Phillipians 4: 6,7 says.. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
In the church community I have seen some disturbing things over the past few years, considering the obligation of prayer & faith. And this is my own opinion of what is happening and how to "fix" it according to the word of God!
#1......so many smaller churches are closing their doors because of lack of attendance, financial troubles and even the lack of true leadership within the church itself! Am I wrong? NO......according to statistics from major Denominational Head Quarters, churches that lack Spiritual Leadership tend to make hasty decisions based on economics instead of faith fed prayers, this is all too often seen in churches where the attendance has dropped dramatically because of age, location or plain old lack of the urgency of seeing souls saved by reaching out into the community by the body and its leaders. Why are these churches failing? It is "in my opinion" due to the lack of holding true to the first few words in the scriptures above..." Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer..." I know this is true through experiences of my own, I have been in churches where a Pastor has retired, and the body elected to place want adds in newspapers seeking a replacement. not dropping to their knees in prayer, searching out God's will, but relying on the black and white print of a want ad, my goodness no wonder so many churches are closing their doors.
#2....the church that is dying off because of the age of its body, is doing so because the body itself has grown weary, why? Well, it is simple, working for Christ requires a true passion, a faithful passion, a patient passion for the lost and undone, and over time if the results are not as great as they were in the beginning, we as humans, tend to slack off, and become lazy, where once the urgency was there, now complacency has crept in, and the leadership has dropped the ball, looking instead for tithe and offering verses souls and congregational growth through the saving of these souls and the nurturing of the body once these souls are grafted into the family tree of Christ. Thus the word "supplication" comes into play...Supplication (also known as petitioning) is a form of prayer, wherein one party humbly or earnestly asks another party to provide something, either for the party who is doing the supplicating (e.g., "Please spare my life.") or on behalf of someone else (e.g., "Please spare my child's life."). According to Wikipedia....now look close, by petitioning on behalf of...the church seeks "humbly" providence for the lost, and in doing so, helps to secure the body populas instead watching of the attendance drop, it will grow, and continue to grow because of the church's efforts through prayer and faith instead of seeking their helps through worldly operations. Not to put the blame of the elderly since I myself now consider myself a member of this prestigious group, but the leadership in charge of the spiritual growth of the body has fallen prey to the worldly concerns by becoming slack of their Spiritual Responsibilities and bearing the cross of burden in order to see growth and nurturing that growth to help secure the churches standing. Am I pointing my finger at the leaders of our churches? Yes, afterall Jesus himself looked at the leadership seriously and did not like what He saw, as they were leading the people down the wrong path, He also cut and pruned those who did not measure up to His Father's requirements, commandments, and this is why He worked so hard to nurture the men He chose to carry on the church. END OF PART ONE NEXT PART TO COME SOON......PRAY FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH PRAY FOR YOUR PASTOR AND THOSE WHO ARE GIVEN THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CHURCH'S GROWTH.....pappy
