Those of us that have been in Christ for 30 plus years have one thing in common; we are twentieth century believers. In other words, we were discipled and raised up in the things of God in the past century. Things were so much different. Church meant that you worshipped God in unison; no one got up to go to the bathroom unless they were babes in Christ, or had a medical reason. When the preaching was going on, you helped your pastor preach by participating with “Amen,” or “Preach it…” or “Come on, tell the truth,” etc. When the preacher said, “Turn your Bibles to….,” you heard the pages turning. When the Scripture was read, the congregation stood up. As the Word came forward, people were taking notes, underlining passages, or highlighting the text. Your spouse did not attempt to speak with you during the praise & worship, and definitely not while the pastor preached. Everyone gave tithes & offerings. When it was time for prayer, people prayed. When an invitation to receive Christ was given, and an altar call was made, people were deep in prayer, asking God to prepare that soul for transformation. Every mature believer was in Sunday School, connecting with other members, and making new friends with those visiting the class or coming to church for the first time. When the pastor called the congregation for prayer, people prayed, and they came out to mid-week prayer services, and Friday Family Night Service. Those were the days.
Today’s church is completely different. Prayer services are out; ministry is a joke – most folks show up if they’re up to it, and they are usually late. Commitment means that I’ll tell you I’ll be there while I’m in the moment – you know, moved or encouraged – but when its time to commit, well, I’ve changed my mind. The saying is, “Well, God knows my heart. He shouldn’t hole me to anything because He knows I don’t particularly like doing that type of work. And, to be honest, they are right; God does know their heart: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? ‘I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds'” (Jer. 17:9-10).
In this millennium, Sunday worship service fluctuates, depending on how a person or family is feeling. Outreach and evangelism is out of the question. You have a better chance inviting people to see your dentist then you do to get them to obey the Great Commission and go out into the streets. Yet, Jesus commanded His church, in all geographic locations, to go out and make disciples (Matt 28:18-20). As for supporting the local church – that’s an even greater joke to the twenty-first century church. Don’t get me wrong; there are committed Christians in all local assemblies, who are devoted to Christ & obedient to His Word – but they are a dying breed. No one invites friends and family to church; no one jumps in to be trained for ministry, as Paul teaches in Eph 4:11-14 “And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”
The role of the pastoral and leadership ministry is to train and equip the lay people for the work of the ministry; how else will the church be built up? Where is the unity of the faith? Where did the knowledge of the Son of God go? Where are the mature saints? Is there, right now, a measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ in your church or amongst your congregation? And you wonder why so many so-called-Christians get tossed to and fro by the waves and wind of false doctrine.
Lord Jesus, we are in trouble. We have poisoned Your body; we have become useless to You. Please Lord, help us. We know that healing can come, but we know it follows a hard Scriptural saying: 1 Peter 4:17 “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
What has happened to the Body of Christ? Mercy Lord. Please save us.
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