Trouble For The church
Letters in the mail
Yesterday I received a letter from a local church here in Meridian, ID. Naomi and I had visited them once a few months ago in their new building. The place was nice, comfortable, the people were friendly enough. But it wasn't the right fit for us as far as what we look for in a local church.
This church is currently experiencing a budget shortfall. The letter talked about how much money they needed to keep operating the way they have been.
The trouble I see is not their budget shortfall. The trouble is that if I received this letter, then surely they sent it out to all of the other visitors that have been there lately. If I can think of the fastest way to shoo away newcomers and potential members, it would be to openly ask for money specifically from them. Many churches have this same issue with money and have done the same thing or similar.
The real deficit in America's churches
When was the last time your church sent you a letter telling you of a deficit of incomparable magnitude? And when was the last time they told you the deficit was that of souls not just being lost, but specifically not being won by that local church?
The fact is, most local churches in America are more concerned with meeting their own needs than they are the needs of others. Focus is placed on infrastructure and building A church and not THE Church. They take their money and build a fancy place to please themselves and make their tithe payers comfortable.
If we were wise, we would find ways to do with less comfort and more to help the poor and broken-hearted. We would find ways to creatively tell the story and live the message we believe in. We would take a grassroots approach to reaching the lost.
That's my experience. What's yours?
Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject.
Please Note: for all intents and purposes "church" with a lowercase "c" represents unique, local gatherings of Christians that typically make up what most American's consider to be "church". i.e. the local Christian, Presbyterian, Baptist church.
Christian Minimalist Living
In my daily thoughts today, pondering more of the book “True Discipleship” by William MacDonald, I began to think.
I began thinking about my self centered life and all of the material things I own. I know one day I will stand before God to give an account for my life. Although my sins are washed away, I can't help but imagine. I wonder if I will look down at the things I own and wish I could trade them for just one soul to escape the agony of hell. I wonder if I could trade one of my many "toys" for the expense of supporting a native missionary. I wonder if I could trade my my monthly cell phone plan for a monthly missionary plan instead.
We are notorious in God's eyes for what we think is our American Right to a better life. There is nothing wrong with things that serve a purpose, or even more. It is the Christian who must answer for why resources were used for personal gain and stockpiling of unnecessary things. We opt for the supersized everything and when it comes time for giving to expand The Kingdom, we most certainly downsize.
I'm not saying you need to sell everything and follow Jesus. Just take what you need to do the job God called you to do. Don't take what you want because what you want will slow you down and slow the movement of God in your life.
So what is this saying about me? I am determining what needs to go away and what must stay. Among the things I am leaving... a monthly cell phone plan.