Morning after Morning before the sun rises I pass church after church. Most of them clustered in groups within a few hundred yards of each other.
As I pass by I see the little bit of illumination given off from entrance lights and security lights. The church signs look like any other business signs that I pass. The billboards that advertise one church or another speak of things that people want and will sometimes give times when the church is “open” in the same manner the businesses advertising on the billboards around theirs do.
Where is the difference? What sets these churches apart from the grocery stores and malls around them? Why does it seem that the only light these churches seem to give off is what comes from the electrical systems?
If all of these churches were half as active with “customers” as the businesses they seemingly seek to emulate, they would have a huge and undeniable impact on the world around them.
If they spent as much time, money, and effort just putting the gospel out to those around them as they do their advertising and enticements…
Why do we act as if we are not at war, or as if the weapons we have been given are useless?
What will it take to change this pathetic and deepening trend to be like the rest of the world?
Noah warned of judgment, and spoke of one way to be saved. How many churches are warning the world of what is coming? Compare that number with those who focus on getting butts in the pews and with the exceptions of a very few areas/churches the two numbers will be vastly different.
Yes, some focus on the "get ‘em here so we can tell ‘em the good news" approach, but for every person those signs might bring in the door, how many hundreds will just go on by without ever hearing the gospel that we are supposed to be proclaiming. How many of those would “hear” the good news if it was posted on that same sign, instead of a church advertisement that is practically indistinguishable from the store advertisements on the same street. How many would “hear” if the congregations got out and talked with those around them?
This is not an issue of those who “hear” rejecting the gospel. It is an issue of those who have already heard and responded to the gospel not sharing the gospel.
As I pass by I see the little bit of illumination given off from entrance lights and security lights. The church signs look like any other business signs that I pass. The billboards that advertise one church or another speak of things that people want and will sometimes give times when the church is “open” in the same manner the businesses advertising on the billboards around theirs do.
Where is the difference? What sets these churches apart from the grocery stores and malls around them? Why does it seem that the only light these churches seem to give off is what comes from the electrical systems?
If all of these churches were half as active with “customers” as the businesses they seemingly seek to emulate, they would have a huge and undeniable impact on the world around them.
If they spent as much time, money, and effort just putting the gospel out to those around them as they do their advertising and enticements…
Why do we act as if we are not at war, or as if the weapons we have been given are useless?
What will it take to change this pathetic and deepening trend to be like the rest of the world?
Noah warned of judgment, and spoke of one way to be saved. How many churches are warning the world of what is coming? Compare that number with those who focus on getting butts in the pews and with the exceptions of a very few areas/churches the two numbers will be vastly different.
Yes, some focus on the "get ‘em here so we can tell ‘em the good news" approach, but for every person those signs might bring in the door, how many hundreds will just go on by without ever hearing the gospel that we are supposed to be proclaiming. How many of those would “hear” the good news if it was posted on that same sign, instead of a church advertisement that is practically indistinguishable from the store advertisements on the same street. How many would “hear” if the congregations got out and talked with those around them?
This is not an issue of those who “hear” rejecting the gospel. It is an issue of those who have already heard and responded to the gospel not sharing the gospel.