21 June, 2015

The Fish Tank

(Let me clarify that the following is not in any way connected to my church. I'm actually out of state on vacation at the time that I am writing this, so none of the things I am about to say is in anyway connect to my church or my community.)

I get so tired of hearing folks who have the "me church" mentality. You know, those who want things their way, in their time, on their schedule, to fit their needs and forget anyone else. Those with that mentality are the ones who will hold their tithe if they don't get their way, or will bounce from church to church never setting down roots for any length of time. They are highly critical and demanding and act like the church cannot survive without them. It makes me want to puke. I can pretty well imagine that they don't make the Lord all that happy either. I wonder if some people will ever realize that the purpose of the church is to reach those who do not know Christ and to make disciples of them. The church is not to coddle those who have been saved for decades just to keep them happy enough so that they will stay in that church and pay their tithe. So many of our churches are lacking in evangelistic effort because the pastor's time is spent keeping those in the church happy. Instead of being fishers of men, they have become keepers of the aquarium. It's really no wonder the church is in a tremendous decline and ministers are walking away from the ministry in record numbers! The pressure to perform and jump on command gets old and tiring and the fact that the minister's time is consumed with trying to keep the fish in his tank happy that there is no time to go out and get new fish. And if you do get new fish, many of those in the aquarium get mad because the pastor is spending time with the new members. But the pressure is so great because those other folks pay the bills, so if they do not devote their time to them, they are off to a new aquarium in short order. It is a vicious cycle. I heard it again tonight: "I'll just stop paying my tithe" because they were not getting their needs met, rather than seeking to find away to help build the kingdom of God. It makes my blood boil and my stomach turn to hear Christians make such self-centered, carnal comments.

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