or choosing worldly things over Godly things, it's hard to "face the Christians" every Sunday. It's even hard to be in the presence of God in worship, taking communion, etc. So many people live this way and choose to put masks on and "play" Christianity. This is sad but true in many cases.
So, the next time you notice someone who's been missing from your congregation, pray for them and call them. Get them back into the fellowship of the saints. Encourage them to deal with their sin or their feelings or whatever is holding them back, and help them work through it. Their lack of attendance is probably an outside indicator of an inward spiritual struggle. Be prepared. Getting in people's lives can be messy, but God has called us to help one another in the faith.
Galatians 6:1 "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted."
Hebrews 10:25 "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Reverence or Relevance?
Six weeks ago, Greg Laurie posted a helpful article on the growing trend among pastors to use worldly speech from the pulpit. I have excerpted part of that article below, with a link to his blog where you can read the rest.
It seems to me that for some we have lost the “fear of the Lord,” even in the Church.
There was a time when things were perhaps too uptight, and one spoke in whispers in the Church, and laughter was rarely heard. But today, many churches, in their attempt to be thought of as “cool” or “contemporary,” they have lost their focus.
I am not suggesting we attempt to be irrelevant and uncool, but my question is “Have we traded reverence for relevance?”
For instance, you have preachers talking in great detail about sexual issues, ranging from programs to have “sex every day for seven days” to more extreme versions in which they speak very graphically about specific sexual acts from the pulpit.
Then you have the “Cussing Preacher” syndrome. The pastor thinks it’s cool to use profanity in the pulpit so people will see him as one of them.
Is this all really necessary? I don’t think so.
Look, I have been a pastor for 35 years, and we have never had a problem reaching our culture and seeing people come to Christ. I am all for being real and authentic, but I also stand up on the platform to speak God’s Word.
. . . I am all for relevance. We need to make sense to the people we are reaching. But let’s not lower our standard in order to extend our reach.
Read the rest here Comment and tell me what you think.
It seems to me that for some we have lost the “fear of the Lord,” even in the Church.
There was a time when things were perhaps too uptight, and one spoke in whispers in the Church, and laughter was rarely heard. But today, many churches, in their attempt to be thought of as “cool” or “contemporary,” they have lost their focus.
I am not suggesting we attempt to be irrelevant and uncool, but my question is “Have we traded reverence for relevance?”
For instance, you have preachers talking in great detail about sexual issues, ranging from programs to have “sex every day for seven days” to more extreme versions in which they speak very graphically about specific sexual acts from the pulpit.
Then you have the “Cussing Preacher” syndrome. The pastor thinks it’s cool to use profanity in the pulpit so people will see him as one of them.
Is this all really necessary? I don’t think so.
Look, I have been a pastor for 35 years, and we have never had a problem reaching our culture and seeing people come to Christ. I am all for being real and authentic, but I also stand up on the platform to speak God’s Word.
. . . I am all for relevance. We need to make sense to the people we are reaching. But let’s not lower our standard in order to extend our reach.
Read the rest here Comment and tell me what you think.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, Monday
So here's how it started...I get a call from Nancy (my administrative assistant) at 7:40 this morning. I'm thinking that she's being nice and calling to see if I wanted a Davinci's. Boy, was I wrong! She called from her cell to tell me that the phone system was out. Completely out! All 6 lines at the church, the voicemail/PBX, the whole closet was dead. When I got in about 8 she informed me that the internet was down as well as the network. I troubleshooted with it for about an hour or so and then realized that the APC backup got fried last night at some point. So, no power was the problem, and it's not on the electric side but the actually battery back-up unit. So, off to Staples for surge protection and battery back-up extraordinaire.
Then I kind of got sucked in on the projector project. We had a projector go down, probably due to the storms, so we were running with one projector in the sanctuary on Sunday. So, ladders up and trying to get that done.
All of that being said, it's now 11AM and I've got nothing done that I really needed to get done this morning. Ah, tis a Monday. Monday, Monday.... On Monday's you never know what you're going to get.
Hopefully my Tuesday will have a better start. Now I'm just praying for God's provision and blessing of time for the rest of today. It is the day that He's given me as a gift. Even though it hasn't gone as I hoped, I'm no less called to "rejoice and be glad in it".
Make it a great day and dedicate it for the Lord!
Then I kind of got sucked in on the projector project. We had a projector go down, probably due to the storms, so we were running with one projector in the sanctuary on Sunday. So, ladders up and trying to get that done.
All of that being said, it's now 11AM and I've got nothing done that I really needed to get done this morning. Ah, tis a Monday. Monday, Monday.... On Monday's you never know what you're going to get.
Hopefully my Tuesday will have a better start. Now I'm just praying for God's provision and blessing of time for the rest of today. It is the day that He's given me as a gift. Even though it hasn't gone as I hoped, I'm no less called to "rejoice and be glad in it".
Make it a great day and dedicate it for the Lord!
Monday, April 20, 2009
The Commitment Struggle
In a society where commitment isn't fashionable anymore, more and more people are tempted to drop commitments to Christ and His church. This is nothing new. The devil has used these priorital shifting tactics since the inception of the church. Focus on the world and the here and now. Forget eternity and the things that God demands while you are here on earth. Hebrews 11:13 reminds us that we are aliens and strangers in this world: "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth." We're just passing through.
Jesus shared a teaching about the reality of Christians remaining faithful. In Matthew 13, Jesus shares the parable of the sower: "3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
So what does this teaching mean? Jesus explains it later in that same chapter: "18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
Bob Russell writes: "Some people drop out of church because they can't take the heat that comes from believing in the basics of God's Word. (and the changes it demands, I might add) Some get so caught up in the pursuit of worldly success and pleasure that they think the don't have the time for the church anymore." I think that the latter is true for most people in Enid. They want to do the right things, but they are struggling with priorities. When a biblical church comes along and actually musters up enough courage to lovingly call them to repentance, to line up with the Word of God, most people never look at the actual truth of the situation. I've rarely heard a backslider say: "I'm sorry. I'm so consumed with making money and being a success in the eyes of this world, that I must have my priorities messed up." But what usually happens is quite the opposite. Almost always they go into a defense of their sin. They blame the church. The preacher offended them. The church just isn't meeting their needs. They weren't being fed. They didn't ever connect with friends here. The list could go on and on. These are the sad excuses of the uncommitted.
But here's the crux of the issue: people don't own up to their stuff. We don't like to look in the mirror and see ourselves and our lives as a contradiction to God's design for us. It's not the church's fault for their faith default. And Jesus warns of this in Matthew 13.
The encouragement that I get from this is to do all that I can in teaching the Word of God in a powerful and relevant way so that people understand it and understand the commitment that Jesus calls us to as believers. The cost of following is high sometimes, but the benefits are out of this world (literally!). I will keep speaking God's truth in love so that believers will grow up in their commitment to His cause. Like Ephesians 4:15 says: "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ."
Be blessed and be a blessing to someone this week.
Jesus shared a teaching about the reality of Christians remaining faithful. In Matthew 13, Jesus shares the parable of the sower: "3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
So what does this teaching mean? Jesus explains it later in that same chapter: "18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
Bob Russell writes: "Some people drop out of church because they can't take the heat that comes from believing in the basics of God's Word. (and the changes it demands, I might add) Some get so caught up in the pursuit of worldly success and pleasure that they think the don't have the time for the church anymore." I think that the latter is true for most people in Enid. They want to do the right things, but they are struggling with priorities. When a biblical church comes along and actually musters up enough courage to lovingly call them to repentance, to line up with the Word of God, most people never look at the actual truth of the situation. I've rarely heard a backslider say: "I'm sorry. I'm so consumed with making money and being a success in the eyes of this world, that I must have my priorities messed up." But what usually happens is quite the opposite. Almost always they go into a defense of their sin. They blame the church. The preacher offended them. The church just isn't meeting their needs. They weren't being fed. They didn't ever connect with friends here. The list could go on and on. These are the sad excuses of the uncommitted.
But here's the crux of the issue: people don't own up to their stuff. We don't like to look in the mirror and see ourselves and our lives as a contradiction to God's design for us. It's not the church's fault for their faith default. And Jesus warns of this in Matthew 13.
The encouragement that I get from this is to do all that I can in teaching the Word of God in a powerful and relevant way so that people understand it and understand the commitment that Jesus calls us to as believers. The cost of following is high sometimes, but the benefits are out of this world (literally!). I will keep speaking God's truth in love so that believers will grow up in their commitment to His cause. Like Ephesians 4:15 says: "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ."
Be blessed and be a blessing to someone this week.
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