when prayers seem unanswered

Answers to our prayers with all their intertwining possibilities is absolutely mind-boggling. God has granted us, as mere sinful humans created from dust, the high privilege and honor of approaching His throne confidently in prayer. While engaged in prayer the Creator of the universe lovingly meets us one-on-one in live prime-time, and there is no need of an appointment, rescheduling, or fear of rejection. He listens patiently to our feeble pleas and even promises that His Spirit within us will intercede on our behalf.

God promises to answer our prayers in 1 John 5:14,15 (ESV):

And this is the confidence we have towards Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.

Prayer is an awesome gift from an awesome God.

The toughest part of prayer (to me) is grasping how and when prayer is answered. At times our prayers are answered almost instantly, completely, and recognizably; often nothing seems to happen at all. Since God always answers prayers, and when I'm unable to detect a positive answer, I can only assume He has denied my petition, or at least delayed it until a more opportune time.

Praying with selfish intent or for things harmful to us as Christians, and not receiving what we ask for is understandable, but millions of Christians praying for the lives of the starving and dying Jews during the Holocaust doesn't seem like a selfish endeavor, yet over six million men, women, and children were murdered during the Third Reich in spite of countless prayers on their behalf. Perhaps my miniscule brain doesn't have enough horsepower to fully comprehend the workings and thoughts of God..... Yep, that's it!

It all boils down to faith; by faith I believe that God, being perfect, accomplishes exactly what He desires. It's not within me to understand everything God sets in motion in His creation, but after reflecting on His perfection and total love for us, we have no alternative but to recognize His unerring decisions and live according to His will, which often means our prayers will be answered negatively for our own good, the good of others, or how it fits into His overall plan for His people.

some thoughts on unity

Perfection in any aspect of our lives is something we will never accomplish. We may do some things better than other things, and better than other people, but still, regardless of our high achievement (and accolades in some circles) we will never arrive before God in a perfect state.

Being religiously imperfect is also our lot as humans. We may do everything possible to follow the Bible perfectly; yet we go over-board in one direction and fall far short in another. Not that we don't understand how human and fallible we are, but often we hold on to cherished traditions in our churches for decades without honestly understanding why; we refuse, deny, or don't understand the spiritual consequences of loading our traditional baggage on the shoulders of other Christians, and those seeking to become Christians.

Spiritual change does not come easily and without a fight. When we realize what we have believed for decades is dead wrong it's tough to admit our failures. We need to continually examine our belief system making the necessary changes the Word of God and our conscience demands.

Perhaps our unwillingness to honestly appraise our beliefs and spiritual condition is a product of our fear that a thorough investigation might take us out of our comfort zone and put us in uncharted waters. Change is scary, but often necessary, especially if we are to ever unite with other Christians that also dread change.

Unity in the Christian community will only occur when we finally decide to make a concerted effort to understand our brothers and sisters in other churches rather than focusing on their glaring errors and glossing over their attributes. By dropping our preconceived ideas that have no scriptural basis, and realizing that we are far from perfect, we just might have grounds for a united fellowship.

Like the turtle, we quickly seek spiritual refuge in our shell after we spout our church laws and opinions, and refuse to investigate or consider the thoughts of other Christians. Perhaps we grab the one and only authorized, acceptable, and approved King James Version (some people actually believe this) and bolster our preconceived ideas while happily reflecting on the merits of Christianity without having to be unequally yoked with the other so-called Christian groups.

Will the time ever come when churches will agree to disagree over their opinions, and still work together united to spread the love of God within their communities rather than promote discord? If churches with different names on their signs ever realize unity it will be because of our incessant prayer and God's intervention.

polls and church growth

Strange results often occur when pollsters put their spin on poll findings. The following polls and quotes (if correct,) paint a downhill struggle for the church in America over the last few years:

"In America we are closing 7 more churches a day, than we are opening!! -Charles Arn"

"The United States of America remains the third largest unchurched nation in the world!

"In 1900 there were 27 churches for every 10,000 Americans. In 1950 there were 17 churches for every 10,000 Americans. In 1996 there were 11 churches for every 10,000 Americans. -George Gallup

"Evangelical churches have failed to gain an additional 2% of the American population in the past 50 years. In other words, we are not even reaching our children! -George Barna

"Estimated America Unchurched Population - 195 million (January 1996, Gallup Princeton Religion Report)."

"Half of all churches last year did not add one new member through conversion growth. -Charles Arn"

"During the last 10 years, the combined communicant membership of all Protestant Denominations has declined by 9.5% (4,498,242) while the national population has increased by 11.4% (24,153,000). -ASCG Journal of Church Growth"

10,000 disciples praying

The Disciples of Christ are praying for the future of their church and unity of God's children. I join Clarke over at ClarkeComments in urging all Christians, especially those with roots deep in the Restoration Movement, to participate in this effort. Prayer is vital if unity is to be achieved.

Sign up here and join other Christians praying for the unity of God's children.

cruel words innocently spoken

The last four or five Sunday mornings a young woman with two boys (7-10 years old,) and her little baby, have visited the church sitting on the back row with the rest of us back pew reprobates (as we call ourselves.) Her boys are a little rowdy, but definitely no worse than most other energetic children in a church setting.

About fifteen minutes into the "worship service" her boys were squirming around a little more than usual, and while she was trying to get them under control an elderly lady sitting in front of her who has a real problem hearing, and whispers loud enough to be heard all the way to the front of the building, whispered into another elderly sisters ear; "we're going to have to find another place to sit." This remark cut me like a knife, I can only imagine how the visiting mother must have felt.

The young lady was obviously hurt and embarrassed by the remark, and within a few minutes she bundled up her boys and headed out the door. I thought she was just taking the baby out for a minute, but she never returned. It worries me that this lady may never darken our doors again, and will carry a bitter taste in her mouth for Christians in general, and our little church in particular.

The elderly sister making the unkind remark is not accountable (at least in my opinion); she is approaching ninety, hard of hearing, doesn't realize she has the loudest whisper in history, and has border-line senility. She is a sweet sister who wouldn't harm anyone, yet her innocent words just crushed this young woman.

Later I contacted one of the elders and notified him of what had happened; thankfully he has her phone number and address and will make contact with her and try to explain that the cruel words innocently spoken were not the words describing how the rest of us feel towards her and her children.

ceni, silence, and unity

The Restoration Movement from its inception promoted unity among believers; yet today we are divided and splintered as bad, or worse, than any religious group in the world. It's difficult to convey a message promoting unity when our miserable track record evidences complete failure on our part.

The scriptures teach that division is wrong among brethren, and I believe most Christians realize that barricades between God's children are certainly undesirable. So how do we go about achieving unity? One reason it's so difficult to achieve unity is because we seek unity on our own terms, we want others to adopt our belief system (traditions and all,) while foregoing their own beliefs and traditions.

Once our plea was for unity among all believers, now the divisions within our own ranks are so deep we're seeking unity primarily within the Restoration churches; a far cry from the original intent. When we demonstrate the willingness to remove the weighty traditional baggage from our own shoulders, perhaps other people might notice and respond to our noble plea.

Alan Rouse (an elder in the COC in Atlanta Georgia) is asking some tough questions on his blog Christian Unity about CENI, and the Principle of Silence, in an attempt to better understand how these concepts impact the church.

After almost 200 years of fussing and fighting over these principles I can't help but wonder about their negative import. If members within the Restoration Movement can't agree on many of the practices CENI and Silence has produced over the years, how do we expect someone outside our little group to walk some of our narrow unlit paths when we can't even find it within ourselves to walk together!

The concepts of Silence and CENI have merit to a point, but over the years they have been used in ways that have alienated Christian brothers and sisters. Unfortunately both concepts are easily manipulated to suit a persons personal preferences, and often become wedges that divide, rather than unite God's children. These concepts can easily be construed to make my viewpoint and opinions gospel truth, and your viewpoint totally wrong.

We can have unity in Christ without total agreement in every detail. CENI and Silence can work to a point, but when it's used to hammer another Christian into submission who honestly disagrees with the conclusion, I think it kicks dirt on our efforts for unity.

As long as the CENI and Silence concepts are foundational in the COC groups I wonder if there will be any tangible results in our efforts for unity.

kiss vrs megachurches

There's a plethora of wonderful thoughts in the acronym KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid.) This philosophy (or whatever) just might be beneficial to many of us, especially churches. Not that simplicity is always the answer (sometimes the problems are complex,) but applying KISS when it's appropriate, is much better than following a complex system of problem solving that only adds to the confusion, and muddles up the solution.

We only have to look at the mess Washington has created over the years; complex red-tape and unwieldy programs that are impossible to govern and maintain even by the savy lawyer/politicians appointed to keep things running smooth.

The local church, like Washington, often gets so involved in it's own little world it over-manages and puts the lost in the community on the back-burner. Megachurches usually have a glut of programs for every conceivable situation, including harvesting souls, but often over-systemized programs require a ton of time and effort to manage, and solving problems is slow and cumbersome, usually a-day-late-and-a-dollar-short, missing critical time frames and seemingly lost in committee meetings, retreats, and self-improvement courses. A whole lot of chiefs, and a dearth of warriors seldom wins a war.

Emulating big business, or the government, does not offer positive solutions for church growth and solving problems in our churches and communities. The body of Christ you are a member of may be huge, and still do all the little things well, but believe me, there are many megachurches that are ninety-percent business and organization, and ten-percent into seeking the neglected, hurting, and lost souls in their communities.

Me-e-e-e-e wrong! probably, but where the church is heading (in my opinion) with all the emphasis on entertainment and showmanship is scary, but not to worry; in the future we can proudly wear our hula skirts, leis, and sandals to a luau "worship service" complete with palm trees and warm sand to run our toes through in the aisles, while listening to the background music of Don Ho and Hilo Hatti singing their favorite Hawaiian religious chants (accompanied by a bevy of ukes,) all the time enjoying an entertaining and enlightening sermon on the religious aspects of Hawaii five-0, delivered by an eloquent preacher sporting a bright red Kimono. Now we have truly arrived.

a baptismal quandary

A few thoughts concerning the heartache my aunt endured for years while associated with a very legalistic church that valued their perfect reasoning over her peace of mind.

As a young woman, my aunt was baptized while associated with the Baptist Church, and after being persuaded to join ranks with the Church of Christ she soon realized that her prior baptism was deemed suspect by a good majority of her new brothers and sisters in Christ.

After years and years of flak about her "unholy" baptism "into" the Baptist Church she relented, and was baptized "into" the COC by a COC minister (which made everything OK;) finally she was an acceptable sister in the one and only true church.

Years afterward she still believed her original baptism was for the right reasons and acceptable to God, and rightly wondered why she was so unacceptable to members of the COC until she was rebaptized. I wonder today as well!

Many (if not most) tribes of the COC have grudgingly changed much of their Pharisaical attitudes and no longer force their straight jacket opinions on God's children. Finally in some circles, God's mercy and grace take precedence over unerring perfectionism and tradition.

billy gates hates my blog

For those unfortunate enough to stumble onto my blog using Bill Gates (IE) browser, I apologize; it's really a mess! Works fine with Mozilla Firefox and Opera browsers, but completely haywire (for whatever reason) when Mr Gates decides to enter.

Shame! shame! shame! you should be using Firefox in the first place. I'm hoping to hang on until Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 is released; then it should render web pages a little better, unless this site is messed up beyond repair.

Wouldn't hurt to change my blog title as well; too many hits on Google for "the occasional opinion" that refer to everything in the world except this blog. Didn't know it was such a popular combination of words until lately. Enough shop talk.

walking humbly before god

Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) had his problems just like the rest of us, yet whatever the circumstances, he was able to pen some of the most inspiring thoughts ever recorded. The following prayer while attributed to him is not completely verified; whether he wrote it or not, it's a winner:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is injury, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
Where there is darkness, let me bring light.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Since our actions are being watched by unbelievers, it's critical that they observe us patterning our lives after Jesus, and not merely living as hypocrites differing little from the lost. Two short Saint Francis Quotes that help me understand how important it is for the Christian to walk in the footsteps of Jesus every day while living before an unbelieving world:

It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.

Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.

And lastly, his most famous quote (IMHO) most of us recognize immediately. This quote is hanging on many of our walls, and in some of our hearts:

Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know
the difference.

19th Century American Indians Perspective Of Christianity

The "unchurched" are often totally confused with all the different views we have about God's Word and how we apply it's teachings. Not only do churches have different perspectives on what the Bible teaches, but members within each group can't even agree among themselves. And we wonder why some people become exasperated and just give up!

When American religious clerics attempted to bring Christianity to the American Indian in the 19th century they often met with disaster for the same reasons. One American Indian summed up the problem very eloquently, but I can't find the quote so I will only outline its essence.

Many blackcoats (preachers) come to tell us about their Bible and that we should belong to their church, and we listen to them and try to understand what they want us to do, but when a preacher leaves they send another blackcoat with a bible saying his church is the right church and what all the other blackcoats said was wrong. Again and again this happens, and we are confused and don't believe the white mans religion. How can every blackcoat be right when they don't agree. Before you send us any more blackcoats let them meet in your country and decide who is right, then send them to us with one voice so we can understand your religion.

We have made Christianity just as confusing to the lost today as the blackcoats did to the American Indians almost two centuries ago. Should we even wonder why some people in need of Jesus close their eyes and ears when they see a Christian approaching?

An extract from the autobiography of Plenty-Coups (1848-1932) a chief of the Crow Nation:

...Their wise ones said we might have their religion, but when we tried to understand it we found that there were too many kinds of religion among white men for us to understand, and that scarcely any two white men agreed which was the right one to learn. This bothered us a good deal until we saw that the white man did not take his religion any more seriously than he did his laws, and that he kept both of them just behind him, like helpers, to use when they might do him good in his dealings with strangers...

As the eloquent Yogi Berra would say:

this is like deja vu all over again!

Dog Paddling In A Sea Of Lost Souls

Following in the footprints of Jesus entails a whole lot more than just walking through the double Oak doors of the sanctuary two or three times a week and plopping down on a nice cushioned pew, pinching the loaf, and throwing some loose change in the collection plate.

Christians willing to jump into the fire risking their resources and their very lives in order to engage the hopeless, jobless, depressed, drug addicted, winos, prostitutes, and others that are just plain hard to love are (in my opinion) those who truly seek to pattern their lives after Jesus. How many of us have the love and courage necessary to meet the needy and lost souls in their own environment? Do we honestly believe those needing Jesus will beat a path to our "church buildings" on Sunday morning to join us in praising God when we make no effort during the week to contact them?

...I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. ~~~ Luke 15:7 ESV

Christian fellowship is absolutely great! What a wonderful experience and privilege it is to associate with our brothers and sisters in Christ, but if we spend all our time enjoying each others company and ignore the "unchurched," how will the lost find their way to Jesus? Some churches provide tons of programs geared to enrich the lives of its members, yet make little effort to impress the necessity of meeting the lost on their own turf.

Loving Jesus means we mingle with the lost and often unpleasant and unlikable people who desperately need real meaning in their lives. We must put forth every effort to show them that the way provided by God is the only answer to their problems.

Many Christians today have become complacent, and end up dog paddling in a sea of lost souls without making the slightest effort to throw out a lifeline.

Interesting Quote

Interesting quote I stumbled across on Gilbert Kerrigan's blog. He couldn't remember the source and neither can I, but it has some great points worth considering.

The average member of the church of Christ has heard 4,000 sermons, sung 20,000 songs, participated in 8,000 public prayers...and converted zero sinners.

God never intended for Christianity to be church-building centered. The message from God in the New Testament is that he intends for us to go to the lost. Instead, our usual evangelistic program involves having a nice building and nice services to which the lost can come. And if they don’t come, they are not reached. If our church-building evangelism method could win America, it would already have done so.

Our problem is that we have become spiritually lethargic. We are like a car stuck in a snow drift - the wheels are spinning and the motor is racing, but there is no forward motion. Congregations have full calendars with lots of programs and activities but no forward direction that will keep the main thing the main thing - growth.

We have become indifferent. It doesn’t really matter to us that we are not growing. People are lost, and we are evangelistically inactive.

Perhaps the Devil learned a lesson from first century Christianity. Today he is not persecuting us; he is lulling us to sleep.

Blessed Beyond Measure

Children of God living in an affluent society often take it for granted that He provides a bountiful supply of all our temporal needs. How often does our Christian brothers and sisters living in third world nations wake up to such an abundance of blessings! Do we consider those in the world who don't even have the basic needs of life such as food, clothing, and the ability to care for their children?

Perhaps we have become insensitive to a suffering world because we compare ourselves to the Jones family next door. Mr Jones has a nice home, two cars, and a motorhome just like me, so I'm not rich, just an average ol' Joe. I doubt that God shares this opinion.

We view television programs detailing the misery and famine in some foreign nation then during the commercial launch an all-out attack on the fridge for Cherry Chocolate Bon Bons without a second thought of those dying of hunger? If your guilty, join the boat, I'll be on the front seat.

As Gods' children we are blessed beyond measure, and need to keep the less fortunate in our prayers, but praying and thinking about the problems is not the ultimate answer; we need to ACT. What are we (as children of God) doing to help those in need around the world? If your like me your probably not doing enough. If you want to help some homeless children, please contact the Lifeline of Hope; they are a reputable organization (in my opinion.)

... Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. ~~Luke 12:48 ESV

Most Christians in the United States have been given much, and much will be required of us.

Hate, Division, And One Lost Soul

The church should be (and often is) the most loving and comforting society in the world; unfortunately the church can also be (thankfully not often) the most bitter, cruel, and heartless group imaginable.

A little over twenty years ago I was unfortunate enough to be in a meeting where four elders attempted to remove and withdraw fellowship from a fifth elder. For months the in-fighting was vicious among the elders and their proponents, and naturally this spilled over and infected (poisoned would be a better word) the entire church. Christian friendships I had previously thought were cemented with love were ended in a flash, and the church was segregated along "party" lines never to reunite.

This ominous general church meeting happened on a Sunday morning held right after the worship service while all the members were still present. The four united elders stood before the church and denounced the actions of one of their own, and labeled him as being liberal and following the teachings of a few radicals (probably change agents.) After the elders presented their case they announced that he would no longer be an elder in their church, and they were withdrawing fellowship from him. This was bad enough, but read on.....

The elder who was removed and withdrawn from (about 5-minutes into his early retirement) rose from his chair, took over the microphone and refused to be dismissed as an elder, and would not accept the elders decision to withdraw from him. This became quite ugly, and resulted in the four elders who were attempting to remove the (renegade?) elder each resigning one-by-one in front of the congregation. If not calamity enough, the deacons who shared the same position as the four now resigned elders, also resigned. When the last round ended only the elder who refused to be removed and two or three deacons who shared his convictions remained to serve the church.

This was the only church split I have ever witnessed. I know of many more, but the scene on this day was far worse than one could imagine if the Democratic and Republican conventions were held together in the same auditorium.

Can it get worse! Read on.... While this church was in the process of ripping itself apart, a man walked in who was not a member of this church and thinking this was the regular worship service took a seat near me. He smiled at a few people around him then settled in for a pleasant commune with God. After a few minutes of yelling, accusations, and finger-pointing he looked around confused, and I watched sadly and embarrassed as he rose slowly, head down, and without a glance at another person walked out the door...possibly forever!

Can you even imagine what this visitor was thinking when he left! I should have followed him out and attempted to explain that this was not a church service and not to get a general bad feeling about all churches because of what he had seen, but I was too shell-shocked by the unholy (yes, unholy) spectacle taking place to think straight. Over 20-years have passed and I still remember how happy he looked when he came in, and how sad he looked on leaving.

Perhaps it's not good to bring up problems a church faced years ago, but we do need to learn by our mistakes. We need to embrace our brothers and sisters wholeheartedly with unfeigned love so that these horrible ungodly events don't happen in the future. After all these years I can still hear the accusations and feel the hate (yes, hate) this church suffered when it divided.

My prayer is for a united and loving church where Gods' children love each other way too much to fracture over trivial matters or personalities.

Having A Christian Attitude

As Christians we daily thank (or should thank) our Father for the many wonderful gifts He lavishes on us; yet we're often guilty a short time later of griping and complaining about the slightest inconveniences we perceive, or imagine, that seem to be messing up our lives.

Since Christians are God's representatives on earth, should we prowl around griping all the time about our government, fellow workers, jobs, financial situations, and especially our Christian brothers and sisters! God is in control, and we will never understand certain aspects of why bad things happen to us, our friends, or our country, but as Christians we must realize that the world is looking at us, and how we handle a situation may influence a person to follow Christ, or to deny Him.

Having a Christian attitude in public places is essential. If we gripe, groan, moan, and generally cause a disturbance if the waitress brings us a bloody hamburger (when it's usually not the waitresses fault, but the cooks) how does this impact those around us? Wouldn't it be better to smile and ask politely for a little more heat on the meat? Perhaps a person in hearing range of the incident is a person who needs Jesus; I doubt they will be interested in hearing anything we say if we're inconsiderate, rude, and fussy with our waitress. We need to understand that people watch those professing to be Christians very closely, and we should always strive to behave decently so that God is glorified at all times.

We show our faith in God by our actions. If we understand that He is in control of our lives, and that all blessings flow from Him, then we should be peaceful, gentle, and loving before the world so that others will see Christ in us, rather than the world in us.

We Are Not Alone

Christians living in a tumultuous world are constantly bombarded with evil in a concerted effort to conform us to this world. Satan knows exactly how, and when, to tempt us at our most vulnerable moments. God is always with us, and even when we are tempted His right hand of protection is extended.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you will be able to endure it. ~ 1 Cor. 10:13 (ESV)

The Forty-first chapter of Isaiah is a great story of how God shows His love and mercy towards His people. Christians today have the same help and love the Israelites were offered, and He is always available for His people in times of need.

fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my right hand. ~ Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

for I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'fear not, I am the one who helps you'. ~ Isaiah 41:13 (ESV)

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God Of Israel will not forsake them. ~ Isaiah 41:17 (ESV)

We are blessed beyond measure that God is willing, and able to move mountains to protect and care for us. Isaiah chapter forty-one displays His grace and mercy to those who are His people; we need to read this promise often, and understand that He lovingly watches over us and will never forsake us.

God Upholds The Weak

Making snap judgments about people who didn't agree with MY particular Bible interpretation was once deeply embedded into my Christian thought. I mean ..... how could I be wrong! I honestly believed that I was a member of the Lord's only recognized body on earth; the Church of Christ, and it was only logical that since there was only one true church, and you were not a member of that body, you was not a Christian....after all, how could some one in the Baptist, Methodist, or Catholic church be saved, they didn't follow the New Testament pattern, and on top of that wore the wrong "church" name.

"Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;" ---Romans 14:10 (ESV)

It never fails to baffle me how I could read Romans 14:10 without seeing how judgmental I had become. Of course I didn't think I was being judgmental at the time, because my judgment wasn't geared to a brother, or at least I didn't think so.

"Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand." ---Romans 14:4 (ESV)

The Lord knows who is a member of His body, and certainly doesn't need any help from me, or anyone else to enlighten Him. What's truly amazing is the fact that He can uphold us and make us stand before Him.

We should not be worried how others judge us; the Lord knows us, loves us, and promises to uphold us. In our weakest moments, He is there ready to pick us up, dust us off, and return us to an upright position. This promise is for all His children, not just a few who believe they have attained perfection, and would dare pass judgment on their brothers and sisters.

Dark Places And Bright Lights

Hitting the local cafe for an early morning cup of coffee is my preferred method of kick-starting another day. Coffee shops are a great way to make new friends and solve the world's problems (the government should check with us before making major decisions.) Five months ago I moved to this little mountain community and didn't know anyone; my coffee breaks have now produced a few friends, and also a few problems.

From the beginning I have made it plain to each of them that I believe in God, and while not perfect, I strive daily to follow where Jesus leads. Rather than irritate them with my attempts to be "preachy" (is this a word! if not, it should be) I just use every opportunity available to let them know God loves them. Alone with them they talk about God, but as a group the subject is usually ignored.

"...Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." ---Matt. 5:16 (ESV)

These coffee jockeys while playfully aggravating one another will use rather coarse language at times, and have no qualms about using God's name improperly; not seeming to care if they offend anyone in hearing distance. While I enjoy their company and consider them friends, it bothers me to no end when they spout their foul language, especially when everyone in the coffee shop can hear them.....and here I am right in the middle of them, and on the surface not a very shinning example of being a Christian. Certainly some in the room cubby-hole all of us into the same rowdy category because of the actions of one or two who turned the air blue for a second.

While bad company corrupts good morals, how can we teach the unsaved without being in their company? People who categorize us as being sinners because we associate with the lost without knowing the situation, are usually the same people who could care less about the lost. Jesus constantly received flak for associating with those unacceptable to the mainstream religion of the day, yet He continued to seek those who were lost and hurting, and didn't let a little criticism change His direction. Our light indeed should burn brightly before a lost world, but those judging us for something they don't understand have no effect on our light, and while our light may be doused in their minds, I believe it will shine brightly before God.

We seldom reach the lost without engaging them in their own territory. If they decided to attend the church services they could catch a glimple of what it means to worship God, but most people who are not Christians don't hang around Christians; so unless you go to them on their grounds, how can you make an impact in their lives?

I'm not advocating that we associate with the lost by following them in sin, but we can by loving them, and being near them, show them a better way to live. Being seen in a crowd associating with sinners (and who of us are not sinners) may seem on the surface as being the wrong place for a Christian, but where else can a Christian be of more service than with those who need Him the most?

Your Church Might Be A Country Club, If:

More than once I have visited a church where the leaders were successful in creating a county club (anything goes) atmosphere, where the emphasis on Jesus appears to have been lost in the shuffle. Too often these country club churches seek to please the membership rather than fulfill their mission of reaching the lost. They have developed multiple programs for everything under the sun, except reaching the lost.

Country club churches dot the landscape all over our fair country, and bear little resemblance to the church depicted in the Bible. If the church is the earthly body of Christ (and it is) then we need to follow after Jesus rather than attending a church where the emphasis is placed on our entertainment instead of preparing us to live Godly lives and harvest lost souls.

Your church might be a country club, if:

Your entire weeks contribution is used to buy ice cream for the weekly Sasquatch Admiration Society meeting in room #304.

The elders proudly announce the new Martha Stewart, Spitfire Self-igniting, radically engineered, atom fueled cook stove has been installed right next to the matching refrigerator in the "church" kitchen.

You always have Sunday lunch with the IN group, and never have occasion to invite visitors-- especially the poor, ill dressed, and un-churched --to share your table. You do have a Christian image to uphold, you just can't be seen with the un-churched!

You are asked to reach deep into your pocket to embellish the fellowship hall by adding an NBA (National Basketball Association) type wood floor, and increase the size of the playing field to a full court so a few of the members can have some fun. Of course it can also be used for sock hops.

You are a member of six clubs in the church; the Boy Scouts Boosters, Camp XIII Bonfire Extinguishers, Boar Hunters of America, Yellow Primrose Association, Chicago Bear Tailgaters, and the Blue Boys '73 Corvette Club, but can't locate the verse in the bible where "Jesus Wept."

Everyone during the worship service is wearing their favorite NFL T-shirt while munching on popcorn, eating hot dogs, and sipping cokes.

The church leaders turn their heads when you are sinful, and go out of their way to remove any possible guilt that just might harm your psyche.

Enough!

I prefer a small church with a big heart, using the Lord's money wisely to feed the poor, care for the sick, and save the lost; not pampering the in-house membership.