Thoughts on The Church

Our church, Highland Baptist Church, is preparing to do a 40 Days of Purpose campaign. Thinking about this and the Evangelism Celebration I recently attended made me wonder “Why isn’t the church effective today?”

Why isn’t the church effective today? That is an interesting question. And, depending on who you talk to, you will receive different answers. I have an answer that, if you think about it, is very simple yet very profound: the church isn’t effective today because the church–the people–isn’t real. How can the church be real, you may ask…isn’t the church just the building? No! Wrong! The church is those who are saved. We assemble with other beleivers to worship and be more effective at our mission.

Why isn’t the church real? Well, I think the church quit being real quite some time ago. Sure, every congregation has had people who are real and who really care about God, but church has become something we do rather than something we are. People, wake up! The church needs to develop a heart for the lost! We need to desire to be right with God! If we the church were to seek God and repent, revival would sweep the nation! We would have another Great Awakening!

The world sees that the church isn’t real anymore and doesn’t want part of it. They want answers, but want people to care about them. They want people to care. They want real people. They don’t want 3 points and a prayer any more. They want people to invest in them. In the past, everyone played church and it was accepted. Because everyone did it, it was easier to be fake. Now, people want the answers we have, but they want…no need…to hear it from someone who cares.

[Update 2012-12-26 14:44:51]  The old link that would describe the Great Awakening went dead.  I’ve replaced http://www.wfu.edu/~matthetl/perspectives/four.html with a link to wikipedia.

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