From Here to Eternity
Where Do We Grow From Here?
So much emphasis is placed on church membership. Relatives, friends, and concerned clergy urge distressed families and troubled individuals to join themselves to religious organisms. It is public knowledge that the local church provides a wealth of support for members of the congregation as well as their families. These people have been told that in the church they will find assistance for their struggles and solutions for their dilemmas. The assistance requested usually is financial. The solutions provided most often occurs after the receipt of cut-off notices and emergency meetings with the pastor.
The association with these members, however, usually proves temporary. They leave as they came, distressed, troubled, some relieved. However that relief is brief because they did not allow their affiliation with the church to exist past the Sunday morning worship service.
Jesus did not tell us to make members of men.
Although, membership does have its privileges; it does not establish personal relationship with God or the congregation. It allows at best superficial, temporal, transitory association that diminishes individual responsibility to the Lord and the organism known as the Church. Church membership is limited in that it secures voting rights, reserves sanctuaries for weddings, and guarantees a repast after a funeral.
Jesus told us to make disciples. Discipleship denotes devotion, collective concern, spiritual development, personal accountability, and responsible stewardship.
Where Do We Grow From Here?
From here to Eternity, let’s make disciples.
2 comments:
I'm 45 years old and grew up in the Church and I always felt that I was on the outside looking in. I have attended several motivational classes and grew within myself with these classes. When I was younger I read bible stories to my sister on Sunday and of course she would fall asleep but as I was reading it like someone was talking to me this was my greatest comfort I could ever remember, reading children bible stories. I think most Church's do make a great effort of comforting their congregation with whatever is needed. But what do you do with that person on the outside looking in. That person didn't ask you for the food, money or condolence but all they want is assurance that things will be alright. To be reminded that the Lord is always there, someone to remind them of the blessings they have receive everyday. The simple things. I have been motivated in different ways but it always brings me back to the Church. I was lead to believe you give a man a crutch you support him , you lead him where ever he need to go and then take the crutch from him and let him see the Lord is with him. This is what you call faith that the Lord will not give you more then you can handle. You get on a bike you have faith that you want fall, so you balance yourself or fall but guess what this time when you fell you was ready for the fall you supported yourself, you put your hands out to accept the fall. People need the Church to show them how to catch theirselves if they fall. Support from the Church is a wonderful thing but sometime they have to let go, let them fall to learn how to get up. I think this make a strong congregation not just listeners, not pew warmers but workers of the church. People that are accountable for their own actions.
Thank you for your comment. I believe that you have actually described Discipleship Training. You also asked a valid question: What do you do with that person on the outside looking in? Eventhough, we the church have invited them in, the challenge is, what do we do with them once they have accepted our invitation?
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