Posts Tagged ‘pastor’

Churches – Blah

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Churches. Blah. The mere mention of the word brings bad thoughts to millions of people around the world. Those places that take all your money and buy the head pastors fancy BMWs, the place full off hypocrites? Let’s talk about them.

 

I’ve been to many churches in my short life, either attending them regularly or visiting them, and regardless of their motto or their amazing ideas (Grace message anyone? Jesus’ entire life was to give us grace. This is no revelation. It should be the foundation of everything we talk about) they all have at least one major flaw, people.

 

Churches are run like businesses, and they’re proud of it

 

This isn’t a business you prune, this is God’s house. Wake up. You’re spending money on fancy lights, cameras, computers, banners, flyers, and websites when people are starving. Spend the money on feeding the poor, building homes, and blessing people who are struggling.

 

Now before you get defensive and say we have to reach people, think about this. If the church was the place it should be. Where people are being healed, where you could walk in and feel the presence of God and praise God in whatever way you wanted, where people weren’t judging each other and everybody was filled with pure joy, don’t you think people would talk? You wouldn’t need one shred of advertising. People would do it for you. They’d run home and Facebook their friends, tweet their followers and phone their grandparents. People would come. I guarantee it. Before you know it, the government would be on your side because you’re helping them by just doing what God told you to do. Love people, and help those in need.

 

Now, here’s where things get a little confusing. Having those fancy things can actually be a blessing. Do you have an amazing worship team, that are actually amazing musicians but they use their talents to praise God? If you have the money, why not make a CD? Now you can sell it and have more money to spend on helping people. Not on buying more fancy things, or going to some conference.

 

Don’t waste money on ridiculously fancy cameras to supersize your pastor’s funny face so people in the back can see him sweat. Use the cameras to create videos that get people thinking and talking about God, and again you can sell them to make money to give more to people in need. The more the church gives, the more it will grow. This is biblical stuff people, not just nice ideas.

 

Churches need to stop wasting money on fancy equipment they don’t use properly and start using it on helping people. Why not give this week’s offering to the Red Cross to help Japan? Oooo, no! There’s a budget in place, this is a business. Rubbish. This is God’s church. Give and God will provide.

 

Stop judging people

 

There are some crazy church people running around telling gay people God hates them. What absolute nonsense. God hates SIN, NOT the people sinning. If gay people should be accepted anywhere it should be in the church. Don’t judge their sin. It’s between them and God. God wants to love people, that love will open people’s eyes and they won’t want to sin. Picketing and hating people will never solve anything. Welcome them into the church. Witches, crazy people, beggars, murderers, they should all be welcome in the church. Let them see God’s love, let them feel it, and let them choose it for themselves.

 

Poor church, rich pastor

Now for something that kills many people. Rich pastors, the ones that are living in luxury when people suffer. Now having a rich pastor isn’t actually a bad thing. People in the church should be rich, because they have God’s blessing over their lives. But, if the church isn’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing, if they aren’t giving with reckless abandonment and reaching the needy and helping people build strong relationships with God, then we have a problem. And when people notice, I don’t think the church is doing its job.

 

If the church could just do these things, the things it’s supposed to do, the things close to God’s heart: loving his people, blessing his people, reaching out to his people. The things we get in the way of. It would be radical. We could change the world.

 

A side note of caution

 

Just because we do these things, it doesn’t mean God can’t use us. God can use anything for his glory, and he does. If he didn’t, we wouldn’t have one growing church. Isn’t that the beauty of God? Despite our flawed understanding of him, he blesses what we do regardless, because he loves us.

 

Disagree? Have something to add? That’s what the comments are for. I love how Rob Bell put it, “God has spoken and the rest is commentary.” I may be right, I may be wrong, I may be both. We’re all in this journey learning more about our amazing creator, and teaching each other. I want to hear your thoughts. Go.

 

What God Can Do With “57 Cents”

Friday, February 27th, 2009

CentsA sobbing little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it was “too crowded.”

“I can’t go to Sunday School,” she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by.
Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class. The child was so happy that they found room for her, and she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus.

Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings. Her parents called for the kind hearted pastor who had befriended their daughter to handle the final arrangements.

As her poor little body was being moved, a worn and crumpled red purse was found which seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump.
Inside was found 57 cents and a note, scribbled in childish handwriting, which read: “This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School.”

For two years she had saved for this offering of love.  When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do. Carrying this note and the cracked, red pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion.

He challenged his deacons to get busy and raise enough money for the larger building.

A newspaper learned of the story and published it. It was read by a wealthy realtor who offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands.
When told that the church could not pay so much, he offered to sell it to the little church for 57 cents.

Church members made large donations. Checks came from far and wide.
Within five years the little girl’s gift had increased to $250,000.00–a huge sum for that time (near the turn of the century). Her unselfish love had paid large dividends.

When you are in the city of Philadelphia, look up Temple Baptist Church, with a seating capacity of 3,300. And be sure to visit Temple University, where thousands of students are educated.

Have a look, too, at the Good Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of beautiful children, built so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday School time.

In one of the rooms of this building may be seen the picture of the sweet face of the little girl whose 57 cents, so sacrificially saved, made such remarkable history. Alongside of it is a portrait of her kind pastor, Dr. Russel H. Conwell, author of the book, “Acres of Diamonds”

This is a true story, which goes to show WHAT GOD CAN DO WITH 57 CENTS.

The Tract

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

Young boyA true story…

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at their church, the Pastor and his eleven year old son would go into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts. This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside as well as pouring down rain.

The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, “OK dad, I’m ready.” His Pastor dad asked, “Ready for what?” “Dad, it’s time we gather our tracts together and go out.” Dad responds, “Son, it’s very cold outside and it’s pouring down rain.” The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, “But dad,aren’t People still going to Hell, even though it’s raining? ” Dad answers, “Son, I am not going out in this weather.” Despondently the boy asks, “Dad, can I go please? ” His father hesitated for a moment then said, “Son, you can go. Here’s the tracts; be careful son.” “Thanks Dad!” And with that he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract.

After 2 hours of walking in the rain he was bone soaking, chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to but the streets were totally deserted. Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered. He rang it again and again but still no one answered. He waited there was still no answer. Finally this eleven year old trooper turned to leave but something stopped him. Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch.

He rang again, and this time the door slowly opened. Standing in the doorway was a very sad looking elderly lady. She softly asked, “What can I do for you son? ” With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world this little boy said, “Mam, I’m sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU, and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE.” With that he handed her his last tract, and turned to leave. She called to him as he departed, “Thank you son! And God Bless You!”

Well, the following Sunday Morning in Church, the Pastor Dad was in the Pulpit and as the service began he asked, “Does anybody have a testimony or want to say anything?” Slowly, in the back row of the Church, an elderly lady stood to her feet. As she began to speak a look of glorious radiance came from her face as she said, “None of you in this church know me. I’ve never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband has passed on, some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, It was even more so in my heart as I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live. So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck.

Standing on that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted, I was about to leap off when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, “I’ll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.’ I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly. I thought to myself again, ‘Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.” I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the Bell rang louder and louder. When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes for there on my front porch was the most radiant and Angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, Oh, I could never describe it to you ! And the Words that came from his mouth caused my Heart, that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with cherub like voice, ‘Mam, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU.’ Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand. As the little Angel disappeared back out, into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn’t be needing them anymore.

You see, I am now a Happy Child of the King, and since the address of your Church was on the back of this Gospel Track I have come here to personally say THANK YOU TO GOD’S LITTLE ANGEL WHO CAME JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME AND, BY SO DOING, SPARED MY SOUL FROM ETERNITY IN HELL.” There were now no dry eyes in the Church. And as Shouts of Praise, and Honor to THE KING, resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little Angel was seated; He took him in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably. Probably no Church has had a more glorious moment. And probably this Universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love and honor for his son— EXCEPT for one—this FATHER also allowed His Son to go out into a Cold and Dark World. He received His Son back with Joy unspeakable, and as all of Heaven Shouted Praises and Honor to THE KING. THE FATHER sat HIS BELOVED SON on a Throne far above all Principality Power….and every name that is named….