Church you blew it

             Standing in the foyer of an expanding church I looked around at all we had accomplished. Money was up and attendance went through the roof. It was amazing watching the success of a local church. Still behind the scenes something was wrong. It was not about new believers anymore. Attendance meant jobs and money revenue to run ministry. Decisions we not spirit lead but financially lead. Oh, you argue that? A year later attendance is down and hundreds have left.

            In another local scene a church asks the visiting people to turn off for a second (at Christmas) as the pastor talks to the regular attendees about finances. A person with great talent felt drawn to the local church. The ministry leaders decide that those talents are not needed here. In the end, visitors do listen to everything said in a visit. They are judging, searching, and hoping for a community to belong to. The person with talent is searching, wandering, and praying for a community that wants them. The local church is searching for the right mix, financial security, and influence in the community. Where is God in all this?

            The men and women that lead churches have blown it. The word “Church” is a dirty word outside their walls. Do they really know that? Jesus asks his followers to seek new followers. God says he draws his own to his community? Within all that, why is the church looking, seeking, and evaluating things that are Gods job? Why is money talked about in public? Why is prayer ministry’s non-existence (and never most important)? It’s because the modern church has blown it.

            Oh, they will say they do pray. Oh, they will say they do listen to God. Sure sure, talk, talk, talk all you want. It’s bla, bla, bla. Why then has “Church” become a dirty world to the world. Well some smart ass Christian leader will say that Jesus said “They will hate us.” Yep, that is true. The real question is why? Do they hate you because you speak the truth, get in their face over sin, and work harder than everyone else to make this world a better place? However, they might hate you because you judge, concern yourself with money, and only pick, pick, pick on the little sins.

            What does God have to say about church? Well, he says a lot. There are 7 churches in Revelation that symbolize different kinds of communities. Only one of those churches gets a favorable word from God. If revelation is future thinking, then the church of the future might be in trouble. Maybe God knew that church would blow it. Maybe God has warned his leaders for centuries but they are not listening. They dissect, theorize, and analyze the words in revelation, but in reality church leaders are not listening, seeing, and hearing the truth. God warns and people do nothing most of the time in the Bible. Why do you think the modern church is any different? Those rejected by a local church might know something the church does not.

            Today is Good Friday. How dare I give a blog on church bashing. It’s supposed to be a day of good news for the unsaved. Well, the reason I am doing this is because the good news is found inside the four walls of a church. The local Christian never tells it outside anymore.     Easter is not really Easter. Most of the people in my workplace and community have never entered a church. Most of them have never heard the good news. Many of them don’t even know who Jesus is.

            It’s time for local churches to rise up and crush the decrepit leadership. The way we do church has got to go, or the church will disappear. You think not pastor? Read your Bible and you will find pockets of disappeared God communities. The Bible has no problem with going into hiding. Yes, the world has rejected you. It’s a fact that they have done this because you have rejected them. You have talked so much about money, morals, and sin that the thick smoke of indifference has blinded you. That smoke has choked the appetite for church to the point of death. The world has rejected you because they are sick of the B.S. Start listening, giving back, and engaging your local communities. I know weird concepts for sure, because Easter has become just another holiday as Christmas is.          

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