Last week a friend confided.... "I feel like America is going to Hell in a hand basket and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm so depressed."
I think we all feel that way. We are being pushed around by political correctness, hatred, greed, sin, anarchy, corruption, crime, personal assaults and.....we don't even feel safe within our own church communities. Add to that the economic pressures and trying to argue with spoiled liberal brats and it can feel like the good life is ending.
I'm currently reading a great book, 5 Ministry Killers and how to defeat them. (Use my amazon link to purchase this book) In his book, Charles Stone gives a lot of statistics from the Barna Group as well as other polling institutions. Stone stated, "If the Barna Group is right about the twenty million who sit in the pews each week, and leave wondering if church is worth their time, then plenty of them probably sit in my church as well."
Wow....20,000,000 unsatisfied Christians. That's a lot of people who aren't being fed. Now before we jump on pastors too hard....I agree with Stone that it's not totally up to pastors. I bet half or more of those 20 million aren't prepared to "receive" anything even before the pastor takes the pulpit. (More on that subject later).
I'm not going to jump on my justified soapbox and ask - "Who does he think he is? No one should have the right to "shoot more policemen". Why should I support him? He looks well enough to work. Which brings up the question.... "Has he shot policemen before?" Why wasn't he taken in for questioning?
The question I am going to pose is....what brought this guy to the protest? What is his past? Why does he feel he has the right to force his way on Americans who built this country? Why does he feel justified in his hate...in his need to kill authority figures? Does he have a faith? Is he a criminal? Does he know about our constitution? What did his mom teach him about society and how to live within a society? Did his parents teach him about hard work and obeying laws?
Those questions are important. Without answering them we don't really know the people that are trying to hurt us as individuals and destroy us as a nation. Where is the church in all this? Are we spreading the message of the gospel so thoroughly that other nations want our faith as well as our country?
Where are parents in this fight? Are we training our children to be good citizens? Are we training them to grow up and build a stronger government that will reach the goal of our founding fathers....to be a light on the hill - a beacon to the world?
As we protest and as the Tea party movement grows, we must answer many of these questions. As a teacher and family specialist - I am concerned with two huge segments of our society. I'm concerned with the declining influence of the church on individual lives. I'm also concerned with the declining influence of parents on the future of their children.
I hope you will join me for a series of posts on God's House. We will be asking some huge questions about the validity and power of the church in a contemporary society. Tomorrow we will discuss "Sanctification" and if it plays a role in today's church.
I've already discussed parenting as an important factor in changing America. Children will always throw temper tantrums when they don't get what they want. Debbie's definition of a temper tantrum is when a child or adult refuses to listen to the facts or reasons and chooses physical action and selfishness over intelligent understanding.
Hum....does that apply to the protest on immigration? No one in America is denying the "lawful" path to citizenship. Just because a task is hard doesn't mean that it's wrong. Does "temper tantrum" apply to political correctness and much of the liberal agenda? Hum.... Does "temper tantrum" apply to areas of the church? Hum....
Let me know what you think.
God loves you,
Debbie
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