88% ... never to return.
I knew things were bad in the American church, but this, --this is more than bad. This is a tragedy.
What organization can survive a 12% success rate?
Weep with me people. Weep and cry out to God that what the evangelical church is failing at would be reversed.
Weep and cry out to God that our church and many others would be a vibrant exceptions to this trend. And begin to search with me for answers so that God will receive great glory and His people would have great joy.
3 John 4 (ESV)
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
2 comments:
The disturbing trend in American churches, may be linked in the failure of evangelicals as a whole to reach out, care, and be real to people here. We do great with this in other countries, but what about here? This is a poem by a girl named Natti. (She is not a Christian, but this poem should cause Christians everywhere to grieve and then minister more to people with emotional and spiritual needs here.)
The Truth of the World - why
They walk along without a care,
Oblivious to all the suffering there.
The child starving, without a home
The orphan crying, all alone.
The girl in the alley earning her way,
Degrading herself to survive the day.
The boy with scars decorating him,
Trying to dull all the pain within.
A teen in her room, afraid of all men,
Terrified of being abused again.
The guy standing behind the crowd,
Head filled with depressions cloud.
The children too scared to dare cry out,
When mommy begins to thrash about.
The 6 month old 'fell down the stairs'
The one whos parent swore she cares.
Keep walking past without a glance,
Not seeing this may be the child's last chance
Before they're pushed to their limits and die,
All the time wondering only one thing... Why?
I grew up in an evangelical family and except for about 9 months after I graduated high school have been attending evangelical churches all my life. I've said the sinners prayer multiple times and been baptized twice. I've been a member at two evangelical churchs during my adulthood and been a slave to sin all the while. I've heard the phrase "personal relationship" with Jesus and wondered; How do you have a relationship with someone you can't see? In 09/2002 after listening to a sermon on John 18 on tape several times I finally believed that I was accepted by God and the God was unalterably for me and not against me. What does my story mean? I think what it means is that there may be others like me; intellectually accepting the reality of Jesus and everything about him but not really knowing God. Since 09/2002 God has been slowly changing me and helping me overcome sin (I still sin but am no longer a slave to sin). If there are a lot of powerless people, like I was, in the church then the children, seeing the hypocrisy would, I suspect, most likely leave in large numbers. If people don't abide in the Vine they will not bear fruit. Sorry for being part of the problem for so many years.
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