Memorial Day is about recognizing those who have given their lives for the service of the United States of America. It is a sad striking fact but too often Christians fail to acknowledge enough the sacrifices that have been made for the freedom to believe what you want. Their have been more martyred for their faith in Jesus in the last 100 years than in the last 1900 combined( The Lions Den by Nina Shea) There are missionaries like Vijay Kumar who publicly stoned by Hindu extremists in 2006 for Christian preaching. 3 missionaries murdered in Turkey who worked for translating the Bible. Mushtaq Gill , a Pakistani Christian murdered in February 2009 on the outskirts of Faisalabad because he refused to convert to Islam. They join the saints of Hebrews 11 in the great cloud of witnesses.
The next time you are discouraged because it is raining on Sunday and you might have to get a little wet to get out of the house and actually make it to worship, remember the lives of these who gave their all. We are so blessed. I thought yesterday as we celebrated what has become just another day to be out from work, that we have been given a freedom to enjoy cooking out, enjoy being with friends and enjoy the pleasures this land affords us.
When our 16 year olds are not told what this day really means then we fail to carry on the tradition of honoring the martyrs for our country and their faith. The unpopularity of a crucified Jesus is causing quite a storm. Not only did men and women die in service to their country but Jesus died as our Savior. The message is being watered down to be more palatable to the unbeliever but the removal of the cross always renders the message ineffective and mediocre at best. Christianity therefore is wounded in the very place it should be exalted.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
What makes people drop out of church
# 3 What makes People Drop out of Church
I heard a humorous story that has significance as to why people drop out of church. “Bob, why don’t you play golf with John anymore?” asked a friend. “Would you play golf with a guy who moved the ball with his foot when you weren’t watching?” Bob asked.
“Well, no“, admitted the friend. “Neither will John” , replied Bob.
Why do people drop out of church usually is because of “People”. People will not speak, do something to cause a lack of sincere gratitude, people will forget someones accomplishment. But most of the time people will leave church because of another person. They may be hypocritical, or probably the reason people affect others leaving the most is their lack of genuine spirituality. People think they can spot a phony (even they may not be) and they will use that as their reason for leaving the church. People use email and get a wrong picture of what someone said and they leave the church. I can tell you as a Pastor the most troubling thing is when people leave the church or go to another church and the reasons are frivolous. A Pastor worth a grain of salt will not just take that casually sitting down. It hurts, it stings, it makes you feel all of the worthless feelings there are out there. You know what would be wonderful, but I know it will never happen, is for all the people who leave their primary church for some reason all of a sudden say - "You know what?! I am going back to my church. I was wrong to feel that way", and return. Never happened in 30 years of my ministry and the reason is “Pride”. Pride will not let us go back.
Not only people, but problems make people drop out of church. There are more Baptists sitting on a couch on Sunday mornings than there are in church. Of the 15 million unchurched, there must be half of them Baptists. I can say that because I am one. No church is perfect . But neither is your marriage, neither are your kids , neither is your job , neither are your health care professionals. None of us are perfect. Slowing down and taking a deep breath and saying, before I judge the other guy I am going to take care of my own back yard.
Lastly, the reason people leave churches is a Personal lack of Accountability. We are going to be in eternity one day and face the judgment of God and getting ill and out of sorts with the church and not taking personal responsibility, will cause a huge embarrassment one day when we face the Lord. We should do “all we do to glorify God”. It is about Him, not People, or problems, but Him. When we get our eyes on Him we function as a healthy church.
I heard a humorous story that has significance as to why people drop out of church. “Bob, why don’t you play golf with John anymore?” asked a friend. “Would you play golf with a guy who moved the ball with his foot when you weren’t watching?” Bob asked.
“Well, no“, admitted the friend. “Neither will John” , replied Bob.
Why do people drop out of church usually is because of “People”. People will not speak, do something to cause a lack of sincere gratitude, people will forget someones accomplishment. But most of the time people will leave church because of another person. They may be hypocritical, or probably the reason people affect others leaving the most is their lack of genuine spirituality. People think they can spot a phony (even they may not be) and they will use that as their reason for leaving the church. People use email and get a wrong picture of what someone said and they leave the church. I can tell you as a Pastor the most troubling thing is when people leave the church or go to another church and the reasons are frivolous. A Pastor worth a grain of salt will not just take that casually sitting down. It hurts, it stings, it makes you feel all of the worthless feelings there are out there. You know what would be wonderful, but I know it will never happen, is for all the people who leave their primary church for some reason all of a sudden say - "You know what?! I am going back to my church. I was wrong to feel that way", and return. Never happened in 30 years of my ministry and the reason is “Pride”. Pride will not let us go back.
Not only people, but problems make people drop out of church. There are more Baptists sitting on a couch on Sunday mornings than there are in church. Of the 15 million unchurched, there must be half of them Baptists. I can say that because I am one. No church is perfect . But neither is your marriage, neither are your kids , neither is your job , neither are your health care professionals. None of us are perfect. Slowing down and taking a deep breath and saying, before I judge the other guy I am going to take care of my own back yard.
Lastly, the reason people leave churches is a Personal lack of Accountability. We are going to be in eternity one day and face the judgment of God and getting ill and out of sorts with the church and not taking personal responsibility, will cause a huge embarrassment one day when we face the Lord. We should do “all we do to glorify God”. It is about Him, not People, or problems, but Him. When we get our eyes on Him we function as a healthy church.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Why people Come Back to Church
# 2 Why People Come Back to Church
Last week we talked about Why People Change Churches. This week we are going to talk about Why People Come Back to Church. First of all let me give you some interesting statistics. It is reported that 88 % of 18 year olds upon turning 18 leave the church. That is a staggering statistic but It is a fact filled with truth. When the church stays bogged down and is not proactive in reaching out to people in more ways than just hanging a shingle out and saying “Ya’ll Come”, we will find ourselves seeing more and more or less and less, because people are dying off in the average church faster than new converts are being brought in. We are missing a generation of people in our worship services and it is not surprising. I have happened to visit some churches that I was sure if I lived in that town I wouldn’t be attending church there. Yet in some churches when there is an attempt to reach out to the Youth and the young families new ideas are brought in that bring insecurity out of the church members who have been comfortable and don’t want any of this new change .
It is also reported that there are approximately, 15 million unchurched people in this country. This represents people who may have grown up in church but have never really grown if they are saved or people who left the church in rebellion and wanted to sow some wild oats and do their thing. The fact is if were to Pray, visit and burn with passion for people as we should we could hopefully impact these folks to the point they see a return to Christ honoring worship services. Preaching that is filled with some fire and the joy of the Lord on the people. That is why people come back to church. They want relationships with others. They want realness. They want to be in an environment where they are welcomed and made to feel like they are somebody because they are. They are so much of a somebody that Jesus came to deliver them from separation for God.
Some churches are so legalistic the Apostle Paul wouldn’t be allowed to enter much less Rahab the harlot. We must be a place in churches today where Christ is honored and not the other way around. I am not talking about the guys standing behind the pulpit who “smooze” people and try to get people to think all they have to do is just “Be Happy”. When the truth is this world is not a very happy place . This world is filled with people searching for truth. They are bright , educated people who believe they can make it own their own to Heaven if need be. The harvest plenteous but the laborers are few. We reach people as we first build relationships with them and point them to Christ.
Why are People Coming Back to Church? They are searching for truth and are finding it in some places to be quite available you just must teach and preach the Bible. I heard a saying a long time ago about the Bible that has stuck with me over the years, this book will Keep you from sin and sin will keep you from this Book, the Bible. Come Back to Church you’ll be glad you did!
Last week we talked about Why People Change Churches. This week we are going to talk about Why People Come Back to Church. First of all let me give you some interesting statistics. It is reported that 88 % of 18 year olds upon turning 18 leave the church. That is a staggering statistic but It is a fact filled with truth. When the church stays bogged down and is not proactive in reaching out to people in more ways than just hanging a shingle out and saying “Ya’ll Come”, we will find ourselves seeing more and more or less and less, because people are dying off in the average church faster than new converts are being brought in. We are missing a generation of people in our worship services and it is not surprising. I have happened to visit some churches that I was sure if I lived in that town I wouldn’t be attending church there. Yet in some churches when there is an attempt to reach out to the Youth and the young families new ideas are brought in that bring insecurity out of the church members who have been comfortable and don’t want any of this new change .
It is also reported that there are approximately, 15 million unchurched people in this country. This represents people who may have grown up in church but have never really grown if they are saved or people who left the church in rebellion and wanted to sow some wild oats and do their thing. The fact is if were to Pray, visit and burn with passion for people as we should we could hopefully impact these folks to the point they see a return to Christ honoring worship services. Preaching that is filled with some fire and the joy of the Lord on the people. That is why people come back to church. They want relationships with others. They want realness. They want to be in an environment where they are welcomed and made to feel like they are somebody because they are. They are so much of a somebody that Jesus came to deliver them from separation for God.
Some churches are so legalistic the Apostle Paul wouldn’t be allowed to enter much less Rahab the harlot. We must be a place in churches today where Christ is honored and not the other way around. I am not talking about the guys standing behind the pulpit who “smooze” people and try to get people to think all they have to do is just “Be Happy”. When the truth is this world is not a very happy place . This world is filled with people searching for truth. They are bright , educated people who believe they can make it own their own to Heaven if need be. The harvest plenteous but the laborers are few. We reach people as we first build relationships with them and point them to Christ.
Why are People Coming Back to Church? They are searching for truth and are finding it in some places to be quite available you just must teach and preach the Bible. I heard a saying a long time ago about the Bible that has stuck with me over the years, this book will Keep you from sin and sin will keep you from this Book, the Bible. Come Back to Church you’ll be glad you did!
Why People Change Churches
Three Part series: Why People Change Churches, Why people come Back to Church, What makes People Drop out of Church
# 1 Why People Change Churches
To begin a very serious but common practice in churches it would probably do us well to understand the humor in it all. I love the story of the man who was stranded on a deserted island. He had been there for years when one day a boat came and rescued him. While surveying the way he had managed to stay alive and what he had built with his own hands the Captain noticed his thatch hut house and he said he built that first. What is that other building and he said well that is my church I attend. Really the Captain said , so what is that other building? He said oh that is the church I once attended until I got mad and left. The reasons people leave a lot of churches is about as relevant as that humorous story. This column does not allow us the time or space to mention all the reasons people change churches. I have heard my fair share of the whys people leave and to be totally honest over 31 years of being a pastor I have never had someone leave because the Pastor or church was liberal Theologically or corrupt in it’s preaching. I have had everything from not liking me the preacher to someone didn’t speak to me. Not liking the Pastor or someone not speaking to you is somewhat serious but Pastors are not perfect and neither or people and neither is the one doing the leaving. I have more admiration for people that don’t fit into the statistic that one in six people change churches each year than I do for the person that ups and jumps to anther church only to find it has many of the same problems just different that the ones they just left the other church to avoid.
People change churches and almost always try to put a spiritual twist on the whole situation to make it sound as though they are in touch with God somehow more greater than anyone else and they have to move or be judged. They don’t like the music, they don’t like change, they don’t like the building or they don’t like the fact the church is growing. Believe it or not the number one reason people have left a church I have been the pastor of is they didn’t want to be in a big church. Our church had grown and it was getting to big for them. Tat is strange when in Acts the Bible states the Lord added daily those that were being saved to the church and on one day over 3000 joined the church. Talk about losing your identity. I have never heard anyone say, this is the church where I attend and I am going to make it the best church it can be and get involved in the church to make it better instead of complaining. To find something wrong in a church is not difficult. We have our struggles and the obvious answer might be well just let the ones go that want to leave and they won’t cause a problem anymore. I don’t believe that is what pleases the Lord. People have left a church I have been the Pastor of because they didn’t want to borrow money and be a part of a larger church only to go down the road and join a church that has a bigger building some else has paid for and they gloat the church is debt free. They just got in on the sweetheart of a deal. Talk about have your cake and eat it too.
Sometimes there are situations where people could justifiably change churches. Immorality, unethicalness and the like but still people don’t Have to leave. God may be calling that church to fast and pray and become the church and come out stronger than before. Be careful before you leave a church for another one, I have always found God is trying to teach me something and He is trying to get my attention most of the time, because Pastors sometimes want to change churches too. You aren’t the only one. Surely there is a church somewhere who will appreciate me.
We have way to many casualties of battle and the world is looking at us and saying if this is what church is like I want nothing to do with it. The only ones who can change that are you and me.
# 1 Why People Change Churches
To begin a very serious but common practice in churches it would probably do us well to understand the humor in it all. I love the story of the man who was stranded on a deserted island. He had been there for years when one day a boat came and rescued him. While surveying the way he had managed to stay alive and what he had built with his own hands the Captain noticed his thatch hut house and he said he built that first. What is that other building and he said well that is my church I attend. Really the Captain said , so what is that other building? He said oh that is the church I once attended until I got mad and left. The reasons people leave a lot of churches is about as relevant as that humorous story. This column does not allow us the time or space to mention all the reasons people change churches. I have heard my fair share of the whys people leave and to be totally honest over 31 years of being a pastor I have never had someone leave because the Pastor or church was liberal Theologically or corrupt in it’s preaching. I have had everything from not liking me the preacher to someone didn’t speak to me. Not liking the Pastor or someone not speaking to you is somewhat serious but Pastors are not perfect and neither or people and neither is the one doing the leaving. I have more admiration for people that don’t fit into the statistic that one in six people change churches each year than I do for the person that ups and jumps to anther church only to find it has many of the same problems just different that the ones they just left the other church to avoid.
People change churches and almost always try to put a spiritual twist on the whole situation to make it sound as though they are in touch with God somehow more greater than anyone else and they have to move or be judged. They don’t like the music, they don’t like change, they don’t like the building or they don’t like the fact the church is growing. Believe it or not the number one reason people have left a church I have been the pastor of is they didn’t want to be in a big church. Our church had grown and it was getting to big for them. Tat is strange when in Acts the Bible states the Lord added daily those that were being saved to the church and on one day over 3000 joined the church. Talk about losing your identity. I have never heard anyone say, this is the church where I attend and I am going to make it the best church it can be and get involved in the church to make it better instead of complaining. To find something wrong in a church is not difficult. We have our struggles and the obvious answer might be well just let the ones go that want to leave and they won’t cause a problem anymore. I don’t believe that is what pleases the Lord. People have left a church I have been the Pastor of because they didn’t want to borrow money and be a part of a larger church only to go down the road and join a church that has a bigger building some else has paid for and they gloat the church is debt free. They just got in on the sweetheart of a deal. Talk about have your cake and eat it too.
Sometimes there are situations where people could justifiably change churches. Immorality, unethicalness and the like but still people don’t Have to leave. God may be calling that church to fast and pray and become the church and come out stronger than before. Be careful before you leave a church for another one, I have always found God is trying to teach me something and He is trying to get my attention most of the time, because Pastors sometimes want to change churches too. You aren’t the only one. Surely there is a church somewhere who will appreciate me.
We have way to many casualties of battle and the world is looking at us and saying if this is what church is like I want nothing to do with it. The only ones who can change that are you and me.
Friday, February 27, 2009
What should we do.....
I am at home and I click on my email and see I have "367" spam messages. Personally I usually look to see if I recognize names in the spam section before opening the site. As I scroll down looking I notice not one not two but about half a dozen times the same spam is showing up. It is a site that says something like this, "Russian Brides". I was not expecting what I was about to see. It wasn't nudity but it was as close as you could get legally. I immediately hit the delete forever button I have on my computer. I got to thinking and I know how Satan works. Are you quick to hit the delete button or.....
When times are rough in your home life, guys, do you feel you have a right to just tease yourself with these sites that satisfy a visual sinful lust that attacks us all. When you are alone in a hotel do you say to yourself - Hey no one will ever know and look at the ads and follow it up with a search of the Internet for other more provocative sites. I am finding that more and more of us Christian young men and men are falling prey to suggestive emails initially but which leads to much more. We are victims of the justification for ourselves and so we give ourselves a free pass. Hey I deserve this or that because of my circumstances.
I have always felt strongly about two things only because when growing up I saw just the opposite of what was right when it comes to how you should treat women and especially if it applies to your wife. I have, I mean zero tolerance, for a man who will hit his wife. That is the most atrocious thing a man can do (women should not hit men either by the way). I also have no respect for men who look at pornography and call it a need. I have had two youth pastors in the last 31 years I am aware of who actually told their wives that they had to have the pornography to satisfy their needs physically. Ladies if that is the case, you need to pray, and give the ultimatum it is either me or the screen and if you choose the screen that means the highway until you get help and "change" happens.
This is a "loaded gun" we are playing with and we think no one should speak out boldly and call men to righteousness and name the sin and call for change. The only way we are going to see homes restored is for us to stop the sin of lust and change to love for God. It is all about how much I love God. It is not about how much I love my wife even. How much I love God determines how I treat my wife as a Queen or not. Now, is it easy not to give into temptation. No. We all battle the daily barrage of television, the Internet, the printed page and so much more, but a real man for Jesus will stand up and be counted as a man that will not give in. I, you, our brother, could fall tomorrow if it were not for the powerful grace that we have to have to say no to temptation. Say no if you have been saying yes. Clean up your mind with Bible verses, read it, clean up your computer and press the delete for ever. If you don't you are a two timing weasel, that is in danger of the justice of God if you don't change. My "Russian Brides" site is deleted every time now that I know what is happening. How about you. REAL MEN LOVE JESUS. I speak the truth in love.
When times are rough in your home life, guys, do you feel you have a right to just tease yourself with these sites that satisfy a visual sinful lust that attacks us all. When you are alone in a hotel do you say to yourself - Hey no one will ever know and look at the ads and follow it up with a search of the Internet for other more provocative sites. I am finding that more and more of us Christian young men and men are falling prey to suggestive emails initially but which leads to much more. We are victims of the justification for ourselves and so we give ourselves a free pass. Hey I deserve this or that because of my circumstances.
I have always felt strongly about two things only because when growing up I saw just the opposite of what was right when it comes to how you should treat women and especially if it applies to your wife. I have, I mean zero tolerance, for a man who will hit his wife. That is the most atrocious thing a man can do (women should not hit men either by the way). I also have no respect for men who look at pornography and call it a need. I have had two youth pastors in the last 31 years I am aware of who actually told their wives that they had to have the pornography to satisfy their needs physically. Ladies if that is the case, you need to pray, and give the ultimatum it is either me or the screen and if you choose the screen that means the highway until you get help and "change" happens.
This is a "loaded gun" we are playing with and we think no one should speak out boldly and call men to righteousness and name the sin and call for change. The only way we are going to see homes restored is for us to stop the sin of lust and change to love for God. It is all about how much I love God. It is not about how much I love my wife even. How much I love God determines how I treat my wife as a Queen or not. Now, is it easy not to give into temptation. No. We all battle the daily barrage of television, the Internet, the printed page and so much more, but a real man for Jesus will stand up and be counted as a man that will not give in. I, you, our brother, could fall tomorrow if it were not for the powerful grace that we have to have to say no to temptation. Say no if you have been saying yes. Clean up your mind with Bible verses, read it, clean up your computer and press the delete for ever. If you don't you are a two timing weasel, that is in danger of the justice of God if you don't change. My "Russian Brides" site is deleted every time now that I know what is happening. How about you. REAL MEN LOVE JESUS. I speak the truth in love.
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