Where has all the Preaching Gone?

I recently read a report that many of the techniques of the church growth movement, while bringing crowds into churches, were not successful in discipling people. The emphasis on being "seeker sensitive" and "relevant" have backfired. What this means is to make sure you don't offend anyone and make sure they are entertained. Telling people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear cheats them. What we really need is to grow in our relationship with God through the power of the Holy Ghost and becoming rooted in the Word of God. I want preaching that will challenge me to draw closer to God. That kind of preaching will sometimes offend my flesh. But that is what I want. I want to hear about the shed blood of Christ. I want to hear that I have a responsibility to God. I want someone to tell me that my sin is offensive to God and that I can't live that way and be a Christian. Somehow we have led people to believe that if they "accept Christ" that they are set. We have made them think that they can live a lifestyle of sin and still be counted among the saved. We can't live a lifestyle of sin and make it to heaven. Have I offended you? It's time as preachers that we boldly declare the word of God. We must tell people that commitment is God's requirement. Playing around the edges of Christianity will leave you empty. We must preach the cross, the blood, and our hopelessness outside of salvation through Jesus Christ. We must sound the trumpet clearly. Unrepentant sin will destroy us. Jesus is coming, are you ready?

Thanksgiving, My Favorite Holiday

I love Thanksgiving. It's because it I get to indulge in all of my favorite things. While my wife is up early making preparations, I get to sleep late! Thanks to all of the women that make Thanksgiving such a great holiday for their families. You are all great! This morning I will leisurely read the newspaper. Later we will watch football, truly one of my favorite things. Too bad the Bears don't play today but the way they have played the Lions this year it is probably best that they are not. Then, of course, we will have a great meal. My wife is a great cook and will prepare a spectacular feast. After dinner we might play some games and visit. It gives us a chance to relax and do things we don't do every day. This year we will have our oldest son and his family here. Our youngest son and his family are having dinner with the in-laws. So there you have it; sleeping late, reading the paper, football, food, and fun. Oh, there are a couple of more things that I really love and may indulge in later tonight. I may have some ice cream (I love ice cream). I can't really tell you the other thing, it's kind of private. Oh, and I love giving thanks to God and all that too. What a great holiday!

I Want to Give Thanks

In this season of giving thanks I want to count my blessings.

Psalm 107:1-9

I want to give thanks because God is good and His mercy endures forever. He has redeemed me from the enemy of my soul and heard my cry from the wilderness. He has satisfied my longing soul.

I want to give thanks for all that we have been given. We have all that we need because of God. My wife and I have a warm home and an income that provides for our material needs.

I want to give thanks for our church because we always feel God's presence when we worship. God always gives our ministers a word that is encouraging and important for the listeners.

It’s easy to become unthankful until I stop and take inventory. I want to focus on the good things that God has done in my life.

I want to give thanks for my family because they mean so much to me. When we strip away all of the “things” in life we see that our loved ones are the most important thing in our lives.
I am blessed with a wonderful wife, children, and grandchildren. God has truly watched over us.

I want to give thanks because of my abiding faith in God. I have made the choice to follow Jesus regardless of any of life’s circumstances and feel that it is possible because of God's help.

I want to give thanks because God knows who I am; He knows the real me and loves me anyway.

Thanks Jesus.

Don't Waste Your Opportunity

I went to church tonight to pray and felt God's presence powerfully. Many years ago I felt the call to ministry and have always wanted to help people find God. I felt a desperation to pray for Saginaw and all who just roll through life with little thought of God. Do you ever think about what God wants from you? Why did Jesus die? Does it mean anything to me? These questions do have answers. The answers are a the cross. The desperation that I felt tonight doesn't compare to what God feels for you. Don't waste your opportunity to find true life. Seek God today.

Why do people hate church?

The number of unchurched people is growing steadily. Why? Here are some statistics from the Barna Group:

How Many?

• There has been a 92% increase in the number of unchurched Americans in the last thirteen years. In 1991 there were 39 million unchurched Americans compared with 75 million currently. (2004)
  
• 7 out of 10 protestants age 18-30 have dropped out of church by age 23.
  
• 34% said that they had not returned even sporadically by age 30.
  
• 22% moved away from their church
  
• 22% wanted to spend more time with friends away from church.
  
• 27% wanted a break from church
  
• 51% said churchgoers were judgmental
  
• 44% used the word hypocritical
  
• 41% said church members were insincere
  
• 58% were unhappy with the members or the pastor
  

Beliefs

• 64% of the unchurched say that Satan is not a living being but is a symbol of evil. (2006)
  
• 63% of unchurched adults state that a good person can earn his or her way into Heaven. (2006)
  
• Slightly less than half (48%) of the unchurched define God as the perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe who continues to rule His creation today. (2006)
  
• 51% of the unchurched assert that when Jesus Christ lived on earth, He committed sins. (2006)
  
• 27% of the unchurched firmly believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches. (2006)
  
• 18% of people said that completely understanding and carrying out the principles of their faith was the highest priority in their lives. (14% of men versus 18% of women) (2005)
  

Why are people so unhappy with church? At various times in my life I have been unhappy with church as well. I have always loved God but not always loved church. From the stats above I see that I haven't been alone. I’ve always wanted church to be a good place. A place where you can feel God’s touch and have a sense of family. It hasn’t always been that way. There have been times I felt that not even the Pastor cared about my life. There are two large reasons that I have always gone to church even when I didn’t want to: one is that I knew that God had a great pure love for me, the other is the power of the Holy Ghost. God gave me something that no church ever could. It is still powerful in my life today. As I read many of the reasons that people stopped going to church I realized that they had not experienced this truly life changing power. If you haven’t experienced the fulness of God you can because He loves you with a pure love and wants to be an important part of your life.

So, how do we make church a place that people actually want to be? If you don't like church tell me why. I look forward to your comments!

Hallelujah Anyhow

Recently, I thought of a song we used to sing in church years ago. It is a very fitting song when we face times of trouble, as we all do at one time or another. It goes like this:

“Hallelujah anyhow
I never let my troubles get me down
Whatever storm clouds of life might bring
I hold my head up high and sing
Hallelujah anyhow”

We need to praise God during times of trouble in our lives. It may seem at times like we have plenty of reasons to be down and distressed. Life throws us a curve ball every now and then. There are also those unfortunate times in life when tragedy strikes. Whatever the trouble may be that tries to sap our strength, we have reason to praise God. The 27th Psalm tells us that when the Lord is the strength of our life we need not fear anything that life can bring. Our foes will stumble and fall. We can have confidence in God’s grace. Do you know Jesus as your savior? If so, you have reason to be optimistic.

The enemies of righteousness will fail. They have no power against us except what we give them. If we sulk and feel sorry for ourselves we feed the negativity that will take over our minds. If we will say “hallelujah anyhow” and praise God in every situation, we will feel strength and encouragement from Heaven. When we look out and see an army of problems forming against us we can know that God raises up His banner on our behalf. We have no reason to be fearful. We are bolstered in God’s love.

Jonah was a prophet of God. He was told to go to the city of Nineveh and preach that they needed to repent of their sins or God would destroy the city. Nineveh was known to be hard on preachers! Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh and got on a boat headed in the other direction. Jonah ended up in the water and was swallowed by a great fish that was prepared by God. Can you imagine what was going through Jonah’s mind? He couldn’t have been in a worse circumstance. But Jonah did something that changed his circumstance. He called out to God. Because of that Jonah was expelled on to dry ground. Prayer changes things. Hallelujah anyhow! From a deep dark place Jonah cried to the Lord. When we cry out, God hears our voice. It looked like the end for Jonah, but God is a deliverer. Don’t think that circumstances are bigger than God. People struggle with all kinds of things because they think that their circumstance is bigger than God. In what circumstance do you find yourself today? Is it divorce, alcoholism, or sickness? If you will put your trust in God He can change your situation. Call us today and we will pray with you whatever your need may be.

Psalm 20:7 says:
“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.”

Don’t put your trust in the things of this world that wither away. God is the rock that will endure forever. Put your trust in Him.