What have we become?

The Christian church has become one of the most critical, judgmental, ungracious body of believers in the world. Which is totally opposite from what Christ taught while on earth. This has always confused me. Christ taught, love your neighbors as yourself (Mark 12:31) love one another, (John 13:34-35) and to love your enemies (Luke 6:27-36). But yet there are believers all over America who practice the complete opposite.

I was talking with a friend from Leadership College yesterday about his Dad church. They're moving their regular service time from Sunday morning to Saturday evenings. Thats a big change for a traditional Assembly of God church. They've been averaging 12 on Sunday morning. The town they live in is a tourist destination. Most people are busy working on Sunday mornings and are not able to make it to church. However, on Saturday evenings that is the time everybody in town is off so it would be a better time for them to attend church. He said that some people in the church are upset at this change. They don't want to change service times. They are comfortable where they are and don't see a need to move times to Saturday. How unloving is that? They should be doing everything they can to get unsaved people into the church. They should be making every type of change to bring the lost in. I give props to the Pastor of that church. Its hard to go against what hard headed people in your congregation want to do. That is a tough call. If the Pastor makes a decision he feels needs to be made, and it upsets, lets say 2 families in his church, you go from 12 on Sundays to 8 or 6. Another story he told me happened a couple of months ago. He had preached about inviting people to church a couple Sundays in a row and his congregation still wasn't wanting to invite. So the next Sunday, he got so fed up, he wanted to show them how easy it was to invite people to church. He said "Look at the clock, its 9am. By 10am, my wife and I will be back with someone who's never been to church before." So he and his wife got up, left everyone sitting in the sanctuary, and walked out the church doors. With in the hour they came back with a lady they had met, invited her to church and she said yes. I thought that was a great way to open they're eyes.

As Christians we've become so concerned about who attends our churches. Regular church attenders complaining because they see two homosexuals in the Sunday service, holding hands or having their arms around each other. Or Christians complaining to Pastors because people are smoking outside the church or leaving the cigarette butts on the ground. And even complaining because people don't dress right or show up on time or don't fit in our "clicks". YOU OUGHT TO BE PRAYING FOR THOSE PEOPLE TO BE AT CHURCH. The church might be the only place Homosexuals, smoker, liar, homeless and idolaters hear the Gospel. If I was a Pastor id be so happy to see cigarette butts outside my church, because that means theres people in the church today that needs to be delivered! And the only one that can do that is Jesus Christ! We've made Church into a social event. Its not! Its a place to come together, worship God, learn, and edify each other. Did I just say edify each other? Yes I did! 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

I know of another church in a metropolitan area. That has a Sunday attendance average of 15. Not reaching out, not inviting people, simply going to church to say, I went to church today. I've done my part. Someone in the church even said "I don't want anymore people to come to our church, I like it the way it is." Wrong, wrong, wrong. How can you not have a hear for the lost? Thats the Great Commission! "Go therefore and MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, TEACHING them to observe all that I HAVE COMMANDED you." Matthew 28:19-20 We are to bring the lost in, present the Gospel, make disciples of them, and teach them what we have been taught so that they can go and make disciples themselves.

We've got to quit being such an inward focused body of believers. WE NEED TO BECOME OUTWARD FOCUSED! Bringing the lost in, and letting them know that Christ died for them! We were just like the ones we have become so quick to reject and judge. Lost, sinners, and had no hope. But because of Christ we were shown GRACE, and FORGIVEN. Its time for us to show grace and show Gods love.