I was talking to my hubby about one downfall of churches focusing too much on community within the church (first question, can a pastor/church focus too much on this?). Of course we need fellowship and encouragement, but one concern when this is something really implemented heavily is that church can become a social gathering need-filler, and those who aren't saved might never get saved because they are just comfortable in the casual, need-filling environment. If the mentality is that kids leave the church because they don't feel enough sense of community within the church, I think it's a bit of a risk to focus too much on entertainment.
Do we want people to be more loyal to the community than Biblical truth and accuracy? Adults who value the wrong thing teach their kids to do the same. A key for people to really explore is this: what is the ministry philosophy of your church. If you've left a church that got too worldly, what was their philosophy? Finding a church similar to your 'old church' before it got way off track might be a sure way to experience history repeating itself. Churches have ideological views and ministry opinions, and they realize change must be gradual. As believers, we really need to be educated on what God says the church is for, and not be afraid to stand for that. Maturity in anything means being willing and able to break away if necessary. Yet in today's world, a community mentality is always there to help woo and keep people, whether it be home school groups, church, sports teams...we all want to belong. It's critical, however, that we belong to God and His truth first and foremost, and teach our children to enter through the narrow gate. We need to be careful to not subvert the way the Gospel has always been effective. The Word is enough and kids can subtly get the message it isn't enough when the church isn't focused on serious doctrine.
Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God.
No comments:
Post a Comment