- Good crowd today! And worship just keeps getting better and better! I heard one of our leadership team saying the other day that he feels this is the best worship in all of Charlotte! I thought about that. Pretty bold statement really, but I think he’s got a point! Here’s what he went on to say. Not only does he believe they are the most talented and gifted around, but they are (more importantly) the most sold out, selfless group of individuals around. They seem to want nothing more than to lead people to the throne room of God! Friends, if that’s not accomplished at church, you have a social gathering—not a church!
- Week two of our 90 day challenge. Malachi 3:10 finds God encouraging man to actually test Him! Test Him in the area of tithing and see whether or not He is true for His Word to bless you and take care of your needs. The challenge goes until June 15th. If you have a story between now and then of how God is blessing you. Please send me an email at pastorrob@impactchurchonline.org We’d all love to hear it!
- Today we started another challenge together as a church. We agreed to take some concrete steps toward developing an invite culture. We are not waiting until Easter to invite people to church. Each of us are asking God to give us His heart for lost people—to remember what it was like to be a hellbounder and to care enough to tell others about Jesus like someone cared enough at one time to tell us. Who are you going to invite next week?
- Last week I read a strangely titled blog post, “Ten ways members can kill their own Church.” Like some of you probably thought when you just read that title, I thought, “Who would want to kill their own church? Who would purposefully hurt the Bride of Jesus?” But then I started reading it and I have to tell you—It about made my blood run cold. It was scarily accurate. So…I will be giving you about three things a day form the article (bite sized chunks) so that you can really think about them. Let’s challenge one another to NOT follow any of these sometimes subtle but always deadly things to the detriment of our wonderful church. The article is by a pastor by the name of, Tejado Hanchell, and it starts as follows…
“I have the awesome privilege of serving a church that has been around for over 80 years. In those 80 years, the church has only had four senior pastors. While our congregation has had its share of struggles over the years, we are pleased that we have survived!
Considering the staggering statistics on church mortality in America, we are grateful to God for still standing strong. Some researchers suggest that between 3,500-4,500 churches close their doors (or die) each year. That means that in the time since our congregation was founded over 80 years ago, over 300,000 churches have died!
I suspect that most church “deaths” occur for a few simple (and oftentimes avoidable) reasons.
Recently, one of the senior members of our congregation — who has been there for all 80 plus years — handed me a church newsletter that was written in 1959. As I delicately flipped through the tattered pages of this precious document, one article in the newsletter pricked my attention. The title, which I have borrowed for this blog post, was simply “10 Ways to Kill a Church”.
The thing that interested me the most is how this list of “church killers” written in 1959 looks so much like the usual suspects in many church deaths today.
Here is my slightly paraphrased version of the 1959 list of “10 Ways to Kill a Church”:
1. Don’t come.
One of the biggest church killers is waning attendance. Many people simply can’t find the time to spend an hour or two in the Lord’s house. We find excuse after excuse as to why we can’t come to church.
I wonder what our lives would look like if God only showed up at our house as often as we showed up at His. The Bible is clear about the importance of assembling or coming together (Hebrews 10:25).
I believe in the importance of going to church, which is why I do a weekly Twitter hashtag called #Go2Church. If we don’t go to church, we just might be playing a part in killing the church.
2. If you do come, make sure it’s late.
So many of today’s worshipers (and apparently those of 1959) have a lackadaisical attitude toward worship. We have an “I’ll get there when I get there” attitude when it comes to church attendance.
I wonder, however, if we showed up to our job the way we show up to our church … how many of us would still be employed?
We say that God is an “on time” God, but can He say the same about us? A lack of punctuality when it comes to worship is a microcosm of our overall view of God. It says that whatever else we are doing is more important, and God can just wait until we get there. This type of attitude is a major church killer.
3. Only show up when the weather is good.
Ever been to church in a driving rainstorm? Neither have most of the other people in your church! Some people only go to church when the sun is out and there are no clouds in the sky.
We have produced a culture of “fair-weather” Christians, who only attend church when everything is going right in their lives. The moment a storm hits their life, they get mad at God, the pastor and the church.
There are some people who you can tell exactly what’s going on in their lives based upon their church attendance. When things are great and they have a little money in their pockets, they’re on the front row singing “Amazing Grace,” but as soon as they get laid off or deal with some sort of difficulty, they’re ready to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9). The only thing that dies with that kind of attitude is the church.
Ouch! Pretty accurate and indicting stuff! I’ve been in ministry for over 25 years and I can tell you that this list is a very accurate church killer–that’s the bad news. But there’s a silver lining…
Do the opposite of these and you will turn your dying church into a movement of God!