Thursday, May 25, 2006
Even A House Built On Sand Can Shelter You For A While
The other day I linked to and commented on a post from my friend John Gilmartin. John's post was about th tragedy that has struck a church that had an apparent revival 10 years ago. Both John and I felt that they had obviously built their plans on less than the Word of God and the actions of the Holy Spirit.
John left me a comment to point out a very thoughtful, yet disagreeing comment that his post had received.
We worship a great and wonderful God. He is capable of making bringing some good result from even the worst of circumstance, and in my experience, usually does. I praise God for the good that He wrought in this commenters life! But this andecdote does not change my evaluation of the situation in general.
The church is the body of Christ, and that is an eternal thing. I do not think that God intended His body to come and go and sway in the breeze. Say what you will about catholicism, they are not without problems, but this is one thing they have very, very right. They have built their church to reflect the eternal nature of the Almighty.
Not that I think such a thing could be statistically quantified, but I would argue that regardless of how much "fruit" the Brownsville revivial bore during its height, and it could possibly be more than the Catholic church during the same period, though doubtful given the Catholic church's world-wide appeal, that pales in comparision to what the Catholic church has born over the centuries.
I get chastised a lot because I have never taken the high-risk, quick-reward approach to my business. I could have made a lot more money in some years than I have, but I likely would have done so at the expense of building the relationships that have given my business a permanence that has made me quite comfortable today. Needless to say I have had many clients over the years that have taken the high-wire approach. I'm still here, they are not. And the wealth they garnered has evaporated. For every person permanently touched by the Brownsveille revival like John's commenter - how many, Lord how many, found themselves with their faith crushed because what they thought was the real deal, degenerated into nothingness?
One more point - the church is not here to produce my salvation. The church is here solely to praise God and to reflect His glory and grace. Make no mistake, many will find salvation in that, but bringing that salvation is not the church's purpose. Again, I am not certain what metric truly reflects fruit-bearing - but it is not "saved souls." God's glory is so much more than that.
Cross-posted on How To Be A Christian And Still Go To Church
Related Tags: church growth, fruit, saved souls, God's glory, church metrics
John left me a comment to point out a very thoughtful, yet disagreeing comment that his post had received.
I am a Reformed Southern Baptist, student at Southern Seminary, all that, and yet I am convinced that Brownsville was indeed a legitimate revival. My primary reason for thinking this may sound a little subjective, but here it is: I was converted at Brownsville.This raises a very interesting point - is it possible that God put all those people through all of that, including all those that experienced much pain and sorrow in the downfall of the church, for the benefit of that one commenter? I won't begin to deny the positive experience of this commenter, nor deny that it was in fact good fruit. That said; however, even a bad apple tree produces a good apple now and then; even a house built on sand is shelter for a while.
Now I mean *really* converted. I had been in an SBC church all my life where my father was the pastor, but all my sinner's prayers and recommitments to Christ through my teenage years never resulted in any life change. I basically wanted to go to heaven but didn't want to live for the Lord. But at Brownsville the message of repentance hit home. I had a road to Damascus experience. I know no other way to describe it. Other family members were also saved there and are still living for the Lord almost a decade later.
We worship a great and wonderful God. He is capable of making bringing some good result from even the worst of circumstance, and in my experience, usually does. I praise God for the good that He wrought in this commenters life! But this andecdote does not change my evaluation of the situation in general.
The church is the body of Christ, and that is an eternal thing. I do not think that God intended His body to come and go and sway in the breeze. Say what you will about catholicism, they are not without problems, but this is one thing they have very, very right. They have built their church to reflect the eternal nature of the Almighty.
Not that I think such a thing could be statistically quantified, but I would argue that regardless of how much "fruit" the Brownsville revivial bore during its height, and it could possibly be more than the Catholic church during the same period, though doubtful given the Catholic church's world-wide appeal, that pales in comparision to what the Catholic church has born over the centuries.
I get chastised a lot because I have never taken the high-risk, quick-reward approach to my business. I could have made a lot more money in some years than I have, but I likely would have done so at the expense of building the relationships that have given my business a permanence that has made me quite comfortable today. Needless to say I have had many clients over the years that have taken the high-wire approach. I'm still here, they are not. And the wealth they garnered has evaporated. For every person permanently touched by the Brownsveille revival like John's commenter - how many, Lord how many, found themselves with their faith crushed because what they thought was the real deal, degenerated into nothingness?
One more point - the church is not here to produce my salvation. The church is here solely to praise God and to reflect His glory and grace. Make no mistake, many will find salvation in that, but bringing that salvation is not the church's purpose. Again, I am not certain what metric truly reflects fruit-bearing - but it is not "saved souls." God's glory is so much more than that.
Cross-posted on How To Be A Christian And Still Go To Church
Related Tags: church growth, fruit, saved souls, God's glory, church metrics
