I recently ran across some news on the Zondervan website, I have to share, because this further confirms the problem I have with the institutional church. We have strayed far from what Christ had in mind. Origen started it with his lifting the Bishop to being equal with Christ, and Constantine building the temples. Catholicism to Protestantism, the game is the same, these two are on the same stick, just opposite ends. This has existed since the church no longer was the make up of all beleivers,(the EKKLESIA, called out ones) and the multiplicity of elders among each body and each operating in the gifts of the Spirit as given. It has become a place to go to and a man to hear. Sunday entertainment. Ask most folks within a day of Sunday service what the sermon was about and they can't tell you. We may have restored the Bible to the common people, but Luther never strayed from the concept of the one man show and the temple being a building. The church has remained in this darkness for over 1800 years. The article quoted below clearly shows how seriously we are off the track, and the purpose of Christ. To go into all the world and preach the Gospel. This was not a command for just those that are "called to preach" a misnomer from day one. All believers are called to the ministry of reconciliation and they are priest of the Almighty. We have left what Christ established to return to Judaism with the building of our temples and the creation of our high priest. Read these recent statistics.
Survey: Pastors Would Use Surprise Income to Build and Evangelize
(ER 5.11.06) - A new survey shows what pastors nationwide would do if their church received an unexpected financial windfall.
The research was conducted for Facts & Trends magazine and sought to clarify the overall budget and spending priorities of clergy and lay people. According to a survey conducted by Ellison Research, 31% of the more than 500 Protestant pastors surveyed said they'd build, expand, or update their church's buildings and facilities. That preference is even more pronounced among Southern Baptist pastors, 43% of whom say they'd spend the unexpected financial boon on facilities.
Sixteen percent of all pastors say they'd use the windfall to increase community evangelism activities. Paying off debt (12%) and adding staff (10%) are also among the priorities expressed. Only 1 percent indicate they'd use the windfall to increase the salaries or benefits for staff members.
In a companion survey of almost 1,200 Protestant lay people, the top 3 priorities for spending a windfall would be paying off debt (18%), increasing social programs (18%), and building, expanding, or updating church facilities (17%).
Dr. Thom Rainer, author of Breakout Churches and The Unchurched Next Door, says the surveys show the need for a balanced perspective on what it means to be a church.
"It seems as if the research confirms that we can lose our focus when we start focusing on that which matters but which should be more peripheral than the main things, such as evangelism," Rainer notes.
Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, says the findings may make it appear that evangelism, missions, and outreach are a higher priority for clergy than for their congregations. "[But] in reality, both put a fairly high priority on evangelism," he says. "They just have different priorities for where the evangelism should take place."
Rainer offers a different perspective. "More than half of all members of churches in America will meet their Savior face to face without ever having shared Christ with anyone," he says. "On the leadership issue, 53% of pastors have not shared Christ, by their own admission, in the last 6 months."
Rainer admits he may be oversimplifying things, but offers this observation: "It seems to me, when someone [asks]: 'What's wrong with the evangelistic health of our churches?' — I can give a simple response: We're not doing it." (Source: Ellison Research, www.ellisonresearch.com)
What this clearly shows, is a total error on the part of Pastors, and in my opinion much of the congregation as well. Being segregated into our own little shelters and thinking God dwells there, and that all there is to worship is going to the building.
Worship encompasses all that we are, if we are believers. Every part of our life, everyday. We have hidden ourselves in our selfish agendas to build bigger and better than the next guy- whatever denomination or other church there is in our community. Athens, Texas has over 47 (give or take a few) different churches, yet evangelism, feeding the poor, and missionary work is very low within this community. Not, that there aren't some programs out there to do these things, but the question must be asked, what impact has it had on this community of some of the highest known drug arrest for methamphetamines and more.
Very, very little. Lets look at some more facts.
91% of all Christian outreach/evangelism does not target non-Christians, but rather those who have already heard the gospel and have a number of churches in their area. while 67% of the people in the world still have not heard the name of Jesus and 200 million Christians live und some form of persecution for their faith.
Christianity in the West flourishes as a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Statistics like these confirm that the Body of Christ has, for the most part committed it's rich supply of resources to itself. Pickup any Christian magazine (you'll find a vast selection) and see for yourself. They are loaded with ads for all sorts of conferences and seminars, Christian entertainment, books of every kind, T-Shirts, CD's almost anything you could imagine. In addition to T-Shirts and music, you can find a deluge of Christianized pop-psychology and the latest Christian romance novels. Everything from Christian debt consolidation to Christian singles clubs are all prevalent particulary in America. Just consider all the ministries that pop-up in our Christian world. Have you ever wondered about all the new approaches and solutions. There all kinds of seminars available. Seminars on divorce, addiction, and demon deliverance. There is someone new everyay proclaiming a solution or enhancement for everthing you can think of.
The truth is we are loaded with dollars. Higher wages are paid for the best entertainers. Larger the congregation the bigger the salary is for the Pastor- the one man show- minus the musicians and singers- who in most cases are unpaid.
We may say we don't have money enough for evangelism but the truth is someone is paying for all this.
With our position of wealth in this country it surely can be concluded: Love requires us to take seriously the responsiblity of helping the poor of this world so they might have enough food to eat. Along with this comes the responsibility to share the Gospel.
Wasn't this the first of only two creeds added by the Elders and Apostles at Jerusalem- "Remember the poor".
Yet, we go on building bigger and better!
The next time your church wants to vote on a building fund, you might consider these statistics as well.
* 854 million people across the world are hungry, up from 852 million a year ago.
* Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes--one child every five seconds.
In essence, hunger is the most extreme form of poverty, where individuals or families cannot afford to meet their most basic need for food.
Hunger manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine. Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness.
Countries in which a large portion of the population battles hunger daily are usually poor and often lack the social safety nets we enjoy, such as soup kitchens, food stamps, and job training programs. When a family that lives in a poor country cannot grow enough food or earn enough money to buy food, there is nowhere to turn for help.
Facts and Figures on Population
* Today our world houses 6.55 billion people.
* The United States is a part of the developed or industrialized world, which consists of about 57 countries with a combined population of about 1 billion, less than one sixth of the world’s population.
In contrast, approximately 5.1 billion people live in the developing world. This world is made up of about 125 low and middle-income countries in which people generally have a lower standard of living with access to fewer goods and services than people in high-income countries.
The remaining 0.4 billion live in countries in transition, which include the Baltic states, eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Facts and Figures on Hunger and Poverty
* Worldwide, more than 1 billion people currently live below the international poverty line, earning less than $1 per day.
Among this group of poor people, many have problems obtaining adequate, nutritious food for themselves and their families. As a result, 820 million people in the developing world are undernourished. They consume less than the minimum amount of calories essential for sound health and growth.
Undernourishment negatively affects people’s health, productivity, sense of hope and overall well-being. A lack of food can stunt growth, slow thinking, sap energy, hinder fetal development and contribute to mental retardation.
Economically, the constant securing of food consumes valuable time and energy of poor people, allowing less time for work and earning income.
Socially, the lack of food erodes relationships and feeds shame so that those most in need of support are often least able to call on it.
Facts and Figures on Health
Poor nutrition and calorie deficiencies cause nearly one in three people to die prematurely or have disabilities.
Pregnant women, new mothers who breastfeed infants, and children are among the most at risk of undernourishment.
In 2005, about 10.1 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. Almost all of these deaths occured in developing countries, 3/4 of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the two regions that also suffer from the highest rates of hunger and malnutrition.
Most of these deaths are attributed, not to outright starvation, but to diseases that move in on vulnerable children whose bodies have been weakened by hunger.
Every year, more than 20 million low-birth weight babies are born in developing countries. These babies risk dying in infancy, while those who survive often suffer lifelong physical and cognitive disabilities.
The four most common childhood illnesses are diarrhea, acute respiratory illness, malaria and measles. Each of these illnesses is both preventable and treatable. Yet, again, poverty interferes in parents’ ability to access immunizations and medicines. Chronic undernourishment on top of insufficient treatment greatly increases a child’s risk of death.
In the developing world, 27 percent of children under 5 are moderately to severely underweight. 10 percent are severely underweight. 10 percent of children under 5 are moderately to severely wasted, or seriously below weight for one’s height, and an overwhelming 31 percent are moderately to severely stunted, or seriously below normal height for one’s age.
That is enough statistics for now. You should by now stand firmly convicted and if not let me add this:
Revelations 3:14-22
And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write:These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot:I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I reprove and chasten:be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock:if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
I end with this thought, truly if what we have is what Christ intended, then why is it so ineffective in turning the "world upside down" as it did in the days of early Christianity?
It's time Pastors and Congregations to see the harvest is plenty the laborers few.
Dr. J.
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