Category Archives: Articles
Churches in decline
Fifty years ago, congregations of the Lord’s people were booming in metro Detroit. Large buildings, with capacities of up to 1,000, were regularly built, and filled.
As we sat at lunch with some brethren from one metro-area congregation, they mentioned that their building, built in 1968, had a capacity of 700. Current attendance is 60-65. They have twenty classrooms. None are in use. Most members sit in the front for worship, and visitors sit aloof in the back. The disheartening scene!
We do what we decide to do
We can’t control circumstances. We can’t control the weather, traffic, prices etc. We also can’t control other people’s actions, words, and thoughts. It appears that we have no control over anything. If you have good actions, words, and thoughts, who makes you do these things?
It is not true that we have no control. You and only you have control of you. You control your actions, words, and thoughts.
Living Under the Influence
Peppermint Patty says to Charlie Brown, “Guess what, Chuck? The first day of school, and I got sent to the principal’s office. It was your fault, Chuck.”
Charlie Brown responds, “My fault? How could it be my fault? Why do you say everything is my fault?”
Peppermint Patty replies, “You’re my friend, aren’t you, Chuck? You should have been a better influence on me.”
Where Visitors Go to Die
Having been raised in the church from infancy, and having been a located gospel preacher for 15 years, I have learned that there is a place where visitors and sometimes even members go to die.
I was less than 10 years old the first time I ever went door-knocking, and about that same age the first time I participated in a weekly visitation program. I was afraid. I was weak. I was imperfect. I am still all of these things. The point is that there is really no excuse for not reaching out to people who need the Lord and His church.
There is a place where visitors go to die right in our church buildings. If you wanted to do a study on it in your local congregation, you would locate the spot. Visitors sit there, and nobody speaks to them. They got unlucky.
Abundance
We have more than we need. The average home today is just under 2,400 square feet. The average home size in 1950: 983 square feet. During the same period the average household size has dropped, from 3.37 persons (1950) to 2.6 (2009). Smaller home, more people, go figure. One income, hand-me-downs, and one or two presents at Christmas — and lived to tell about it!
Because I Don’t Want to
Dr. George Wald, Harvard graduate, Nobel Prize winner in physics and devout evolutionist, said:
“There are only two possible explanations as to how life arose. Spontaneous generation arising to evolution or a supernatural creative act of God … there is no other possibility. Spontaneous generation was scientifically disproved 120 years ago by Louis Pasteur and others, but that just leaves us with only one other possibility … that life came as a supernatural act of creation by God, but I can’t accept that philosophy because I do not want to believe in God. Therefore, I choose to believe in that which I know is scientifically impossible, spontaneous generation leading to evolution.”
Sounds kind of crazy, but a lot of people do the same thing with other Biblical truths.
Sharing God’s word
I recently read about a missionary to Africa who gave a Bible to one of the African men with whom he had been studying. When it was given to him, the man hugged it close and expressed great appreciation for the precious gift of God’s Word.
However, when the missionary saw him a few days later, he noticed, much to his dismay, that the Bible looked like it was already falling apart, with many of its pages missing. The missionary asked him, “What happened? What did you do to your Bible? When I gave it to you I thought you considered it to be a treasured possession.”
Why does the church of Christ exist?
Why do churches exist at all? Here are a few reasons:
- Some exist as social clubs. (Who’s who in your town? Find out here!)
- Some exist because of nostalgia. (Grandma and grandpa did, mom and dad did, so we do, too)
- Some exist for self-preservation. (We’ll do anything to get you in the door!)
- Some exist for entertainment. (Concert, anyone?)
The church of Christ exists for none of these reasons. It primarily exists to do one thing: to spread the good news of Jesus Christ the Savior (Mt. 28:18-20). In this, it brings glory to God (Eph. 3:21).
The Land of Spoiled Milk and Venom
“Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern; Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards” (Isaiah 36:13-17).
Did you catch Rabshakeh’s attempted selling point to God’s people there? He told them to reject the counsel of Hezekiah, forget about God, lay down their arms and — now listen closely — that he would come back and bring them to land that rivaled the one they had.
Interaction or isolation?
Have you noticed that in our society we are becoming more and more isolated from each other?
I just recently was able to renew my driver license online. Although it was really nice not having to go down to the DPS office and wait, I couldn’t help thinking about all the things that have started to separate us from human interaction.
You no longer have to go to department stores; you can just order what you want online. You don’t even have to talk to anyone when you go to the grocery store. With the self checkout line, you don’t have to talk to a cashier. Drive-thru windows and internet shopping are designed to make our lives easier, but they are also taking away our interaction with each other.
