I am so proud of our President for his stand on religious freedom around the world. While in Beijing, China, President Bush attended worship services at a state sponsored Christian Church. Yes, it was a government registered church but it was a church of worshipping people. The children's choir sang Amazing Grace and an American President was there to participate. Several years ago had I even hinted at that this would be a possibility I believe we all would have said "not in this lifetime". However, it did happen and Amazing.
If that church has problems like we all do. I mean all churches have some type of problems. When you leave our church, that is not perfect, you can go down the street and there will be another church that is not perfect and it sure won't be if we join it, because we are people and people are not perfect. I wonder if that church has problems with space, the kind of space problems like where to put people. We have that problem. Since we are in a building program it causes people to get nervous and squeamish and not sure if they want to be a part of a big church. I have seen it happen for years in other churches when churches begin to expand. I wonder if that church has the right Pastor. Since it is a state sponsored church it may very well not have any say in the matter but if it did does everyone like the Pastor? I wonder if that church has the problem of constantly maintaining the buildings and cleaning the floors and making the essentials available for every child and teenager who comes in the door. I wonder if that church has the problem of gossip? Surely not in a church where there is no freedom of speech anyway they probably don't know what gossip is.
The plain truth of the matter, one in six people in America change churches every year. One in six! I have a feeling you can't do that in China. The church of America has been altered to a level of modernism and a lack of commitment. The church in China, the real churches that meet underground and are probably the most biblical founded, are just glad to be assembling together "as the manner of some is and so much more as you see the day approaching." Hebrews 10:25 We really have reduced the power of the church in America from "220" power capabilities to "110" power output. We are shopping around to find the best fit for our needs and the problem is the Bible never calls us to shop for a church to meet our needs but if we were faithful to serve in a unified spirit we would charge the gates of Hell and have demons shaking in their boots. Instead we struggle with tithing and "I can trust God with my soul but not my wallet". If everyone in the average church would tithe there is absolutely no telling what could be done to grow the Kingdom of God. We are playing games with church and the Rapture is on our heels. We are jumping around from here to there and trying to find a place to have needs met and the Great Commission is left undone and no one is fulfilling it.
The Power of the church is in the hands of the faithful followers of the Lord Jesus Christ who hold up the hands of their Pastor like Aaron and Hur held up the hands of Moses. Where there is unity and love within the body and these believers are doing all they can to reach people for Christ before it is too late. I have seen way too much already of people who call themselves committed and are not. I'm committed to my wife and that means I am staying with her til we die. I am committed to my church to the day we die and I will do all I can to reach people and if it means doing the thing that shakes some "Baptists" up like risk taking Faith so be it.
The problem as I see it is, we don't believe God. If we believed God there would be a sense of urgency, To all our endeavors. To have Power in a Church only comes one way but by "Prayer and Fasting". Matthew 17:21
