Please tell me I am not alone here. Is any one else pulling out their hair or at least scratching their heads at the state of the Church?
I just wrote a really long piece on this subject then thought about it and said, no, just make it simple and too the point. So here goes. But can I be brief?
What is with all of the Bishops and now even the Apostles? Do they really do anything more than they did when they were just pastors and evangelists?
And the so-called prophets, 99.9% of them would have been stoned to death in Old Testament times. 99% should be stoned today, or maybe they are stoned when they are speaking. Excuse me but I just could not resist.
Where is the pastoring? Where is the shepherding? The sheep are dazed & confused, and many, if not most pastors are busy with the latest technology, hot teaching coming down the pike from the latest mega conference, Charisma magazine, hot book, or the internet. I think there are too many pastors anyway.
What happened to sharing the Word as it is written, for its own sake and then asking and expecting people to live by it?
These "Power Pastors," or is it Bishops and Apostles, have all kinds of new and improved ideas, but in the end poll after poll says Christians live just like the world does.
I just received a forward of a post from a friend. Trust me this is no joke. The original post was from a woman who had come to the conclusion that she was too attractive to go to church. How did she come to that conclusion? Her time associated with church was spent in worrying about what to wear, in dealing with fearful or envious women in the church who were less attractive, and fighting off lust filled men. She finally decided it was just too much trouble and chose to avoid that by getting close to God alone, at home.
By the standards of some leaders today the answer for this "sister" would be that she just needs to find a church full of beautiful people like herself, where she can feel at home. She just has not looked hard enough. Surely such a church is out there for her.
Of course let's get real. Where in scripture does it say that our gathering is supposed to be about us, or to make us feel good? The first problem is when we think too much about us in the first place. It is not about us, it is about Him. We gather, or should gather to seek Jesus and His Holy Spirit. If we seek and find anything less we have missed it. Had this lady been seeking Jesus, as should the others, none of the above would be an issue.
Most of you that I know, and to whom I am writing know, of what I speak. We have lived it. Think back, what changed? Why do we settle for less now? Why do we seek power, flash, or size?
I say we need some real prophets. Not the ones who have big meetings, send out weekely prophetic updates, or have big churches. But the kind that are not afraid of telling the truth; who will call sin sin, and error error.
Where are they? I know they are out there and I pray we will seek them out, listen to their words and encourage others to do the same.
Let's stop the nonesense, let's live in the world not of it.
