Our Message

READ EPHESIANS 5:15-20

Are you CONCERNED about what's happening in the world right now? I am concerned about what's happening in the world right now! To me, the daily headlines read more like the pages of Bible prophecy. I believe the events of modern times are rapidly racing toward the cataclysmic conclusion spoken of in the ancient text of Holy Scripture. I think the days well could be upon us. And the question is: Are we READY? Are we AWAKE? As Jesus once questioned His disciples, will He FIND FAITH on earth when He returns? Will he find his people actively doing those things He commissioned us to do when He left earth the first time? As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to be thinking about those things - and TAKING ACTION!

I know it can be depressing, even frightening, but PAY ATTENTION to the daily news: The escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon, the ongoing war in Iraq, concerns over nuclear proliferation both in North Korea and Iran, coupled with our own country's seeming preference for preemptive military intervention rather than diplomatic initiative, have become the instruments of God's clear message to His people:: "WAKE UP! Arise from your spiritual slumber. Pay attention to what is happening all around you! Let the light Christ shine more clearly in you, now more than ever before!"

Our Lord has given us a GREAT COMMISSION. It has been said that it was not a GREAT SUGGESTION. It was not a FINE RECOMMENDATION. No! It was GOD'S DIRECT COMMAND! MARCHING ORDERS if you will, given through his Son:

"Go ye therefore, into all the world," Jesus said.
And preach the gospel to all persons:
Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Teaching them EVERYTHING that I have commanded you. And behold, I will be with you
always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20).

Is the end of the age upon us? I don't know. But I'm beginning to wake up to that possibility. Are we doing EVERYTHING He commanded us? Not just SOME of the things? I have a suspicion we could be doing more than we think we can. Jesus commanded us to go into all the world, but with the church in it's present condition in America, I would be happy if Christians would simply GO ACROSS THE STREET to share Good News with someone who still needs Jesus! God is calling us to WAKE UP: The world is in turmoil. And it's serious. People all around us are in spiritual peril. But the peril isn't just outside the church. It's also inside the church.

At our recent Annual Conference held in Des Moines, Iowa I got all stirred up at a meeting where we discussed the current condition of our church. It was said that our membership as a denomination continues to decline at a slow, yet steady rate. In our own district, two churches have recently been closed, and two more are said to be on the verge.

In that meeting it was stated that healthy, spiritually vital congregations, are unfortunately outnumbered by spiritually anemic churches that seem to be caught in what was termed "a slow, yet inevitable DEATH SPIRAL." DEATH SPIRAL: That's the first time I heard that kind of terminology. And I'm here to tell you, that I didn't like it very much! It's said to be a downward spiral marked by three key factors. I call it A-F-C:

Aging membership.
Failing stewardship.
Conflicted relationship.

And all of it leads to the same place: SPIRITUAL DEATH!

The pessimistic among us have said that unless we as Brethren reverse this trend, our beloved denomination may be merely a few short decades away from non-existence. And my question is this: What would the world do without our unique witness as Brethren? Would the world even miss us, as Brethren, if your witness were gone? Remember President Bush? Remember how I told you that on the day I met him, when he found out I was a pastor, he asked me which church and which denomination? When I told him "the Church of the Brethren" he paused, looked me directly in the eye - very sincerely, very non-judgmentally, but nonetheless, very honestly, and he replied, "Who?".

My question for all of us is: WHOSE FAULT IS THAT? It is certainly not his fault. Not even the President of the United States knows who we are. To me, that is a sad reality.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Recently I received a flyer in the mail that gave me pause to consider. It was from the Battlecry Leadership Summit, an extension of Teen Mania Ministries, and it was entitled: WAKE UP! And join us in the fight to save this generation. OK! That caught my attention! On the outside it says: Christianity won't survive another decade unless we do something NOW!
On the inside it says:

• This generation of teens is the largest in history, but current trends show that only 4% will become evangelical believers - meaning those who believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus as the only means of salvation - by the time they reach adulthood.
• Compare this to 34% of adults today who claim evangelical faith.
• We are on the verge of a catastrophe!
• Imagine an America at 4%: Church attendance dwindles. Tithes and offerings are at a all time low. Church buildings will sit empty. Life giving sermons go unheard. The role of church leaders become irrelevant.

As I write these words to you - 8 teens and 2 adults from our congregation are worshiping, growing, studying, learning, and having a blast at our Church of the Brethren National Youth Conference in Ft. Collins, Colorado. And while it's been said that the spiritual quality of our youth culture and our churches in general, is declining, I want you to know that attendance at our National Conference for youth is increasing! And I am thankful for that. At NYC over 4,000 teenagers will gather for worship twice a day and experience the presence of Christ in such a way that many of them would never experience in the worship services of many of our traditional churches.

They're going to come back fired up, and we need to be prepared to let their light for Christ shine more brightly among us. We've got to give our younger members more SPACE AND PLACE in the life of our church. So let's be thinking about ways we can affirm, encourage, and lift up our youth FOR Christ. Let's also give God the thanks and praise for what He is doing in the life of our church. For we are not a congregation caught in a DEATH SPIRAL. We are not congregation suffering from the problems of A-F-C:

Aging membership.
Failing stewardship.
Conflicted relationship.

God still has more to do with us, if we are willing to let Him have his way. Are you WILLING? Are you AWAKE?

Wake up, O sleeper!
Rise from the dead!
And the light of Christ will shine on you!
. . . and also on me!

People of God, it's time to stay wide awake in your faith, wide awake with your witness, and wide awake as a church, that the light of Christ may shine brightly through us, bringing forth life to all in Jesus' name.

WAKE UP, O PEOPLE OF GOD!
WAKE UP!

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