Before I go any deeper in this set of reviving the church I am currently doing I must stop and take a minute to talk about why I am doing this current set and what I mean about a dying church. Please note as I stated before early this week I am not talking about a dying church as a building or even The Bride of Christ. I am talking about the local and fellowship of believers, but also not I am not talking about ever fellowship and church body either. I was talking with a pastor friend of mine today from years back I did ministry with on Facebook today… Oh the Joys of Facebook and we where talking about this topic and he was giving me some great feedback on this current set I am writing over the next few days. However he stated he felt my writings where speaking to him, here and now. Later he went on to tell me how he is currently seeing and facing issues that I have talked about and will talk about in his current church. He always stated that a church a block away from his just closed the doors. Then we went on to talk about Home Churches and Small Groups however I will get back to that at a later date as that’s becomes on of my healing step I will talk about later next week. He told me of a story he heard many years ago about a pastor who went to a non-Christian artist and asked him to paint a picture of what he saw as the dying church naturally the pastor expected that the artist would portray a ramshackle old structure set in the midst of a neglected yard overgrown with weeds, with broken windows, weather-beaten and unpainted walls, and surrounded by a general air of decrepitude.
Instead, the artiest painted the picture of a stately building with expensive art glass windows, a considerable expanse of richly carved wood, a high pulpit, and comfortable pews. In the foyer or as I call it the hallway, on a conspicuous corner of the wall, a bow was fitted, across the front of which where the words “For Missions”. Over the little opening designed to received the contributions there was a cobweb! There’s a profound truth beneath the artist’s satire. A church may by meeting in a glorious cathedral and yet be in the throes of death. The actual life of a Christian congregation can be measured, not by the building in which the people worship bu by their concern for the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth. By the Heart! I found this story to be very powerful to me and had to share it.
In His Grip,
-Pastor J
