I would like to ask anyone who might be reading this blog a few questions, just to see if I am the only one who feels as I do. Are you concerned as greatly as I am over the state of the church and the mindset of the average church goer? It appears to me that people who choose a church or regularly attend a church often do it for some strange reasons. Let me give an example, one which I am making up so as not to implicate anyone. The Buford (I don't know anyone with this name) family has been to several churches in the last year. They have settled on one that they have decided to join. They were having a hard time trying to decide between three different churches. Church "A" has wonderful music, the people are friendly, the nursery is clean and well run, and the pastor couldn't preach a real gospel message if his life depended on it. Church "B" has pretty good music, the people are friendly, the nursery is clean and well run, and this pastor denies biblical essentials like the virgin birth, the Trinity, and the authority of the Bible, but he's passionate. Church "C" has music that isn't the Buford's favorite style, the people are friendly, the nursery clean and well run, and this pastor preaches the Bible as the authoritative Word of God, believing and holding biblical positions on all the essential doctrines of the Bible. Which church do you think they will choose to join?
The problem with the illustration I gave previously is that one of the churches wasn't even really a church, and one of the others was a place where the proclamation of the Gospel was never going to happen. This should have been a no-brainer. The only real choice should have been Church "C". My point is that people today are often choosing a church to attend with little consideration as to whether or not they are receiving a clear proclamation of the Gospel, but are making this very important decision for other reasons. There are even some who would suggest that the time for preaching has passed and what is needed now is just a time of sharing. A time when everyone comes and sings and prays, and attempt some form of fellowship, but apart from all that preaching stuff. Are you still not concerned?
In Christ
Rick Lauterbach
Pastor of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church
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