It’s Sunday and I’m feeling the love of God on His day. I turned on some of my Christian music. As a quartet and choir sang about the Majesty of God, I bowed my head to pray for our country.
I watched the sun top over some trees and thought about the terrible situation in America. America is much worse than it has been in previous years. We have horrible violence, anarchy, and a general acceptance of evil and it’s consequences. The laws of God are being broken not with remorse or sadness, but with the public pride the children of Israel had while God was talking to Moses on Mount Sinai. (Exodus 32 )
Where’s the church? I thought. Has the current church and their new theology had a role in what’s happened to America?
The thought completely broke my heart. I love the church. I love it’s people, it’s message and it’s mission. Yet, something is wrong. I know it and I can feel it.
Smaller churches are closing while larger churches or meeting places (as some like to be called) surge. Most contemporary church goers are proud of the large temples and the bulging attendees. They boast that surely they are in God’s will or they wouldn’t be growing. One person (totally frustrated with me) made the point that smaller churches don’t have the resources of larger churches. Those larger churches can have much better programs and therefore can help more people.
That’s a great argument except for one thing. Where is the power of the church? Are they only 
growing in numbers or are the individuals becoming stronger more passionate Christians? If our contemporary churches are growing, why aren’t the cities around them getting better? I’ll explain in later posts – but I remember when churches used the power of prayer to change political policies and caused even the worst politician to ask for the local church to help.
God’s evaluation of the success of a church is not based on numbers. Until you understand that – you don’t have His view of His people. God’s evaluation of church success is based on the hearts and minds of those who attend. He doesn’t give a preacher an A+ unless that preacher is like the disciples – willing to lose followers by preaching the truth. If a preacher is afraid to talk about Hell, the entire congregation will not be led to conviction and will be in danger of satan’s temptations. That preacher has failed his people.
***This is important **** I am sure there are large churches that do preach the word and do promote revival, evangelism and living your faith! I know they exist. The problem is that even in some of those – as always – the unsaved can hide. Even in some of those churches where the pastor is pushing to do God’s will, the congregation still isn’t impacting their town. Why?
Here’s my problem….America has had 200 years of religious freedom. 200 years to evangelize this country and to help the majority of people come to Christ. There was a beautiful time when most people respected Christians and knew in their hearts that “devout Christians” were our greatest resource. There was a time when even sinners recognized that a community built on the values of faith would be a safer better place to live.
When the great revivals began to flow through our country, it changed communities and cities by changing the way people lived. Yes, there were places where awful things still happened and evil still flourished. There has always been more work to be done. But, for a period of time – maybe several different times – the church had an impact on people.
I grew up in cities like Andy Griffith’s Mayberry. Marion, Indiana in 1958 was a ghost town on Sunday because 90% of the citizens were in church – praying repentant prayers and asking God to Bless America. The members of our church spent many hours every week praying at the alter. They gave sacrificially and volunteered without being asked. Evangelism was more important than anything they could do or buy for themselves.
The church has had 200 years to evangelize America and make it better. Yet as the explosion of mammoth churches and internal member apathy has increased, America has turned away from the message of Christ. Prayer, Bibles and innocent children are not celebrated in schools. Instead, our children are taught to deny their own DNA, accept every perversion and become confused and angry about every area of life. The marketplace, military, and social gathering places are all under attack to support Godless agenda’s. Under the guise of diversity or democracy Christians turn their head and accept every evil that surfaces.
The church must have failed miserably when a President announces to the world that we are no longer a Christian nation……..and we have very little evidence to disprove him. In fact, there was no outrage from the Christian community except for a few posts on social media. Were we silent because we knew he was right?
I recently met a lady in a waiting room and the conversation led to a rather large church in town. She admitted that she no longer attended church. “Oh, I went to that church for a while until I thought about the people there. They don’t live any better Christian lives than I do. I think it’s just a social club to meet and talk about stuff they have no intention of doing. They didn’t impact my life so I decided I had better things to do with my Sunday.”
I struggled with my response because I knew she was right and I was ashamed for that church.
Growing up in the church of the 50’s to present day, there was a strength and commitment then that you don’t see now. Prayer was everything. Wednesday night prayer meeting was not just a name. We met, sang a song, heard a short sermon and then got on our knees and prayed! In the last five years I’ve asked many pastors why they don’t have their people pray at the alter. Their answer, “Our people don’t do that anymore.”
My dad’s Sunday morning services always ended with an alter call – and we prayed! Sunday night was a true evangelistic meeting. I remember the sermons on Hell and what God expected of his children. We listened, we cried and the alter calls lasted for hours. Everyone had written prayer requests taped to their fridges. The family Bible sat on the coffee table and was used every day. We read our Bibles and knew the stories and we looked for ways to incorporate those heroic acts into our own lives. I recently asked a church deacon how often he read his Bible. His face turned red. “Not like I used to. I’m just so busy. I hope I can get back to it when I’m older.”
The most telling question of all is when I ask other Christians…..”How many people have you led to Christ? How many people will you see in Heaven because you witnessed to them?” Pastors do not have an exclusive on evangelism.
I urge you today to pray first (always pray first) – and then take a hard look at your church. Is it evangelistic? Does it promote alter time, conviction, repentance and sacrificial living? Do you feel those you worship with are committed to the desire to see all their relatives, neighbors, friends and even strangers find Christ. Is your heart broken because someone you know will not make Heaven if you don’t share Christ with them?
This election is important because the Supreme Court will change with the next president. We must preserve our religious freedoms so we can correct the lawlessness we may have caused by our Christian silence. We desperately need to see the hand of God and experience a deep revival in our country.
Will you pray with me?
Dear Jesus, please forgive me. Forgive me for not speaking up more and witnessing to my neighbors and friends. Please forgive me for not being a better follower of you. Forgive me for not being salt and light to this sick and depraved world. Please give me the strength to change my tactics and win this country for you. Please give me the strength to stand tall and strong no matter how difficult the conversation or attacks become. Bring other Christians to the realization that your people must unite and be as one in order to win our country back. Teach us to think like you and to put your commands first in our lives.
Bless our country dear Jesus. May we always be free to share your love with those around us. May we always be free to worship without fear. May we always be free to teach our children how to walk with you. Thank you dear Jesus and please Bless America.
See you tomorrow.