InPursuit

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This week on InPursuit:

The Church (Capital “C” Church, meaning every saved person) is much older than the New Testament, and whether or not you believe that, or even believe in a universal church, all depends on how you view Israel.

Tune in, next Thursday, 4 February 2021, on InPursuit...

Title: The (Local) Church Killer
Series: Off Topic
Author: Don E. Shotwell, Jr.

If we as a church are not here to reach our community, then WHY ARE WE HERE? The attitude that’s not inclusive, that’s all about “me,” that says, “as long as MY needs are met, we are just fine;” the attitude that cares more about what “I” want, “my” preferences, “my” music style, “my” precious offering plates, and “my” tastes, IS A CHURCH KILLER. That attitude MUST die. If that attitude does not die, your church WILL.

HEALTHY. THINGS. GROW.

Healthy things grow! It’s not that difficult a concept to understand. So if you’re a member of a church that runs under 200 people, which I read somewhere that 90% in the US do, or if your church has money problems, or if nothing can get done and the church is being choked because “everybody has to vote on it,” or if your church cannot keep a pastor, or if your church holds the “ways of the past” as a “hero,” or if the words, “this is the way we’ve always done it” has ever left your mouth, or if your church is in danger of closing its doors... YOUR CHURCH IS NOT HEALTHY.

And if I’m being honest, the one I’m in right now isn’t, either.

Somewhere around 92% of churches in the United States are unhealthy.

But if that sounds like your church, ask yourself this one simple question:

“Am I part of the problem or the solution?”

Which logically leads to a few more questions:

“Is it MY attitude that needs to die?”
“How can I help others understand this?”
“Am I reaching my community for Christ?”
“If people looked at me, would they see Jesus, the one who loves me, who commanded me to love my neighbor — not just my fellow church member, my NEIGHBOR, which is ALL humankind, starting with the community that surrounds my church — the one who ate with sinners and tax collectors, the one who, in my retches, found me and said, ‘you are worth it to ME,’ and gave His life on a Roman cross FOR ME, am I washing people’s feet, am I behaving like Jesus, am I representing my fellow man to Jesus, am I the priest that Jesus called me to be in 1 Peter 2:5, 9, following the job description I was given in Deuteronomy 10:8-9, am I the living intersection between God and people — or am I more worried about how long this post is?”

Now ask yourself:

“Am I the one who needs to change on a foundational, fundamental level?”

My former pastor, Pastor Lopez, used to call that an “honest evaluation.”

People are dying and going to hell, suffering for all eternity and completely separated from God. All the while, we sit in our ivory towers on a hill — where has our light gone? We are not supposed to be hidden, but nobody’s coming. That’s because God has taken our lampstand.

Jesus said, “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place--unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:4-5, NASB)

That “first love” is Jesus Christ, and loving him means loving people. ALL people. Even the ones who aren’t members of your church. ESPECIALLY the ones who aren’t members of THE church. That’s everyone who is saved. Those who don’t believe in a universal church might as well remove Ephesians, Romans, Colossians and parts of Revelation from the Bible. “One body, one baptism, one spirit.”

That word “repent” is the Greek (because the New Testament was written in Greek, very important to know the original language and authors meaning) word “metanoeō.” It means “to change one’s mind.” Change. I know, to some that’s a scary word. I’ve been disabled for the last 4 years. You think change doesn’t scare me? But I am more willing to be obedient to my God.

Changing that attitude, the one that kills churches? It starts with changing your mind.

It starts with repentance.

InPursuit is becoming a PODCAST! I'll be posting a link soon, but we will be on iTunes AND Spotify! Be sure to check it out! We are going to start by going back through our worship series to give me time to get things situated. So, if you would like to hear AUDIO versions of these blog posts, be sure to check it out!

God bless,

Don E. Shotwell, Jr.
Founder of InPursuit and OverHaul Ministries