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.
I know that when we read something like this, we find it hard to accept, but look at the warning in Acts 20:28 - Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. you see being a leader in the church is way more trying then most know, it takes all you got, and understandably, weariness comes over time, complacency kicks in and we see the church drop in number and fewer souls saved. So, it is very important to back your leaders up in their quest for lost souls, work hard for what Christ died for. Faithfulness, patience and passion the three key ingredients to a successful church, and there is a special verse for this... "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Cor. 1:10). what this means is simple, if you want to see souls saved, if you want to see the church grow and be a beacon in the community, then you have to all have the same goal, same spirit and same ability to see others as Christ first saw you and I. And this is what the leaders of the churches today need to adhere to, growing a church family based on the basic principals of Christ and not a bunch of man written laws and amendments made to separate churches from one another....now do not misread me, I understand there has to be rules and regulations in order to keep things in line with the scriptures, and this is fine as long as we do not take it another step further by coveting a person or a building in order to make the church more appealing to outsiders. Case in point...1 Timothy 3:12 - Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. in my experiences I have seen this scripture laid out in church's Articles of faith and used as ruling factor in the selection of deacons in the church. I have also seen it rewritten ( in the minds of those who wish to use it for their gain) so that men who are divorced & remarried, who's ex-wife is alive, can still hold the office of deacon, look at the end of this verse, "ruling their own houses as well". I have been married to the same wife for over 43 years...there have been trials and troubles, arguments and tears fights and shouting matches, but we (through the Lord) stuck in there and it has made our marriage stronger over the course of time. And this is what the end of the verse is trying to bring out, if a man drops his wife, because of infidelity or adultery or poor management of finances or what ever the cause, these are all fixable though God, and the same intended reasoning behind a deacon being able to rule over his house so he can do the same over the church. Instead of getting fed up and mad and walking out on the body....
Final thought....if we are to be leaders in God's church, then we ought to act like the men that God called us to be. Plain and simple. God fearing, honest hard working and patient men who are striving for the continuance of God's plan of Salvation for all. Never to think of ourselves as being better then the next person, always showing mercy to those who need it and compassionate towards our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, never judging and always in prayer. I have been told by some that I have offended them because of my strictness to the scriptures, I tell them this..." I WOULD RATHER TOAST YOU A LITTLE WHILE YOU ARE HERE ON THIS EARTH THEN TO WATCH YOU BURN FOR ETERNITY IN HELL."
