Jump Start # 3942
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
In a recent trip to old cemeteries, I was able to go inside a old church building that was on the property where a cemetery was. A congregation still meets there every Sunday. On the chalkboard there was written, “Attendance today: 6.” The week before it was “10.” I’ve been to some very large congregations and have preached to audiences that numbered over 500. The singing, fellowship and energy in those large congregations is amazing. But, “6”, that’s just hard to fathom.
And, this presents a challenge that many do not consider. How easy it would be to tell those “6” just close the doors and go to another congregation. Sometimes distance won’t allow that. Often, because of the age of the members, that is a real difficulty. And, so a few hang on and they don’t have the luxury of variety of preachers, strong elderships, choices of many Bible classes to sit in on. Most times, it’s left to those “6” to get things done.
Here are some thoughts for us:
First, our faith is in the Lord and not in or through a congregation. The life of a congregation may be up and down but that doesn’t not mean your faith has to be. The size of the congregation may encourage you but it cannot sustain your faith. Your faith must be in the Lord not in the congregation.
Family ties and history can make it difficult to pull the plug on a congregation. Sometimes that has to be done. Don’t hold on just for the sake of holding on. Some congregations have not done much in a long time other than keeping the lights on. Put some vision into the place. Get some ideas going. Generate some life and purpose.
The business community has no problem with bringing someone in from the outside to help generate vision and ideas. That role is called a consultant. We tend to get an uneasy feeling when we think about that spiritually. Why not bring a brother in who has fresh and good ideas to help you? The alternative is to continue to dwindle, not knowing which hole to plug first until the entire church sinks. We bring preachers in to preach and encourage the church. Why not invite someone from another congregation to help with social media or generate ideas to improve the situation. It is sad to see people sit around and watch a church die.
Second, if a congregation cannot find among themselves the people to preach and teach, invite some in from other places. Solid teaching of God’s word has always been the key to growth and life. Just reading a verse one by one and not doing much with that won’t build your faith. If there is no depth among the people, find someone who will come in and help. Spread all throughout God’s amazing kingdom are men who work secular jobs but have a passion to preach now and then. Find them. Use them.
Third, sometimes people get set in their ways and they do not want to change. That’s not a good place to be with the Lord. Content is not the same thing as being stuck and stubborn. Refusing to take the necessary steps to generate life and growth essentially means you have given up. A few more trips to the cemetery and the doors close. Sometimes what is necessary is hard, challenging and not what we want to do. And, in most cases, we don’t do it.
There seems to be two major avenues within our fellowship today. Some churches are doing amazing things. They are growing. They are offering all kinds of tools to develop the members. They are visionary and looking down the road.
The other avenue that many congregations are on seems to be just holding on. No specific plans for the future. No growth. No activity. Little life.
There are reasons why some churches are doing well and others are not. It’s not the location. It’s not the size of the congregations. It comes down to leadership, faith and a willingness to excel in the Lord. Attitudes matter. What is preached and taught matters. What we do throughout the week matters.
When the culture of a congregation shifts to believing that Sunday is the best day of the week and that we all need to bring our best to the Lord each time, things begin to change for the better. Changing a culture is hard. It takes someone in the forefront to lead the way. Around here, we have said that “Sunday is the best day of the week,” so much that everyone else is saying it. Build lessons around those core ideas. Pointing out why everyone else in the religious community is wrong, doesn’t make us right. Focus upon what we need to do and who we are.
God is so good to us. Sometimes a congregation ceases to exist. That happens. It happens in rural communities. It happens in the city. But, the closing of a church door doesn’t lessen the kingdom of God. The kingdom is not made up of congregations. It is composed of disciples who have given their hearts to the Lord. In the course of one’s journey, you may be part of several congregations. You will meet dozens and dozens of Christians. You’ll get to know some of the finest people on earth, God’s people. You’ll listen to amazing sermons that will touch your heart. But, when it is all over, it’s about you and the Lord. Some congregations may be challenging. Some may be real blessings. But, our faith is in the Lord. You and the Lord, that’s your journey. Your brethren have a place and a part, but without a deep faith in the Lord, things won’t go well.
In Sardis, a church that the Lord declared was dead, there remained a “few” that continued to walk with the Lord. The faithful few is mightier than the hundreds that pretend to be Christians and play church. Large or small, what matters is my heart and my walk with the Lord.
Roger