Church Blog (Page 26)
Stating the Obvious #10. “Pride—A lethal addiction.”
Pride is the devil’s smiling assassin. He sends it forth to slay every man who seeks its praise. God cautioned long ago: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). Man loves to glory in his own importance. But the more a man basks in his own glory, the less likely he is to humble himself before God. With amazing dexterity the prideful shuffle themselves to the front to be seen by all. Jesus says…
Stating the Obvious #9. “Conviction or Compromise.”
There is a lot of truth in that expression: “You don’t have to go along to get along.” However, as a church growth strategy it has spelt death! All is well until the lines between “getting along” and “going along” are blurred. Churches must make choices as to what is right and what is wrong and stand firm for the right. For the last generation we have often been guilty of “getting along” with brethren who have chosen the wrong…
Stating the Obvious #8. “Small churches: Never-say-die.”
More than a few times I have heard a brother say, “At church this morning I taught the class, lead singing, presided at the Table and preached the lesson.” In such cases, these visiting preachers usually had one local brother present to give the announcements and open and close in prayer—but the previous week he did “everything.” Such congregations, if they persevere, are the future of the church. They are the small groups of never-say-die Christians; determined to make it…
Stating the Obvious #7. “The Poor—so easily forgotten.”
Mrs. Smith said that she had sustained a neck injury after falling backwards onto concrete. She was taken to the hospital immediately, but spent six hours sitting with a neck brace before a doctor examined her. When she arrived home, she wrote a letter to the hospital expressing her disappointment at the poor treatment that she had received. The hospital replied, “We apologise for any inconvenience and hope that Cameron is recovering well.” Mrs Smith is still wondering who Cameron…
Stating the Obvious #6. “To have or not to have?”
Cults take control over the resources of their members. They focus their minds away from the idea of personal property and exploit their talents, money, time, and goodwill in the name of community. Whether framed on a wall, or written into their creed, every cult has this quote from Jesus: “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33). This, in their minds, gives divine legitimacy to their evil…
Stating the Obvious #5. “A Life Half-spent.”
One brother used to say, “I know I’m not old yet, but the runway is getting shorter.” He was not going to waste a day; he was not going to leave behind a life half-spent. Most of us will leave behind lives that were capable of more. Today we look back on our days, be they many, or few, and know in our hearts that our vain pleasures have only gotten in the way. They crowded out that which matters…
Stating the Obvious #4. “Generations come and go.”
In the 1980s I used to hear this complaint: “The old people around here just want to keep the church back in the 1950s.” It was a strange criticism, given that we had been enjoying 1950s nostalgia on screen and radio for the better part of a decade. Thirty years from now, will today’s young people hear their children complain, “The old people around here just want to keep the church back in the 2020s”? My guess is that the…
Stating the Obvious #3. “Debt destroys.”
If you gave a $1000 bill away every second, how long would it take you to pay off the current USA debt of $30 trillion? Check my math, but I believe it will take three hundred and forty-seven years. For the ordinary person, $30,000,000,000,000 is an impossible amount to conceptualise in cash. A more manageable way to grasp it is to divide that $30 trillion by the 330 million Americans—it comes to about $92,000 each. That’s man, woman, and child…!…
Stating the Obvious #2. “Politics—The Great Divider.”
Jonah preached in Nineveh with a heart full of political hate. Being arguably one of the most successful ‘instant’ revival preachers in history, you would think that Jonah would have paused to take in the moment. Instead, he perched himself atop the nearest hill overlooking Nineveh and hoped that God would rain down terror upon it. Jonah saw the Assyrians as nothing more than a murderous horde deserving of God’s wrath. And no doubt about it, they were a murderous…
Stating the Obvious #1. “You are being watched.”
Long before home computers and social media existed, I met a brother who told me a troubling story about data collection. He had recently been ‘written up’ by the editor of a contentious religious magazine who he had considered to be a friend. He said that he didn’t care about what had been written about him, but he was concerned for others close to him who had been considered ‘guilty by association.’ I later learned that the contentious editor would…