Pastor, I mean no offense but I must know, “When are we going to tell people about Jesus”?  We sit here having good food while I personally know of a park filled with homeless people nearby, who could benefit from a bite and some Spiritual food as well.  I have personal knowledge of 5 old folks homes within 3 miles of our church, to which we could easily commit to one visit per month to spread love, joy, encouragement and the gospel.  I spoke with the administrator of the orphanage myself and she keeps making kind excuses for the fact that none of the thousand churches in our city have ever shown up to be father the fatherless children.  Then let us not mention the hospitals, the prisons or simply the public square.  When Pastor, when?

Ephesians 4 tells us how the church is to train up pastors, evangelists, disciples, etc.  When have we had one of our youth get in the pulpit to practice preach on a Friday night after a basketball game and a meal.  What about the days and nights our church is empty when there could be bible studies of all manner or foreign language services going on.  What about food pantry items, and preparations for disaster, shortage or holiday community support?  When are the men going to walk our neighborhood and let everyone know that we are here, by simply sharing a kind word of prayer, a mowing of a lawn or movement of some trash?  We were meant to be the living church, that demonstrates our love for the world by doing extraordinary things that proved we are not of this world in the power of a spirit that will imbue, empower, provide and provision the supernatural means to do so, yet we forsake all that and stay inside listening to four or five hours of sermons with maybe an hour or two of study.  Where is the meat if I am beyond the milk in my fellowship with Christ?  Where are the works as a natural outpouring of my faith?

When do I graduate to disciple or do I just get to sit here with someone telling me that a member is the next step in my Christian growth?  Sorry, this isn’t cutting it for me anymore, in fact the Holy Spirit is convicting me so badly that I have to get off my butt and actually follow Christ.  There are people who will go to hell if I don’t take the time to get outside this church and spread the gospel.  It is time to go find them and yank them back from the abyss before judgment is called.  Rapture is imminent as is Christ’s return and I don’t want to waste another day, sitting here in my comfortable chair disobey my Lord and savior not doing what He ordered me to do.  Shall I continue to follow you if you are unwilling to follow Him?  I think not.  I will follow him, I love you, but there is no longer any logical reason for me to sit here silent.  The night comes, let us use the day that remains to do great works for Christ.  In Jesus’ Name

If the model of your church works, good for you.  But the model that we have been using in the 20th and 21st centuries is not working.  Our kids are not where we want them, divorce is rampant, sin is blatant, tickling ears rule the preaching and pastors are too busy chasing sufficient funds and new generous members.  Yes, the apostasy has happened which makes it Biblicly possible that the anti Christ begin to show his face to the masses.  But it still doesn’t match what God said we should be doing during this dilemma.  Whatever the passed reason for our current ministry structure, I get it, but it is rapidly becoming the machinery behind insufficient and the eventual collapse to the infrastructure of the Body of Christ. Aren’t we one body.  Therefore if the church falls apart it falls apart for all.

Certainly Christ commends or admonishes four churches of the seven in Revelation.  I believe this is because those are the four original churches that exist in our end times era. This is insanity, no one in his right mind follows a path that he knows leads to destruction, especially if he is from the organization that claims to know the way to the skinny path which leads to eternal life.  Why then are we replicating this ridiculousness pay to play church model that builds expensive buildings, requiring their maintenance and gathered social sessions that have nothing to do with going out and finding the lost, aiding the elderly, fathering the fatherless and just plain spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  How do expect to get from here to there when our classic experiment has decidedly demonstrated that the two paths never converge?

Being that neither can I sit in the midst of continued insanity nor simply criticize the existing efforts, I feel I must responsibly ask the Holy Spirit for a new model.  His first response has been something I will refer to as “the Last Century Church”.  This model consists of property, but very humble land, buildings and assets that require little upkeep or the shared access to assets that make them useful twenty four seven, three sixty-five.   The function of the church should be divided in to categories that best support, prepare and edify those groups of believers intended and headed for field duty.  For example the church could concentrate on training, worship, prayer, field support and logistics and general operations.  In stead of having preaching and worship only on Sundays, many differing pastors could every day of the week to accommodate much smaller groups of believer in greater number events.  Additionally, having the church open all week with numerous believers coming in and out for support and replenishment would allow the church to give a broad, simple message of salvation through Christ.

The greatest difference being that the churches objective would be readjusted to an external focus upon going, finding, telling and converting the lost from its current internal focus that is the basis for our untimely demise.  We could be alive with prayer sessions all week.  We could have prayer sessions for worship, prayer sessions for edification of saints and prayer sessions for the baptism of the lost.  This new system would allow us to pool our funds and greater utilize building, personnel and mission expense assets to accommodate the larger outreach while providing a vibrant testing platform to utilize those mission events and campaigns that work.  Right now, there ain’t enough money to do all the work, pay for all the missionaries and programs that we wish to do.  What if that weren’t the case, what if we truly were the abundant Spirit filled Church with more than enough to do what we needed to do?

What if our preachers got to preach our evangelists got to evangelize and our saints got to do the important community work of disciples for Christ?  Isn’t this the structure we were meant to follow.  The work is out there.  The model is broken.  We must change or die with the rest.  God’s face of blessing has fallen from our nation.  His hedge of protection no longer protects our schools from evil doers.  We are being physically overrun by pagans and we seem unwilling to make a change.  I call myself a Christian.  I must pray to God, turn from my wicked ways and pray, humbling myself before our Mighty God who appears intent upon judging our nation.  This is the only time we have for repentance.  The end is near.  Let’s change today, pray in the park and get arrested for it today, stand in the gap for our enemy who neither deserves it nor would understand our doing so, today.  Let us save our children from the fate of never knowing God.  Return our Great Land to the protective Hand of God by setting things right, First, within the Church.  For we are the bride, if we are Holy awaiting our groom, how do you think that would change this world?

New Model Church, commit, pray and do.

I have a pleasant home, with a pleasant family, yard properly spruced up and everyone has heard me say that I am a Christian.  I go to the well manicured church, possibly spending 4-5 hours per week between, worship, preaching and social events.  I go to work on time, get home on time and pour my glass of wine on time, never hesitating to make sure that I am listening to those around me.  I rest in God’s word, tell people about Jesus and take special care to try and stop when I see people in crisis.  The folks at work know that I go to church and they know that I have a Bible in my briefcase, sometimes they even stop to ask me an elementary question or two then scatter afraid of creating what work may label as an unexceptable conversation.  My wife loves me but here’s the problem she has recently begun chastising me in the Lord, using scripture to point out that my faith really lacks any work at all.

What do you mean?  Was my first retort, I mean didn’t she read the first paragraph?  My concept of holiness is not God’s.  My concept of surrender is very different from God’s.  My idea of service in the authority of God determines to apply the least cost, pressure or investment on my part.  And what of Christ’s imminent return for the Church, she says.  Isn’t imminent tonight and doesn’t faith require demonstration of that belief in certain things which must quickly come to pass?  How many coins did the Lord give you, she says, and that one really hurts, because I am the most blessed man.  God has openly given and given and given in my life and I sit here anxious for that grace as I know that I have absorbed and enjoyed the greatest affect of his investment.  I didn’t plant to adequate measure, water and fertilize sufficiently to produce a banner crop where God might see the increase.  I did not write the books that he put in my hands, take the trips he financed, feed the mouths that he gave me to care for, heal the sick that he wanted me to bless with his healing.  Now I read the first paragraph and weap.

The kids have forgotten Him, why?  Is it something that they have done or something that we have not done?  We know this country is in trouble and we know that Christ’s return is imminent yet we sit here, eating and drinking and being given in marriage, knowing, uncounsciously that this is the environment upon which Christ said the end would come.  We see people leaving the churches in droves yet we stand there holding open the door for them to leave counting ourselves smuggly among the occupied.  We would leave the ninety nine to go get the one but the problem is the 99 has dwindled to 50 and we are afraid to go because there would be 49.  My wife is right.  None of this stuff matters except that which Christ gave us to do in preparation of his return.  If I trust him he will take care of us providing work, clothes or food for the plowing.  Maybe just maybe there is still time for me to preach to gospel to the lost, be father to the fatherless, son to the husbandless, caretaker to the innocent, soldier on the front lines for Christ.  Now my wife has the problem, she has to determine if she is going to follow me as I follow Christ.

I can’t blame anything on anything or anyone.  Some times we look into the dark when we really meant to follow the sun.  But I wander, when I meet my sin there, as I often do, wasn’t it a meaningful rendezvous from the start.  See, I’m filled with lust so I track her bust way beyond the casual admiring auditor pent on artful commentary.  Then I focus on the cash and make repeated dash in attempt to purchase things I don’t need for people I don’t know, feeding some sense of accomplishment I don’t understand, but they like, that is I think they do as long as I am catering to their needs.  All to change reality to dream, some well purchased scheme in order to write the story myself, making myself somehow worthy, when I never was, earning something I could never earn, repaying a debt too large to pay, being forgiven for the sin upon which I have a white knuckled clutch.

Wasn’t all this given to God?  My heart, my soul, my strength, my mind and my bod.  God’s got me thinking that it’s rather odd for a Christian to be entertaining each sin.  See Grace covers and wipes out sin, so if there’s sin on my face then I substituted truth for a lie.  How can I get bye with a beam in my own eye when I’m trying to get everyone’s splinters pulled out?  How is this lust in my dreams as real as it seems when it shouldn’t even enter my mind?  Freedom is a wonderful thing but how do I know, when it doesn’t show that I even know what that word even means.  Counting up beans, and little golden good deeds, removing all the weeds with each bundle.  Earning my way, hoping to pay a price beyond any personal measure.  It was done on the cross why then do I fancy the great albatross of enlightened salvation when we can’t get to there, from here except through the DOOR and His name is Christ.  Where my thoughts, works and plans and worthless demands are shouted down by depth of my sorrow.  Delightful for me, tomorrow I see is going to hold some hopeful reckoning, but what about tonight, isn’t that all I have been given?

I love, but I cannot fit into the church as it is currently structured.  I repent that this puts me in a place of judgment where I have established myself unacceptable or the church insufficient to my determinant declaration.   But we sing without tears then go drink wine and beers, chatting about all of our fears and how we have to try and tolerate, tolerate then tolerate. While God’s Good News lingers on our tongues and our fingers that we refuse to use to muse through it wonderful pages.  I know what’s coming and I can barely get my dumb ass out of the way by remembering what it took to find salvation.  I have forgotten and perhaps you may relate to forgetting my first love.  I used to put God first in everything.  Now it would be a rare day to be in scripture upon waking, be in the Bible before News, be in the street with good shoes quickly leading to the Gospel of Peace, without the slightest worldly intent to swindle.  None of this little stuff should matter, not my tea and certainly not the mad hatter, some wonderland, go no people but those I fund, got no church except the one that I fund, got no family except the one I can tolerate, masking their sins, like ignoring the silver pin in their nose and the bobby pin their chins.  Is this going to work itself out, of that I have no doubt, because it depends not on me but on Christ.  I just thank you once again for loving me and beg your forgiveness for my repeatedly falling down on this well lighted path.

Don’t you know that I wrote it all down.  Not to be a man, looking over your shoulder.  But as he held me I couldn’t get that picture of you suffering out of the back of my mind.  He looked me in the eye and knew I was meant to find you, then you bring you round to the other side of the cross.  I didn’t know that His grasp would be eternal, but I just hoped that He would get us beyond this life.  Where we were hurt, lying crushed our wounds seaping from the wars, but we had won, much more than we expected.  We were cleansed and given a new name.  Now I’ve found that I cannot wait to see you and I know where forever you’ll be found.

I whisper His name and I know you are with Him.  Sitting there honestly bathing in the river of His spoken word.  You’ve found your place giving God the glory.  I will come round when the work at last has done.

Sitting on the cabin floor, with splinters and dust and a breeze between the rafters.  Winter has come again to leave it calming stain.  And as the stocks return to the dirt that bore them, I walk straight north, where the desert meets the sky.  And I look up and wonder how many weeks, how many years I’ve left to await His coming.  It seems so near and then something happens to make it seem wrong.  But this time it’s gotta be close, this time its gotta be close, because it’s all gone so wrong, the tune of their song its no longer about the good of humanity.  The son of the enemy sits in darkness awaiting spirits return to God’s side.  Don’t be sad that you’ve lost my fellow men.  This is the way it was always meant to turn out.  Too many things get in the way of our thinking that God seems to be drummed out, brushed out, drowned out of our thinking to the point where we don’t care what happens to us.

Jesus is readying, to return for His Bride, His Church and to preside over judgment so alarming to some, they’ll beg his forgiveness when it comes.  Too late tomorrow.  Only have tonight.  So before you must sleep become one of His sheep so that heaven awaits you when you die.  There is no alternate scripting.  There is no other way for this to go.  It’s His show and it suddenly turning toward the ending to which we all go.  So don’t wait a breath can be too long now, don’t think just give your heart to God.  Found among the brethren at the wedding supper, served by Him who has loved us and waited and watched and prayed for each of us in intercession.  For God’s timing is impeccable.  God’s timing leaves nothing to doubt.  If you’ve been wondering when I would be silent, I promise one final shout.  And as I go straight away to slumber to be lifted, snatched back to his side my tears even now are all drying as our Groom has returned for His Bride.

I don’t sit here doing the enemy’s work much lately, but believe you me that I know the wretchedness of the man I was, am and soon will not be.  See, to me I don’t deserve condemnation for my wickedness.  You know that I need conviction every moment of the day but condemnation, that’s not my job, even when I am the subject of review.  God has already pronounced me righteous, cleansed of my sins, joint heir to the Kingdom of God and I accept His authority to make that proclamation.  I don’t go around trying to intercede for God, but rather I try to intercede for man as we desperately need help.  God knows what he is doing and I rather leave Him to it than to attempt to assert myself in to the mix and possible risk getting taken to the woodshed.

Let’s not be deluded.  The enemy will pour condemnation on each of us, hoping to bog us down in self-loathing leading to hate.  The enemy knows all the ways under our skin, the Lord rebuke him if He so chooses.  For what reason would I be expected to remain defeated?  Is there any reasoning or good order that would create positive effect if I continued to condemn either myself of other Christians.  No certainly not, God knows the plan He has for each of us and my faith is in His ability to complete that which He has first undertaken for the goodness of our character and His own glory.  Lest we forget, remember that conviction may never be ignored as it is the kind, dear, correct, loving, true and faithful word of God, given for the edification of our churches.

How may I prognosticate regarding my sanctification?  I cannot, it is clearly a work in progress with each of us.  I think that makes sense because it allows us to both be a new creature/person who is neither now facing condemnation of previous sin, having been cleansed by Jesus while facing the shaping conviction and authority of the Potter’s Hand.  Let us remain cognizant of the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit spoken by our family, friends, Christians and time of prayer.  The correct place for my growth is firmly in the hand of God, chastised, taught, chastened into normal behavior, free from condemnation by the same hand protecting me.

What now?  Striving for personal growth, not as a man alone in his learning, but as a son held tightly in his Father’s arms, surrendered, engaged, preparing.  Teaming with my brethren, reminding them of the Shepherd’s voice and that the enemy has no control over our condemnation, usefulness or adoration in God’s eyes.  Locking my shield together in prayer and resilient faith in the Lord’s Promises and ability to provide for all of our needs including protection.  Watching over younger of less equipped believers through prayer, consultation and witness.  Relying on Christ to light the way forward.  It is not time to decline, avoid or minimize the value of the Church in each of our lives, but learn to edify, build, volunteer to and weave ourselves in to the tapestry of God’s preparation.  We love Him and we wait, but not paralyzed but busy, waiting while working, loving, learning and changing for Christ.