I Corinthians 1 10Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
I have been burdened a lot lately with some thoughts that keep flitting through my mind about church. Of course you know my burden lately to help others out. Part of that comes from watching these people suffer and then watching churches build bigger buildings and better children's programs and worship programs. You know with flashing lights and state of the art tech equipment? I'm not saying those things are wrong, but I am wondering if our priorities are out of whack a little bit. It started me asking questions about church. What is the purpose of the church? I look around at churches who seek to make the lost comfortable. Then I think, "Wait! If your lost are you supposed to be comfortable in church?" If your living a life full of sin are you supposed to be comfortable hearing from the Word of God? I don't really think so. Then I thought about verses that tell Christians to GO!
Matthew 28
18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Are we supposed to be sitting in churches, building bigger churches, and relying on the preacher to save all the heathens? Once again these are just thoughts I have been having. I am starting to think that churches should be training grounds. Training for the saints to go out and deliver the message of Jesus Christ. To minister to the lost. To offer a cup of water to the thirsty.
So much of what is offered up on Sunday mornings lately is just barely milk.
I actually know a few strong Christians who just choose to gather at home for home meeting instead of corporate worship because the churches they have tried are so watery. I am not advocating that as the best idea either. I'm just wondering if the church should not be used more for teaching and training the Christians to go out into the world. Just a thought.
As far as the verses I mentioned in the beginning that's a whole other thought process. It kind of reminds me of the different denominations. In the New Testament when the preachers came they came to a gathering somewhere in the city. Not to three of four different gatherings. Can you imagine the impact the church could make on this world if we set aside our doctrinal differences and just acted like we all served the same God and were all saved through Christ? I think much of the war that we face with the world would be won in that one change.
I don't know just some thoughts I had.
Be Blessed!
I have been wondering these same things. We are going to a church that is a church plant from a church who's mottos is LOVE, MEND, TRAIN, SEND, yet, our pastor is trying to build this big multi million dollar building equipped with things like gyms and coffee shops. I have never felt comfortable with it. I have been seeking answers and aksing the Lord to lead me and give me wisdom through it. I wish I knew all the answers, but I don't yet. I believe most others countries don't have this model-is it an American thing? Huge comfortable churches? Do they need to look outside of our comfortable little world here in the US, and see what other christians are doing?
ReplyDeleteThis really makes me think. My church is starting it's first "capital campaign" next month to raise money to purchase a 16 acre lot on which to build a bigger church, complete with coffee shop and soccer field. The pastor has specifically said he doesn't want to have a "mega-church." Instead, once this bigger church is up and running, they can start smaller "satellite churches" around the area and train pastors to be in charge of them, but they will all report back to the MAIN church. My church is growing by leaps and bounds, and I understand why they want a bigger building, but I agree that it all seems a bit too "comfortable." Honestly, I don't know what to think.
ReplyDeleteI have the same thoughts about our modern day churches. A lot of churches have an "Everyone is Welcome" mentality which I believe is a hindrance to the church. What is happening is that believers (& their children) are mixing with non-believers which is causing problems. The Scriptures teach that the church is to be a called out assembly of believers. Not understanding this has led to much confusion in our modern day churches, as well as affecting the purity of our local assemblies. Yes, we are supposed to win the lost, but we can do this by going out into the community door knocking, distributing tracts, one on one witnessing, street preaching, etc. Church should be a place of refuge and encouragement for the believer, not a mega center for entertainment.
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