Church Dropouts

One of my favorite pastors was teaching a lesson a few weeks back, and made reference to Church Dropouts and I allowed the Lord to speak to me about this very thing. You know there are High School Dropouts and College Dropouts, but we never really give thought to Church Dropouts. Allow me a moment to explain how Church Dropouts occur.

When I think about how high school dropouts occurs, there are two sides. There is the side of the school (and the people within it), and then there’s the person who dropped out. Both side have to bear responsibility for the person who dropped out. The same holds true to those who drop out of church (religion) altogether.  Now, I want to focus on the side of the church and the people within it more than the person who dropped out of church.

You might be asking why am I addressing this? If we are claiming to be the church that represents Christ, we have to own up to our own failures, and repent. And that’s not a bad thing. If anything, it’s showing humility on our part, which is actually worship to Christ. I have been in church for quite some time and it’s amazing as to why we act puzzled, or angry as to why people have left (and then point the finger at them as to why they left). Sure, they make the final decision to leave, but at the same time, we have to look at our hands to ensure that we don’t have their blood on them. And sad to say, we have a lot of blood. So, let’s talk about this.

How have we caused church dropouts around us? Pride and ego are the biggest two culprits.  How do they manifest themselves?

You go to that church? Our pastor can preach!

We had church over here!

Get over your issue (you should never have issues)!

I’m so holy than you that I can point out your flaws!

It’s your fault as to why you’re struggling!

It’s your lack of faith as to why you’re in the shape you’re in!

We care for our own (clique) and the rest of the people around me can go to hell!

I hear from God and I’m the only one who hears from Him.

Men are to dominate their women, and the women have no voice!

Those are just some examples, and I’m sure you can think of others as to why others either condemned or they feel they will never measure up to God. The beauty of God is that He loves us, even with our flaws.

I want to real quickly focus on one sentence I typed up there because I want to say something to that: “We care for our own (clique) and the rest of the people around me can go to hell!” This is one that I’ve seen that has caused many casualties in the church (and they eventually dropout). I don’t know about you, I can’t sit around and watch people go to hell.  Intercession is so necessary (and just because you go to intercessory prayer, doesn’t make you an intercessory prayer warrior). And now this takes me to my next point.

How do we stop the church dropout epidemic? Deny yourself (I heard one pastor say “Kill yourself – the flesh, that is), and humble yourself. In fact, Jesus said that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In fact, Paul talked in Philippians 2 about the importance of being like-minded. Sadly, in the church, we care more about legalism, and our personal agendas than we do what God is requiring of us. To love and coming together on one accord. Jesus talked extensively about sacrificing for the glory of God. But as a result, we have many casualties, and we curse the very ones who are wounded. Maybe we need to read Luke 15 and get out of our comfort box (go after the lost sheep, lost coin and the son that’s lost).

Let’s go after perfection in Christ.

Blessings:

The MayneMan

Lost In The Wilderness

I initially started typing this near the end of 2011 when I was going my dark spell (in fact, part of ties directly into the epilogue of my novel Deaf, Dumb, Blind & Stupid). Of course, I had to stop working on this blog to deal with my issues and complete the novel. But now it’s time for me to pick this back up. Everything that’s in red is what I typed at the end of 2011 and 99% of it is kept in its original form.

The children of Israel in Numbers 13 & 14 were a perfect example of what it means to be lost in the wilderness. Instead of relying on God that they could take this land, they chose to have a pity party. In fact, they thought they could live on top of the world by going back to Egypt, so they said amongst themselves to choose a leader and then go back to Egypt. Joshua & Caleb were the only 2 out of the 12 spies that said that the children of Israel could take the land. And what do stubborn/selfish people do, they do what’s right in their own eyes (and they said to stone Joshua & Caleb with stones). As a result, God forced them to suffer in the wilderness for 40 years. But there was one problem; Joshua & Caleb were to also suffer because they were part of a team.

Now let’s define what wilderness means: it means barren area, or it could mean an uncomfortable situation (that makes somebody feel confused, overwhelmed or desolate). So, the children of Israel were to remain lost in the wilderness for 40 years and they would die. Now, let’s fast forward to today. Many people are lost in their personal wilderness and if we don’t minister to their needs, they could die there (but there could be blood on our hands if it was in our power to pull them out).

Our lack of sympathy for those who are hurting is going to cause a lot of casualties. I believe in the future that many will sacrifice their lives to save a soul and some will die in misery to their own selfishness. We need to stop focusing on health and finances for self-glorification and start caring for others. I’m sure if an issue attacked your home, you’d call your cousin and your family for prayer. This selfish spirit needs to go! In Acts, healings and miracles occurred when the church was on one accord. We need a shakedown! It’s sad that we can’t agree on what’s right and what’s wrong (example: is abortion a sin or not). Can two walk together except they be agreed? And we’re allowing the devil to create this division.

To say that the body of Christ is perfect, is called being blind to reality. We are sinful people and we’ll never be perfect. It’s our job to ensure that we push each other to holiness for the glory of God. To pick on people who nit-pick the problems within the church (especially if it’s legitimate – such as pastors sleeping with little boys), is defending sin. We can’t afford to be lost in the wilderness like the children of Israel.

2 Cor. 4:3-4 in summary says if the gospel is hid to those who are lost for the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who believe. I could plant a seed, but when 99% is swarmed in darkness, it's going to require more than a seed plant - the seed has to be watered with prayer and possibly fasting. These are tools that the Christian has, but are failing to utilize unless it's for our own loved one or for someone in their closed circle (that's fine, but what about expanding it as well). What about the lost people, we need to pray for them. Translation: we need to get out of the - what's in it for me prayer!
Part of the reason why we as a church get an F minus is because of selfishness and lack of togetherness. I pray this for me, me, me and this is why we're losing its effectiveness in the world. People don't need to remain lost in the wilderness to end up going to the lake of fire with the help of the church.

If the church can’t come together on one accord, what chance does the world have? If the leaders within a church can’t come together on one accord, what chance does the sheep have? If we don’t change and care about the things that matter to God; people are going to die with the help of the church. As a result, there will be a lot of blood on our hands. Maybe I should become selfish and focus on the needs of my family. We have forgotten within the book of Acts, healing and miracles occurred when people were on one accord, and one mind. I would like to believe that the apostles dropped everything to ensure they were on one accord. In other words, their lives were not their own. It was all about serving and not to be served. Christ came to serve and not be served. It’s a tragedy to even think that we can’t even do that. Our lives are for the glory of God and He doesn’t want anyone to perish. We can quote John 3:16 back and forth, and we should have a burning passion within us to not see anyone perish.

Someone needs to stand up and say “enough is enough. I can’t continue to leave in the ‘it’s all about me’ mentality.” Think about this: when we have a crisis in our lives or within our circle, we’ll stop what we’re doing and ask everyone we know for prayer. It’s a grave concern when we don’t think about someone we may not know who needs to experience the love of Christ. We don’t want to take the time to understand what’s going on in their lives. We’ll just shake our head and say “I’m sorry, I’ll pray for you.” We need to seek God and intercede for people in need of love, healing, etc. In order for us to make a major impact in the world, we can’t afford to stay in our comfort ones. Yes, we can encourage each other, but what about the lost sheep. I hope we don’t get so caught up on the 99 sheep that are found that the lost sheep stays lost and ends up lost forever. What’s the point of staying a Christian if we’re staying in our own bubble?

This is why the world doesn’t want to come to church. Why come to church and be divided when I can stay home and be divided?

In summary: the wilderness is not a fun place to be. Looking back between May 2011 and February 2012, I was in my personal wilderness and I’ll be the first to tell that it is not a fun place to be. I do thank those who stayed with me through it, and now that I’m out, I’m obligated to help somebody else out of their wilderness.

Blessings:

The Mayne Man

What Breaks The Heart of God (Part 2: Selling Your Soul)

The focus of this post is not going to sit over well with some people, but I know we’re living in a time where times are hard and people are doing what they can to make ends meet. What breaks the heart of God is not relying on him, but instead turning to people who can get you through the hard times at the expense of selling your souls. Most of the times, the ones who will get you through the hard times at the expense of selling your soul won’t tell you that upfront, it’ll be masquerading in most cases of it’s a sure win and your name will be written across the sky (that can be figuratively or literally). For fame, many people will sacrifice their soul, and sadly their religion. Everything you said you never thought you’d do has all been compromised and that breaks the heart of God. Revelation 2:4 says the following (this is Jesus speaking to the church at Ephesus): But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

I look at the world, and I sometimes marvel and how many people have sacrificed their soul for the sake of money, lust and power (to have blind people worship them). If we’re not careful, we can break the heart of God by blindly worshiping those who have forsaken the truth for money, lust and power. Some of you may be thinking I’m talking around in circles, so let me break it down a little bit further.

This spirit of selling your soul has already been in the world. Matthew 4 & Luke 4 record the same situation where Jesus was in the wilderness and the devil was speaking to Jesus. I will focus this blog on one statement the devil made and how so many people have fell prey to it (inside and outside the church): The devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me.” This is actually from Matthew 4:8-9. Jesus’ response in verse 10 was clear and that He knew that Satan was the god of this world. What is critical is the statement the devil made. Now I’m not glorifying the devil when I dissect the verse. I want you all to understand the trap that Satan is using to get us to sell our soul and break the heart of God. Satan said that he would give Jesus the world and the glory if He would fall down and worship him. Fall down! That means to give up what you have. And then worship the devil. Now, worshiping the devil isn’t as complicated as what people make it to be. It’s just two simple words: serving self!

Most of the kingdoms of the world are self-focused (where it’s all about human works and human character) and will take whatever measure they can to ensure that you deny Jesus and His deity.

The tragedy now is the fact, that the spirit of serving self and we have groups that are all about serving self though masquerading as religious. I find that quite interesting. Because so many of us are naïve to what’s going on around us, many of us are yoking up with groups with good intentions. The interesting thing about the devil is that he can transform himself into an angel of light. This is why some of these groups have a beautiful code of morality good enough to deceive the most intelligent. This is why we need God’s intelligence and not rely on our own understanding. Prayer and discernment is involved before we sign any contract or swear any allegiance to anything other than Jesus Christ.

Take a moment and look at the world around you. What are entities around you that are self-serving and are breaking the heart of God that we deal with on a day-to-day basis? I’ll just simply say to look at who controls jobs, economics, politics, education, government, police, military, banks, communications, entertainment (to include the literary world) – and that’s just some, not all. It’s the god of this world!

(This part in red font comes from the following website: http://exministries.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/the-divination-9-black-greek-letter-organizations/)

Because some have sold their souls, they can now do the following:

1. …continue to offend God, and perpetuate generational curses throughout their family lines” (Exodus 20:5)

2. “…sustain the altar of idolatry these organizations serve, and proliferate sin thru the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life” (1 John 2:15,16)

3. “…get the next generation to spit in the face of their slave forefathers and their sacrifice to Christ, as they turn their backs on the God who freed blacks from slavery,” (Judges 2:10,11)

4. “…further the teaching of the universal fatherhood of God, and the brotherhood of man, which says all religions lead to God, and undermine the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Church, Who is the only way, truth and the life” (John 14:6)

5. “…raise up a new generation of leaders, who are just as deceived as their followers into believing they are spiritually free, when they are not, and yet are on the pathway to hell.” (Matt 15:14)

One thing I said to myself and to my editor, “I may not be a best seller to the world; as long as I’m a best seller in His eyes, I’m satisfied!”

But on a more serious note, this matter is heartbreaking to God and if we have the heart of God, it should break ours too. It’s time for us to stop pacifying the world and start evangelizing the world for His glory! Remember, what profits a man to gain the world but lose his soul!