"I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert. I lie awake, and am like a sparrow alone on the housetop." (Psalm 102:6, 7)
How many such people do I walk right past every day? How many sit in our church gatherings, how many in those large, mega-church youth groups, men's and women's groups, staff meetings, how many in our small congregation who sit right in front or behind me? Dear Lord Jesus, help me to see them.
There are reliable statistic which tell us that, by far, most "church growth" in the United States is due to people leaving smaller churches to attend larger churches; I have noticed this for decades. People love to talk about how large their church is, how great is the worship, how "relevant" is the youth program, the wonderful, extensive men's and women's groups, etc., but it is not "church growth"; it's church rearranging. It is sort of a "Walmart" phenomenon. Thousands of small hardware stores, grocery stores, clothing stores, in the US have closed over recent decades due to the "mega" stores. But I can still remember stores "where everybody kn[e]w your name."
I met in someone's home with a few people some years ago on a regular monthly basis, but it did not last. Truthfully, I got the sense that there was just not enough hype, not enough "newness-excitment." Of course, people are all "so busy" now-a-days. Most large churches make sure of that. They keep people so busy, so "active" that they don't have time for family, picnics, quiet walks, sitting in a coffee shop with a fellow Follower of Jesus, or an unbelieving acquaintance, and really listen to that person who is talking with us, one who is, "....like a pelican of the wilderness;..like an owl of the desert..., like a sparrow alone on the housetop."
If this sounds like disappointment, sour grapes, I'm sorry. I really don't think it is. It is "soul searching" time for me. I am aware more and more of just how our Lord Jesus had so much time, viz., took so much time for the blind Bartimaeus, the woman at the well, the widow of Nain, Zachaeus, et. al. Do I have time for them? Or are we so taken up with the "mega" that we cannot see the, "pelican of the wilderness," the, "owl of the desert," the, "sparrow alone on the housetop."
Father, in Jesus' Name,............. Amen.
*****************
Some have asked about the title of the book I read-- The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors that will Crash the American church...and How to Prepare. I don't agree with some of what I would call his acceptance, political science, but I can tell you that the book has "intensified" my prayers for the Church in the United States of America.
How many such people do I walk right past every day? How many sit in our church gatherings, how many in those large, mega-church youth groups, men's and women's groups, staff meetings, how many in our small congregation who sit right in front or behind me? Dear Lord Jesus, help me to see them.
There are reliable statistic which tell us that, by far, most "church growth" in the United States is due to people leaving smaller churches to attend larger churches; I have noticed this for decades. People love to talk about how large their church is, how great is the worship, how "relevant" is the youth program, the wonderful, extensive men's and women's groups, etc., but it is not "church growth"; it's church rearranging. It is sort of a "Walmart" phenomenon. Thousands of small hardware stores, grocery stores, clothing stores, in the US have closed over recent decades due to the "mega" stores. But I can still remember stores "where everybody kn[e]w your name."
I met in someone's home with a few people some years ago on a regular monthly basis, but it did not last. Truthfully, I got the sense that there was just not enough hype, not enough "newness-excitment." Of course, people are all "so busy" now-a-days. Most large churches make sure of that. They keep people so busy, so "active" that they don't have time for family, picnics, quiet walks, sitting in a coffee shop with a fellow Follower of Jesus, or an unbelieving acquaintance, and really listen to that person who is talking with us, one who is, "....like a pelican of the wilderness;..like an owl of the desert..., like a sparrow alone on the housetop."
If this sounds like disappointment, sour grapes, I'm sorry. I really don't think it is. It is "soul searching" time for me. I am aware more and more of just how our Lord Jesus had so much time, viz., took so much time for the blind Bartimaeus, the woman at the well, the widow of Nain, Zachaeus, et. al. Do I have time for them? Or are we so taken up with the "mega" that we cannot see the, "pelican of the wilderness," the, "owl of the desert," the, "sparrow alone on the housetop."
Father, in Jesus' Name,............. Amen.
*****************
Some have asked about the title of the book I read-- The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors that will Crash the American church...and How to Prepare. I don't agree with some of what I would call his acceptance, political science, but I can tell you that the book has "intensified" my prayers for the Church in the United States of America.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
