KenE@21B
Well-Known Member
As followers of Jesus Christ we literally have one job: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age"
The result (reward) for believers obediently carrying out the instructions of our Saviour is eternity with Him: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
However, in the nearly five decades that I have been born again, all I have seen is church congregations building bigger and grander edifices, at enormous monetary cost.
These are then run as businesses, requiring treasurers, finance and maintenance committees, project managers, etc, with huge salaries being paid to the pastor (often this is split between him and his wife to reduce taxation).
I do not see anywhere in Scripture where Believers are instructed to do this - in fact I have actually had some of my best church meetings in rented school halls.
In the small town where I grew up and worked in South Africa, I lived in one house for 25 years. In a 10km radius around this house there are at least 30 churches of various denominations.
Sadly, in those 25 years, I only ever had ONE church come knocking at my door to share their 'Gospel Message' - and that was when 2 young men from the Jehova's Witness church came around to clock up their 'works-based' quota of visitations.
In the next city that I moved to, there are currently over 200 churches, many of them built on prime property. A very conservative estimate of the combined value of these churches would be enough to send half a million missionaries out into the world for three years to spread the Good News of the Kingdom.
Many huge, historical churches around the world have already fallen into disuse, some being used for rave parties and other worldly events.
So - to get to the point - if church leaders REALLY believed the Word of God, they would understand that the greatest priority of the Body of Christ should be to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
All that is needed to accomplish this is enough people and money - but to date, money has always been the one constraint that has prevented enough people from getting the job done!
Besides, after the Great Tribulation, one would expect that most of these grand edifices will lie in ruins anyway....
Although this article may appear controversial, when seen in the light of the Great Commission and it's eternal reward, I'm afraid it does seem that we have missed a great opportunity to use what the Lord has blessed us with, to accomplish the task He set before us.
The result (reward) for believers obediently carrying out the instructions of our Saviour is eternity with Him: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
However, in the nearly five decades that I have been born again, all I have seen is church congregations building bigger and grander edifices, at enormous monetary cost.
These are then run as businesses, requiring treasurers, finance and maintenance committees, project managers, etc, with huge salaries being paid to the pastor (often this is split between him and his wife to reduce taxation).
I do not see anywhere in Scripture where Believers are instructed to do this - in fact I have actually had some of my best church meetings in rented school halls.
In the small town where I grew up and worked in South Africa, I lived in one house for 25 years. In a 10km radius around this house there are at least 30 churches of various denominations.
Sadly, in those 25 years, I only ever had ONE church come knocking at my door to share their 'Gospel Message' - and that was when 2 young men from the Jehova's Witness church came around to clock up their 'works-based' quota of visitations.
In the next city that I moved to, there are currently over 200 churches, many of them built on prime property. A very conservative estimate of the combined value of these churches would be enough to send half a million missionaries out into the world for three years to spread the Good News of the Kingdom.
Many huge, historical churches around the world have already fallen into disuse, some being used for rave parties and other worldly events.
So - to get to the point - if church leaders REALLY believed the Word of God, they would understand that the greatest priority of the Body of Christ should be to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
All that is needed to accomplish this is enough people and money - but to date, money has always been the one constraint that has prevented enough people from getting the job done!
Besides, after the Great Tribulation, one would expect that most of these grand edifices will lie in ruins anyway....
Although this article may appear controversial, when seen in the light of the Great Commission and it's eternal reward, I'm afraid it does seem that we have missed a great opportunity to use what the Lord has blessed us with, to accomplish the task He set before us.