The Marvelous Message

     In my last two articles, I explained two imperative steps that are needed for a diminishing church to thrive once more. First, genuine confession as revealed in James 5:16. Second , renewed dedication as revealed in Romans 12:1-2. As I stated before, I am in no way claiming to be some grand expert in the field of church growth. I am simply magnifying what has already been established in the scriptures. Also, I would encourage you to read the book Autopsy of a Deceased Church by Thom Rainer. It is an easy read, but very informative to what a dying church really looks like and what can be done about it.      You must understand that all of us has to be careful when it comes to relying on steps, formulas, and principles. Because, Christians tend to employ more devotion and care in following a “do good” checklist rather than in simply walking with God. Throughout my life, I have heard preachers say, “If you love God, then you’ll do more for Him!” Instead of conveying the wonderf

      My last article partially summarized the book by Thom Rainer called Autopsy of a Deceased Church. It gives interesting insights as to whether a church is healthy, sick, or near death. In 2014, over 3500 churches closed their doors. There are stats that show this to be the yearly average, while others record twice this amount! Of course, some are willing to point out the claim that yearly there are slightly more new church plants in America than there are church closings. However, the questions still remain as to why so many churches close and how a congregation can remedy this.      Sadly, some church members write off their declining attendance by affirming that people are more wicked and the younger generation just wants to be entertained. Though on the surface it may appear this way to an average church goer, this kind of cynical attitude is just a cop-out. People say this when they don’t want to take responsibility for their lack of witness and influenc

       Recently, I was given a copy of Thom Rainer’s book  Autopsy of a Deceased Church.  It is a very short read, but something that I believe is needed for most churches in America, especially those in the Bible belt. The book is filled with real life illustrations and scenarios of churches that, through bitter disunity or lackadaisical Christian living, ended up dying. What I found interesting was the meter Rainer used for checking the condition of a church. It ranged from healthy, symptoms of sickness, very sick, to dying. For example, a  very sick  church would be one that had continual numerical decline, stints of apathy, little impact in the community, lack of new members, short tenure of pastors, and an attitude of only reflecting on the past  glory days  of the church.        It is a sobering read, but oh how needful it is for those of us who are Christians to examine ourselves and our churches with an open and honest heart! Go to several young strangers in your community