A&D Biker Ministries "Growing the Kingdom of God . . . one Biker at a time"

 

 

March 16, 2024

 

Finding It, Keeping It, and Sharing It

(sermon series)

 

“DO YOU HAVE IT . . . AND DOES IT HAVE YOU?”

Revelation 2:1-7 (ESV)

 

WeWEWe continue tonight in our series:  IT - Finding It, Keeping It, and Sharing It.  The first message was called, “What Is It?”  We defined IT this way:  What God does through a rare combination of certain qualities found in his people.   

 

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Those qualities are: 

   1. A passion for his presence. 

   2. A deep craving to reach the lost. 

   3. Sincere integrity. 

   4. Spirit-filled faith. 

   5. Down-to-earth humility. 

   6. Brokenness.

 

Our messages began with a study of the traits that marked churches that had it . . . and learning how WE can develop those traits in our congregation.  The first trait was a God-given, God-breathed Vision and we said that “You Can See It Clearly.”

 

The 2nd trait was The Importance of Teamwork and we said that “We Experience It Together.”

 

We looked at a 3rd trait:  Innovation.  Innovation is important because “You’ll Do Anything For It.” 

 

Next was the message about Sharing The Gospel, because “You Want Others to Have It.”

 

Then, we looked at the strange concept that Failure is essential to success.  “You Fail Toward It.”

 

Next, was a message that was also about sharing.  When you have it, “You Share It With Others.”  You don’t hoard it, because when you do, you lose it! 

 

Tonight, each one of us needs to answer the questions, “Do I have it and does it have me?”  Are the six qualities mentioned just a few minutes ago evident in your life?  Is God working in you and through you to accomplish his purposes?

 

Max DePree, for many years, was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company called Herman Miller.  Because of his experience and wisdom, DePree was often asked to speak on the topic of leadership for different companies and organizations.  Someone once asked DePree what was the most difficult thing for him personally to work on in his own life.  His response was, “It’s the interception of entropy.”

 

Entropy is a term from physics.  It is the process in which everything, left to itself, has a tendency to deteriorate and wind down. 

 

Does the phrase “spiritual entropy” describe your relationship with Jesus Christ right now?  At one time, you were much closer in your relationship with him.  You used to love to talk to him in prayer.  You used to love to read his Word.  You used to love being with his people.  But life has interfered.  The worries and struggles of this world have come between you and Jesus.  Other things have become more important.  There is distance in your relationship.  Things have cooled off,  in your spiritual life, between you and God.

 

Have you noticed that new believers often have it?  They’re very  excited about Jesus.  They think God is always speaking to them . . . and he is!  They see everything as spiritual . . . and they’re right!  They believe Jesus might return soon . . . which he very well could!  Everything they do is focused on him.

 

They have it!

 

Then, some “more mature believer” decides to help them to grow up.  “This is just a phase you’re going through,” the mature believer explains.  “It’ll wear off.”  The “mature” person might describe how Moses once experienced God’s presence and glowed. But the glow faded.

And you know what happens?  The longtime and passionless Christian inadvertently talks the new passionate Christian into surrendering it and becoming like the rest of the dull Christians  you and I both know . . . and sometimes are!

 

Do you remember The Righteous Brothers song, You’ve lost that Lovin’ Feeling ?  Are you singing a similar spiritual tune right now?  Do you need to humbly admit, “I’ve lost it?”

 

Be honest.  Do you have it?  Do you have that something special that is from God and for God?  If not, do what you need to do to get it back.  Cry out.  Plead with God to, give it back to me in a way that I’ll never lose it again!

 

I want us to look together at a passage of scripture that deals with this very problem.  It records the very words of Jesus, as he looked at one specific congregation in Asia Minor and gave his assessment of their situation.  It gives us some important principles in correcting our own situation.

 

Revelation 2:1-7 (ESV)

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:  ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.  2 I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.  3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.  4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.  If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.  6 Yet this you have:  you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.  7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”

Jesus actually says some good things about this congregation.  He commends them for being active, hard-working, persevering, discerning in their doctrine, and morally pure.  In the eyes of many people today, the Ephesian congregation was a great church / a faithful church.

 

Yet, Jesus points out a very fatal flaw.  Jesus said, 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  The word translated as “abandoned” means “deserted, vacated, forsaken.”  They had gone somewhere else.  They had left behind their “first love.”  And this defect was so severe that, if it went uncorrected, Jesus said that it would result in the extinction of their light. Jesus warned if they continued in the same direction, the church would cease to exist.

 

What was this first love that they had left behind?  It was their inner devotion to Christ that had marked their earlier commitment.  It is like the love shared between newlyweds.

 

When your marriage relationship is new, it is fresh and alive.  You spend time with each other.  You enjoy being with each other.  There is an energy that emanates just from your relationship.  When you’re apart, you long to be with each other.  Life seems to have no real meaning without your mate at your side.

 

But what happens?  Melvin Newland describes it this way:  “But there are jobs to go to, and appointments to be kept, and stresses to be dealt with, and arguments and problems and family feuds and fusses.  And all of these things pull on us, until soon the demands become so overwhelming that the love relationship begins to suffer.  Then one day you look across the table at each other and you think, “That’s not the person I married?  What happened? Your marriage love didn’t receive the daily nourishment it needed to grow healthy and strong.”

 

At one time, the Ephesians had felt so much love flowing from God to them, that they were afraid if they took it in all at one time that their hearts would explode.  At one time, they had lived with a simple childlike trust in God; a trust that freed them from the concerns that crushed others. At one time, the Christian life seemed like an adventure to them.

They never knew when God would break in to lead them or give them a sign or a display of his power.

 

Jesus is saying to the church at Ephesus, and to some of us today, “You have abandoned that innocent, enthusiastic, authentic love you had for me.  It used to characterize your life.  But now a very subtle and serious erosion has happened in our relationship.  Your love light doesn’t burn so brightly anymore.”

 

We do that, don’t we?  Somewhere along the way, some erosion occurs.  Things settle down.  The shine wears off.  The new car smell is gone.  We turn from being believers who have enthusiasm without much knowledge to being believers with knowledge but not much enthusiasm.  The fervor of our love for Jesus is replaced with an indifferent, unenthusiastic devotion.

 

When Christians begin to take God’s love for granted, their hearts start to grow cold, and the dynamic that fueled their spiritual life disappears.  Then, over time, our Christianity becomes emotionless / mechanical.  Oh, there might be some activity that goes on for a time. 

There might be a little labor, a little service, a little giving, some sporadic attempts at prayer . . . but the life-giving dynamic of it all is missing.

 

The greatest challenge in all of our lives is staying in a vital, first-love kind of relationship with Jesus.  It the biggest challenge in my life and it’s the greatest challenge in yours, too.

 

So how do we rekindle our relationship with Jesus?  How do we get it back?  Jesus gives us three important things we can do that will help us rejuvenate our walk with Jesus . . .

 

REMEMBER

 

God will send you reminders about how you’ve forgotten your relationship with him.  I read a story about a guy in the Navy who was an engineer on a submarine.  He was often out at sea during important family occasions and as a result, he sometimes forgot about them.

 

One year, he missed his wife’s birthday.  Unfortunately, it was impossible for her to tell him how furious she was.  The Navy screened all messages to their personnel.  They wanted to edit anything out of them that could be considered disturbing to the men on board the sub.

 

However, this woman got creative.  She sent her husband a letter, thanking him profusely for the lovely birthday present he so kindly remembered to send her.  She went on and on about how special he had made her feel by his thoughtfulness, and how grateful she was for his generosity.

Navy personnel dutifully delivered her letter.  The man got the message . . . and he never forgot his wife’s birthday again!

 

Jesus said, “Remember the height from which you have fallen!”  He’s asking you to reflect on what you used to have.  Look at the relationship the way it used to be and compare it to the way it is now.  Consider the joy you found and the peace you had at a former time.  Are things as wonderful in your relationship with Christ as they once were?

 

REPENT

 

Jesus says that after you remember, you have to repent.  Repentance is not a popular word in our world.  Repentance is a decision to change.  It’s an admission that your thoughts and your actions have not been right.

 

When you repent, you look at your sin and you see how ugly and horrible it is.  And you don’t try to deny it.  You don’t blame it on someone or something else.

You did it and you face the reality of it.

 

The word translated repent, here, literally means “to change one’s thinking; to think differently.”  But thinking differently must also mean that you act differently.  In Matthew 3:8, John the Baptist challenged some of the Jewish religious leaders to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

 

In other words, genuine repentance leads us to live righteous lives.

 

RETURN

 

Where do you find something that you’ve lost?  You have to go back to where you left it.  That’s where it is!  It can be keys, a wallet, sunglasses, an important letter . . . but whatever it is, it is sitting in the last place you left it.

 

That’s basically what Jesus is saying here.  He’s saying that if you have lost it, remember where you had it last then go back and find it again.  Where was the last time that you were touched by the wonderful love of God?  Wherever it was, if you’ve lost it, it is still there.  God hasn’t moved, and he is waiting for you to come back, to become reacquainted with him. 

 

Zechariah 1:3

This is what the LORD Almighty says:  “Return to me,” declares the LORD Almighty, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty.

 

For a married couple who has fallen out of love, they have to do the things they did when they first fell in love.  They have put the needs of the other person first.  They have to give gifts to one another.  They have to go out on dates together.  They have to do those things to re-kindle the relationship.

 

For the Christian, that means praying again.  Not just statements that tell God what you want.  I’m talking about spending time with God where you talk to him and he talks to you.  You commune with God and he communes with you.  It means reading your Bible and meditation on what God’s Word says.  It means putting into practice what God’s Word says.  It means serving him by serving others.  It means you participate in individual and corporate worship.  It means giving of yourself and your money, your time, and your talents.

 

Notice that Jesus gives a warning about what will happen if you don’t return to your first love.  He warned the church at Ephesus, “If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”  (v. 5a )  Wow!  What a warning.  Jesus is saying to the Ephesian church that if things don’t change, and soon, it’s going to tear the soul out of the church.  Jesus is saying, “I’ll take your witness (lampstand) away.  You will cease to exist.”

 

Today, there is little left of Ephesus . . . except ruins.  What was once a mighty ocean harbor is now six miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea.  The coast is a harbor-less line of sand beach, unapproachable by ship.  What was once the Gulf of Ephesus and the harbor is now a marshland of dense reeds. 

 

And, the church at Ephesus no longer exists.  We don’t know exactly what happened  to it.

Most scholars think that they didn’t recapture their first love and their lampstand was removed.

 

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro, a preacher in Honolulu, Hawaii, writes:  Some time ago some wonderful people in our church gave Anna, my wife, and me a dinner certificate to a nice restaurant for $100. We thought, Wow, a hundred bucks.  Let's go for it.  We found a free evening.

 

We dressed up. I took a bath, used deodorant and cologne - the whole thing.  I even washed and waxed my car, because we wanted to take it through the valet, and I didn't want my Ford Pinto to look bad. 

 

The night came, and we were excited!  We went to this ritzy restaurant and walked in.  They gave us a nice, candlelit table overlooking a lagoon adjacent to a moonlit bay there in Hawaii.  Oh, it was nice.  And we thought, for a hundred bucks for just the two of us, we could eat high on the hog.  So we ordered the most expensive thing there.  It was wonderful.

 

When the bill came, I said, “Honey, why don't you give me the certificate.”

 

She said, “I don't have the certificate.  I thought you brought it.”

 

I said, “You have to have it.  You're supposed to have it.  You're the wife!”

She said, “I don't have it.”  And I thought, we are in deep yogurt.  Here we are.  We look rich, we act rich, we even smell rich.  But if we don't have that certificate, it invalidates everything.

 

Now, everything worked out for Pastor Cordeiro and his wife, concerning their big meal out.  But he adds:  “There are times in our lives when we can look holy, we can act holy, we can smell holy.  But without a relationship with Jesus, we've forgotten something.  It's relationship that validates everything else.”

 

Do You Have IT . . . And Does IT Have You?

 

 

March 9, 2024

 

Finding It, Keeping It, and Sharing It

(sermon series)

 

“Autopsy of a Deceased Church”

(Part 2)

 

TRAITS OF DECEASED CHURCHES (review)

1. Slow Erosion

2. The Past is the Hero

3. The Church Refused to Look Like the Community

4. The Budget Moved Inwardly

 

TRAITS OF DECEASED CHURCHES (finish)

 

5.  The Great Commission Becomes The Great Omission

     

Healthy and thriving churches have The Great Commission as the focal point of their vision.  Dying churches have “remember when” as the centerpiece of their vision.

 

Thom Rainer talks about Great Commission Amnesia.  This describes Christians, and churches, who choose to forget about all of the New Testament scriptures where Jesus sends out his followers (that’s you and me and ALL Christians).

 

Back to the Great Commission . . .

 

Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

19 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

The imperative in these verses is “GO.”  But, as we go, Jesus gave us several sub-commands.  We are to “make disciples.”  We are to “baptize.”  We are to “teach.” 

 

Those are a lot of action words!  But, dead and dying churches have “forgotten” to act upon The Great Commission.  They stopped going, stopped making disciples, stopped baptizing & stopped teaching.

 

Did they really “forget?”  Or did they just “decide” to NOT act upon Christ’s command? 

 

How about Us?  Be honest.  How about us? 

 

Do we have Great Commission Amnesia?  Or is it just plain Great Commission Disobedience?

 

The Great Commission requires at least two points of obedience.  1) We are to “go”, and, 2) We are to depend totally upon the power of Jesus Christ.

That’s why Jesus reminds us twice in The Great Commission . . .

 

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

The results of our “going / making disciples / baptizing / teaching” are dependent on Jesus.  But, our obedience is our work.  We must pray to Jesus so that we can reach others.  We must have an “others” focus  That requires us to look beyond ourselves.  And that requires us to get uncomfortable and to “go.” 

 

Members of dying churches aren’t willing to go into the community to reach and minister to people.  They aren’t willing to invite their unchurched friends and relatives.  They aren’t willing to spend the funds necessary for vibrant outreach. 

 

They just want it to happen.  Without prayer.  Without sacrifice.  Without hard work.

 

Even more sad is the fact that if growth began to happen on its own, in a dying church, members of a dying church would only accept the growth if the new members “were like them” and if the church would continue to “do church” the way they wanted.

 

GOD HELP US!

 

TRAITS OF DECEASED CHURCHES

6.  The “Preference Driven” Church 

  

Years ago, Rick Warren gave the church world his God-inspired book, The Purpose Driven Church.   The thesis of the book is what we’re about now - finding God’s purpose / vision for our church . . . and then being obedient to God’s vision / purpose!

 

Too many churches (dying churches) today have the Me, Myself and I mentality . . . we want what we prefer!  EVERY DECEASED CHURCH THAT WAS PART OF THE AUTOPSY IN RAINER’S BOOK HAD SOME LEVEL OF THIS PROBLEM!  Have we moved the focus from others to ourselves?  A church cannot survive long-term where members focus on their own preferences.

 

We are to be servants.  We are to be obedient to Jesus.  We are to put others first.  We are to do whatever it takes to seek the best for others and for our church!  Jesus calls his Church to have a self-sacrificial attitude . . . NOT a self-serving, self-giving, self-entitled attitude.

 

Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

 

TRAITS OF DECEASED CHURCHES

7.  Pastoral Tenure Decreases

 

In the churches autopsied, the majority of pastors came and went at a pace of every 2 to 3 years, especially in the two decades leading to the death of the churches.  The cycle went like this:

  • The churches were declining

 

  • A new pastor was called to make changes and get the church back on track

 

  • The new pastor comes and leads the church in a few changes

 

  • The members don’t like the changes and resist

 

  • The pastor becomes discouraged and leaves (or is fired)

 

  • Repeat the cycle

 

Thom Rainer’s Life Way Christian Resources Group has studied the tenure of pastors for years.  He has 5 different categories, marked by the years a pastor has been at the church.

 

Since we are in the fifth stage of his categories (11 years and beyond), we’ll look briefly at just this category.  He calls this category:  Crossroads, Part 2.

 

Crossroads, Part 1 is years 4-5 of a pastor’s tenure, when often there is a serious challenge / conflict in the ministry of the church.

 

This is a reality!  I’ve been a full-time lead pastor for 41 years, and I have seen this again and again . . . in my own experience, usually between years 5-7.

 

In the Years 11 and beyond:  Crossroads Part 2, Rainer explains it this way . . .

 

During this relatively rare tenure beyond ten years, the pastor will go down one of two paths.  One path is to be reinvigorated as a leader and ready to tackle new challenges and cast new visions.  Or the pastor will be resistant to change, and then become complacent.  I have seen both extremes, but I am still struggling to understand why pastors go down one path versus the other.

 

Rainer then gives this humbling and scary report:

 

Four of the fourteen deceased churches studied had long-term pastorates near / at the end of the life of the church. 

 

WHY?

 

 “The pastor made the decision to adopt the obstinate and uncooperative attitude of the members and be unwilling to do what should be done.”

 

There was no attempt to lead toward change.  There was no attempt to have an outward focus.  There was no attempt to become more like the community in which the church was located.

 

The pastors took the path of least resistance.  They likely knew the church was headed toward demise, or at least toward severe decline.

For those pastors, decline and death of the church was preferable to conflict.  They became caretakers of members only.  They sided with the members at any hint of change.

 

Three of the four pastors reached retirement age when the churches closed the doors.  The 4th pastor was able to get a staff position at another church.

 

But in all case . . . the churches died!

 

MY TRUTH / MY TESTIMONY

 

For much of last year (2023) I was very much feeling the burden and pressure that Rainer just talked about . . . our church is at a critical point of needing to find God’s direction / vision / purpose for A&D - for 2024 and forward! 

 

I was there when God planted the original vision for A&D, in 2007, and when he birthed our church on Saturday, September 20, 2008.  Our launch that day was held on the property of Grace Baptist Church.  I  remember what a massive undertaking and  amount of work it was back then, to find God’s direction / vision / purpose for A&D.  Now, God wants to rebirth us?  Expand his vision / purpose for real-time today?

 

But, I’m older now.  I’ll turn 65 next month.  I’ve lost a step or two.  And it would be SO much work, again!  If you were around here the last 6 months of 2023, you heard me publicly mention, multiple times, the very real possibility of my retirement in the next year or so.  Well, I’m here to publicly tell you . . . through our current process of Finding, Keeping, Sharing IT -  God has convicted me and broken me. 

 

A couple of weeks ago, I had a Come to Jesus moment in my personal prayer time.  I surrendered my life, again, to our holy / sovereign / enteral God.  I promised him, and I promise you here and now, IF it is what God wants; and if our congregation is unified in embracing God’s unfolding vision for A&D right now; and if we are growing God’s Kingdom by loving and winning people to Jesus - I will joyfully remain here as pastor until I am 70. 

 

AND, I will obediently surrender my position as Pastor, whenever God raises up his next servant to be lead pastor of A&D.  It's not my church.  It’s not your church.  THIS IS GOD’S CHURCH and we are his servants!

 

Our District Superintendent and District Leaders believe in A&D, and our future, so much that they’re putting together possible helps for us in this journey over the next couple of years.  I am so encouraged and excited at what God is doing! 

 

We’ll talk more about this, soon.  Now, back to . . .

 

TRAITS OF DECEASED CHURCHES

8.  The Church Rarely Prayed Together

     

Almost every deceased church, to the day they shut their doors for the last time, had some type of prayer time.  At the start of the worship service, or after the pastor’s sermon. 

Maybe even an invitation for people to come forward for prayer following the worship service.  Is all of that devoted and meaningful prayer, like the New Testament Church had in Acts 2?  Prayer and health of that church went hand in hand . . .

 

Acts 2:42 (NIV)

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

 

Note what the early followers of Jesus found important:  the apostles’ teaching (the Word of God), the fellowship and breaking of bread (each other), and prayer.

 

Don’t read too quickly over that word “devoted”.  It means much intensity and deliberation.

 

Prayer was the lifeblood of the early church.  They didn’t just read names off of a Prayer Alert.  They didn’t just pray in order to give permission to eat a meal.  They were fervent, intense, and passionate about prayer!  They had NO doubt that God was listening to them and responding to them.  Prayer was to their spiritual life like breath was to their body!

 

HOW ABOUT US?

 

Where there is no intentional, fervent, directed, unified prayer by a church’s members, that church is dying.

 

TRAITS OF DECEASED CHURCHES

9.  The Church Had No Clear Purpose

      

When Thom Rainer interviewed former members of the deceased churches, the referred to their last years in sad and similar ways:

 

  • “We were going through the motions.”

 

  • “Everything we did seemed to be like we were in a rut or bad routine.”

 

  • “We  became more attached to our ways of doing church than we did to asking the Lord what he wanted us to do.”

 

The churches were really NOT the Church.  None of them talked about fulfilling the Great Commission or the Great Commandment.  These churches were purposeless.

 

The Philippian church knew its purpose!  Early in his letter to them, Paul points this out - in his great love for them . . .

 

Philippians 1:3-5 (NIV)

3 I thank my God every time I remember you.  4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

 

Do you get why Paul was so thankful for this church?

5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now  

 

This church understood her purpose!  The members of the Philippi church knew what they were supposed to do . . . they were to live the Gospel.  Their purpose was totally and completely Gospel-centered!

 

A church without a Gospel-centered purpose is no longer a church at all.

 

TRAITS OF DECEASED CHURCHES

10. The Church Obsessed Over the Facilities

 

Because A&D rents our ministry space, and does not own it, most of the points of this trait DO NOT apply to us . . .

 

  • Pride and fights over rooms and spaces; colors of paint and carpets; pews vs. chairs; big fortress pulpits vs. smaller clear podiums.

 

Jesus was very clear about how we are to view material things:

 

Matthew 6:19-21

19 Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,  20 But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, were neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.  21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

Make no mistake . . . God wants us to be good stewards of possessions and finances.  But, if we focus on things, no matter how meaningful they are, and we become distracted from the eternal, we have lost our focus.

 

And a church that has lost her eternal focus is one step closer to dying and death.

 

The last section of Rainer’s Autopsy of a Deceased Church askes the question “Is There Hope for the Dying Church?”  It looks at 3 different possibilities and offers 4 responses to each scenario:

 

  • My Church Has Symptoms of Sickness
  • My Church Is Very Sick
  • My Church Is Dying

 

Your pastor, Elders, and leadership believe that we fall into the first category - Symptoms of Sickness.  We are praying and working to discover God’s corrective for us . . . and we will continually report to and challenge the congregation, that we ALL might be part of the solution!

M

 

 

March 2, 2024

 

Finding It, Keeping It, and Sharing It

(sermon series)

 

“Autopsy of a Deceased Church”

(Part 1)

 

During the 10 years that I was a Chaplain on the city of Racine Police Department, I had a very special and ominous opportunity.  I was asked to accompany an officer to the Waukesha Medical Examiner’s office, and there observe an autopsy of a 12 year old boy.  

 

I was called to St. Mary’s hospital around midnight, the previous night. As Chaplain, I observed the deceased child’s remains in one of the ER rooms.  He had be struck by several bullets.  I gave the death notification to his mother who was in the waiting room of the hospital.  She was understandably hysterical and would not be consoled.  She would not even let me pray with her. 

 

In another ER room, under arrest and handcuffed to the gurney, was another of her sons - the 19 year old brother of the deceased boy.  He had a non-life threatening gunshot wound in one of his legs.  He, too, wanted nothing to do with me.

 

Both young men were on a corner, somewhere in the city, and the big brother was “slinging dope.”  Something happened and gunfire broke the stillness of the night.  Death of a young life was the result. 

 

The Medical Examiner was new to Wisconsin.  He had just recently arrived here, from Los Angeles, where he would regularly perform 14 autopsies a day!  He was a very solid and vocal Christian.  When I was introduced to him as Chaplain, and told that I was a pastor, he invited me to “help him” with the autopsy.

 

That day I held in my hands internal body parts that were never meant to be seen, let alone be touched, including a brain.  (If you’d like more fascinating and gruesome details, let’s talk privately.)  

 

Now, the purpose of an autopsy is to determine the complete overall health of the deceased at the time of their death.  After all of the important medical findings that day, a precious young boy was still dead.

 

Tonight, I want to give you an overview of the book that we studied at our recent Elders / Leaders Retreat.  It’s a book by Thom Rainer, that is titled, Autopsy of a Deceased Church.  (Did you know that every year between 3,000 and 5,000 churches close?  YES . . . congregations die!  WHY?  

 

In his book, CEO of Life Way Christian Resources (Thom Rainer) and his company does an in depth study of 14 churches that died. 

 

All the churches were of different locations and ethnicities, sizes and denominations.  Rainer shares with his readers traits that the deceased churches had in common

My prayer is that we will learn from his findings . . . and pray & work our hardest to NOT become one of those statistics - a deceased church.

 

After every common trait that the deceased churches had, Thom Rainer asks a simple question:  “Will you make a prayerful commitment?”  At the end of our worship today, and next week, YOU will receive a copy of those Prayerful Commitments.  I will be asking YOU to commit to praying these commitments every day, for the next two weeks.  More about that later . . .

 

But right now, I’d like for us to pray together, out loud, the first Prayerful Commitment.  Don’t just read these words out loud, pray them - with me:

 

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Prayerful Commitment 1

 

God, open my eyes that I might see my church as You see it.  Let me see where change needs to take place, even if it is painful to me.  And use me, I pray, to be an instrument of that change - whatever the cost.

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TRAITS OF THE DECEASED CHURCHES

 

1.  Slow Erosion

 

It’s rare for a long term church member to see the erosion in his or her church.  Growth may happen quickly, but decline is usually slow - imperceptibly slow.  Slow erosion is the worst type of decline for churches . . . because the members have no sense of urgency to change.

 

The decline is in the vibrant ministries that once existed.  The decline is in the prayer lives of the members who remain.  The decline is in the outward focus of the church.  The decline is in the connection with the community.  The decline is in the hopes and dreams of those who remain.

 

In 520 BC, some Jews returned to Jerusalem after a long time in exile.  They started to rebuild the city.  The first business was to rebuild the Temple / God’s house.  They started the work, then quit . . . and began rebuilding their own houses!  For 10 years they neglected God’s order to rebuild the Temple - because their own homes were more important to them!  Look what God actually said to them:

 

Haggai 1:2-4, 9  (NKJV)

2 This is what the Lord Almighty says:  “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’”  3 Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:  4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”

 

9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.  What you brought home, I blew away.  Why?” declares the Lord Almighty.  “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.”

WOW!  Over 2,500 years ago, the people of God neglected building the house of God.  Slow erosion was a problem with them, too.  God did not like it back then.  He still doesn’t.

 

TRAITS OF DECEASED CHURCHES

2.  The  Past Is The Hero

 

The most pervasive and common thread of these autopsies was that the churches lived for a long time with the past as hero.

 

The churches were not hanging on to Biblical truths.  They were not clinging to clear Christian morality.  They were not fighting for primary doctrines, or secondary doctrines, or even tertiary doctrines. 

 

They were fighting for the past.  The good old days. The way it used to be.  The way we want it today - our worship style, our music preference, etc.

 

More than any one item, dying churches focus on their own desires and needs instead of others.  They look inwardly instead of outwardly.  Their highest priority is the way they’ve always done it, that which made them the most comfortable.  Their personal good old days is their hero.

 

TRAITS OF DECEASED CHURCHES

 3.  The Church Refused To Look Like The Community

 

Is our church a part of the community and does it reflect this community? 

 

Are we reaching new residents in the community?  Are we intentionally going into this community, or are we just asking for the community residents to come to us?  (Bike Blessing, Trunk-or-Treat, etc.)

 

Are we more concerned with protecting the way we do church or reaching residents of our community?

 

Are we willing to make significant changes to reach and impact our community?

 

When a church ceases to have a heart and ministry for its community, it is on the path toward death. 

 

The fact is simply this . . . Others First = Life.  Me First = Death.

 

Paul told the Church to look after the interests of others even as it considered its own interests:

 

Philippians 2:1-4 (ESV)

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.  3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Vibrant living churches look after the interests of others.  They are concerned for their community.  Dying churches are concerned with self-preservation.  In every deceased church that was a part of this autopsy, at some point in their history the church stopped reaching and caring for their community.  

 

God calls his church to look outwardly.  The autopsy revealed that the deceased churches had become self-centered and self-gratifying.

 

ARE WE REACHING AND MINISTERING TO OUR COMMUNITY?  How can we better do this?

 

TRAITS OF DECEASED CHURCHES

4.  The Budget Moved Inwardly

 

Where the money of the church goes, so goes the heart of the church.

 

“Greed” in this context of a church and its money translates to “inwardly focused.”

 

This was true of every last church looked at in this autopsy:  The last expense to be reduced in these churches were those that kept the members most comfortable.  As the churches declined in size and finances, most budget cuts were made to ministries and programs with outward focus.

 

Do you get it?  When money got tight, the outreach and community ministries were the first to go . . .  NOT those ministries that were for church members.

 

In the Gospel of Mark, a wealthy man approached Jesus and asked him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus started naming some of the Ten Commandments - telling the rich guy to be sure to “keep them.”  Then, this exchange took place:

 

Mark 10:21-22

“Then looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, ‘You lack one thing:  Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow Me.’  But he was stunned at this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.”

 

Did you get that?  The man could not let go.  He was not merely sad at the prospect of letting go of his stuff . . . the text said he grieved at the thought of giving up his possessions.

 

We hold on to things because we want our way of life.  Our comfort.  Our possessions. 

 

That’s what happens to churches that die.  They spend for their way of doing church.  Their comfort.  Their possessions.

 

Follow the money and you will learn much about a church.”

 

And by the way . . . a church doesn’t have to be broke to be dying.  It about our attitude - what we do with the money! 

All of the churches autopsied developed the same financial pattern over time:  funds were used more to keep the machinery of the church moving, and to keep members happy, rather than to fund The Great Commission and The Great Commandment.

 

The Great Commission

 

Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

The Great Commandment

 

Mark 12:28-31 (NIV)

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating.  Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”  29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this:  ‘Hear, O Israel:  The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  31 The second is this:  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no commandment greater than these.”

 

I repeat . . . ALL of the churches autopsied developed the same financial pattern over time:  their funds were used to keep the machinery of the church moving, and to keep members happy.  That sounds like “a heart”  problem to me . . . when a church cares more for its own needs than the community and the world.  Every church like that WILL eventually die - from “heart failure.”

 

 

Lord willing, we’ll pick up the rest of the traits next week . . .

 

 

 

February 24, 2024

 

Finding It, Keeping It, and Sharing It


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