Something that has been bothering me is that as God’s church we seem to be giving our christianity a lot of lip service and very little activity. At the beginning of a new year preachers stand in front of their churches and proclaim that this is the year that they are going to win their towns or cities for Christ. They will back their statements up with scriptures and by the time they are finished their congregations will be fired up and excited to go and win their cities or towns for Christ. Sadly a month or two later it is back to the same routine of going to church on a Sunday and simply sitting there and listening to what the preacher has to say.
Reading this you may think that I have a very negative view of churches. To a degree I agree but, I feel strongly that as members of God’s church, regardless of your denomination, we have a God-given instruction to go out and to preach the gospel. It is all good and well preaching to the converted, but what are we doing to reach the lost?
Not too long ago a gentleman asked his church leader to assist in a problem that he was having in his marriage. The church leader answered that he could not get involved in the matter. Thankfully the man and his wife managed to solve the problem with God’s help. However I feel strongly that the church leader neglected his duty when he told the man that he wasn’t prepared to or couldn’t get involved. This same leader will stand up and proclaim that he wants to change hearts and minds and win his city for God, but when the chips were down he failed a church member dismally! As a leader of God’s flock it was his God-given duty to intervene, and to do whatever was necessary to resolve the problem in that marriage. He should have prayed and ministered to the couple, but sadly he turned and looked the other way.
Church leaders have a responsibility to be leaders of God’s flock. They have to watch over their flock and, they have to be prepared to discipline, and praise, when it is called for. The bible says that God rejoices for every lost soul that is won for him. Simply preaching in church is equal to preaching to the converted. It is important, because we need to be reminded and, may I add, recharged, but I believe we need to be out there actively reaching out to the lost. This is the only way we will ever begin to win our towns and cities for God.
Our lives have to reflect our love for God. This means living accordingly and working for God. It means that we have to be ready to get involved when called to. It means touching lives, and more importantly changing lives. I am a member of a church, however I feel strongly that as God’s church we have become lazy and we have neglected the instruction Jesus gave us before ascending to heaven. Jesus called on the church to preach the gospel (the Good News) to every corner in the world, not only in church. I am the first to say that the leaders can’t be expected to do it alone, however they have to provide leadership and guidance, and they can and have to involve their congregation. Simply firing people up with words isn’t enough, there has to be action.
For God 