The deep dark skeleton in the church’s theoretical closet is its members. The church is imperfect and full of totally depraved people. The church faces many problems when it’s individual members fail to obeying our Lord’s commands. In Mark 12:30-31, Jesus tells his disciples, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength; and the second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” The biggest problem with the church is that we can not perfectly carry out these commands. Fortunately, God uses imperfect beings for His perfect will.
The church from it’s conception constantly fails loving the Lord with all it’s heart. The Israelites were always loving other idols. We, the church, fill our hearts with other things to love above God. David who loved God with his whole heart failed. In 1 Chronicles 28:3, “God said to [David]'You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.' Yet, the LORD, the God of Israel, chose [David] from all the house of [his] father to be king over Israel forever.” Even though, David killed Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband and God punished him by not letting him be the one to build His temple, God loved and used David to establish His kingship. Even though the members of God’s kingdom fail, He still uses those of us, who are called to continue the kingdom..
The church falls short from loving the Lord with all their mind as they should. Many church members often forget that spending time with God is not reserved only for Sunday worship. We should be constantly be in communion with and be meditating on God and His word. God needs t...
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...nnot find salvation anywhere outside of God.
In conclusion, the biggest problem the church faces is the sinful nature of its members, who fail to keep His greatest commandments. The members and I do not love God and our neighbors as we should, and we fall short of the glory of God. However, there is hope for the church through Jesus. In Ephesians 4:11-12, the Bible tells us that “[God] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [spiritual gifts] to equip the saints for the work of ministry,[and] for building up the body of Christ.” He knows we are evil, but he loved and chosen to save us and equip us to build his kingdom. Ultimately the church’s biggest problem is that God has not completed the sanctification process in the members of her body. However, God is sovereign and in his perfect plan, he is perfecting her completely.
The size of the Christian megachurch is manifested in its title, which demonstrates that this typically prodigious and resplendent edifice sustains a weekly attendance of at least two thousand congregants; and that the majority of the mega churches are of the Protestant persuasion, of which its doctrine is basically the antithesis of Catholicism’s authoritarian structures, as well as the other major religions of Islam, Hinduism and Old Testament Judaism (The Hartford Seminary). Over the years, there has not only been an enormous emergence of mega churches here in the US, but also of many disparaging remarks from the public, comedians, books and the news media, about this institution. Some assert that these types of churches are not really concerned about the souls of the people, and they are prodigious only because of the avarice, a misrepresentation of Jesus Christ and a manipulation of the hearts of people, in conjunction with a gross negligence of spiritual leadership. The truth is, that in some instances there is malfeasance, but in others, the church is led by the Spirit of God with vigor and integrity.
In the article, How Jesus Transforms the Church, Skip Ryan states that “Christ changes us by loving us.” “He purposes to love us.” He also states, “I want you to see the overwhelming, transforming, marvelous, empowering, equipping, and graceful love of Christ, which is only seen against the backdrop of how completely and totally unworthy of it you and I are.” “When someone loves you, it really has the catalytic power in your life to change you; when you are loved, you are transformed by that love, and the degree of the transformation usually correlates to the depth and extent of the love.” “Christ does not first make you holy and then love you.
Many people believe that today’s Christians are too sheltered and oblivious to the real world around them. When asked, many outsiders compared today’s Christians to “The Titanic - a ship about to sink, but unaware of its fate” or “a hobby that diverts people’s attention” (Kinnaman 120). It is important Christians to not just stay secluded in one group (church group), but to be talking to others (outsiders) so we are aware of the problems and thing that are going on in the world around us. As Christians we are called to be disciples of Jesus by reaching out to those in need, praying for those around us, and calling people to become the church. In “Unchristian” David Kinnaman outlines three main things we as Christians should include in our lives: accepting responsibility, not being fearful, helping the desperate, being prepared, and keeping a balance.
Therefore, church equals people and Christians are people. People are still inwardly corrupt and sinful so you will never find the ideal church on earth. You will have to wait until you are in heaven and Heb12:23 was quoted; To the general assembly and church of the firstborn ones, which are written in heaven … and to the spirits of just men made perfect. 2. ASSEMBLED means they meet together.
It is apparent that the issues are similar at Willow Creek and New Hope, as both have experienced great growth. They are addressing these issues by adding additional services and by assignment of small groups or small ministries to meet their congregation's needs. They have been successful in addressing the issue based on each church's individual needs. Willow Creek has added services to accommodate the service seekers or the un-churched. New Hope attempts to match congregation member's needs through joining auxiliaries or other ministries of the church.
All of us have encountered someone in our lifetime – a family member, a co-worker, a neighbor, or an acquaintance – who asked us WHY? Why do we pour all of our talents, all of our gifts, and all of our service into church?
In an age when culture continues to lower standards of intellect, Marva Dawn makes compelling observations and suggestions for the Church to rethink its’ strategy on impacting society. How do we evangelize without weakening the message of what we are communicating? The majority of her text focuses on the worship environment generally, but later she focuses on music, preaching, and liturgy specifically. According to Dawn, a gathering of believers should emphasize God as the subject and object of worship, challenge each individual to grow in godly character, and accentuate the community of believers (not only in the room, but throughout history as well). Through this grid, she encourages leaders and participants to evaluate each worship element. If these primary goals are accomplished, then worship will not be empty and simpleminded. Instead the worship atmosphere would be held to a higher standard and, she believes, both pleasing to God and attractive to those who do not know God.
“The call is something that is an indescribable joy and an indefinable burden at the same time.” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 32). There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a congregation of the redeemed moving forward in their faith. However exciting this may be, it is usually not the thrill that propels the pastor in his service. It is the burden placed on the pastor by God that compels him in his work. The pastor understands that he is largely responsible for the work of God being accomplished by his faithfulness to his calling. “All through the Word of God and down through the annals of history, when God has moved it has almost always been attended by the preaching of the Word.” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 31)
When the Christian church was first founded many question arose from its formation. What was this new organization and what was to become of it? There are many interpretation of what the church should be. They range from small community church lead by a reverend to a worldwide church lead by a pope. I will argue the latter. That the original meaning from the bible was to a have a single unified church under the primacy of the bishop of rome. This can be supported in three areas the historical, biblical, and theological reasoning.
To start, the most favorable model of the Church from the Models of Church is Church as herald. In this model of the word of God comes first. The word of God is the gospel or the bible. The Bible is what is emphasized the most in this model. The Bible is the priority of the herald model. The Church is the messenger of the Gospel. The Church preaches the Kingdom of God. This model is a kerygmatic model meaning that the Church receives a message and must pass it on to someone else. The message is preached to the people. “The Church is a congregation that is gathered together by the word, a word that ceaselessly summons it to repentance and reform” (Dulles 82). The Church always calls on its members to change and update their vie...
That isn’t to say there aren’t pockets here and there where that spirit is alive, but as the Church is perceived as a body, so will the world perceive its function, which is largely as a partial paralytic. The nature of its mass congregation is in my opinion, reduced to following a ritualized practice that serves security of the one’s own soul, while vainly proclaiming messages from a practiced pulpit for world outreach in daily life. Then everyone goes home. The outreach that does get done tends to be of a charitable nature, highly organized and outperformed by many secular outfits, where the inductive power is carried by genuine empathy, a desire to help fellow man. Again, the Church means well, but its efforts seem to move with a sense of obligation, rather than true mission. I would argue that the congregations get too large, too organized, do not engage the issues that face culture ...
Some people are better than others, and others appear to be better than others, but are not. A direct parallel of this would be churches in today’s world. Churches are often known as peaceful, honest, accepting, and nonjudgmental. However, many churches of today contain many hypocrisies. The list is long and extensive and varies from racism, rape, and prejudice people.
In some ways, we should not be surprised by the behavior and lack of manners shown by some Christians in the church today. Today, we find in church liars, backbiters, gossips, and other detestable behaviors that wouldn't make God happy. Too many of us forget that the church isn't the building, but the people who worship in there are. We often think that the building is what God cherishes the most, and miss the point of what it is for. Many self-proclaimed followers of Christ do not fully understand what they're to be doing as Christians, and so they get tangled up focusing on everything but God.
Why is the Catholic Church so corrupt in its teaching? They have found ways to control the knowledge that their followers contemplate on. The control of knowledge and power is the foundation for every successful religious organization. The Catholic Church have acquired this power through strategic control on the mind of its follower. The Catholic Church propagate their ideals as righteous in order to be accepted; for without this acceptance, they are faced with the task of initiating this power through force. So to beguile their followers, they present themselves in “sheep clothing” (KJV, Matt 7:15). They are accepted as blameless, peaceful, loving and harmless but in actuality, “they are ravening wolves” (KJV, Matt. 7:15).
First, prepare the soil – it is crucial to start this early Saturday night. Set aside time for prayer and meditation. In doing so, this will prepare your mind and heart for God’s word, allowing you to get ready for Sunday’s worship. Also, if your ritual is to read the Sunday paper prior to attending service, do not let the paper set your agenda for the day. One’s prayer should plea for God’s intervention, be conscientious in the preparing of the soil of your heart. Second, listen and concentrate with all your might to the word of God. The word of God is in the hymns, the organ, prayers, and anthems. Unfortunately, we as sinners find it hard to listen to the word of God. You need to come to church to hear, listen, and focus your mind. If one is not prepared and ready for the word of God it will go in one ear and out the other, the word of God will be lost. And lastly, when you hear the word of God, welcome it. When one hears the word of God and accepts it, one will be rewarded thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a