Has your church 'died' and you dont know it?

[reddogs]

We see churches dying as its members no longer come, and others being destroyed directly by evil itself..
I know everyone thinks their church is alive, because the buildings are there, and many names in the registry. But there are churchs with 500-1000 people, and yet they were 'dead', no spirituality, no fruits, no search for truth, no morals as they indulge in womanizing or getting dates during the actual service. Just a 'club' to see and be seen especially if new clothes or glitter, and plan the next social event, check on social status, or job and salary comparisons, something on the level of a posh golf club or exclusive social club. Many members, much glitz and flash, especially on their cars, and many events, but not of the spiritual kind, and if you happen to wander in as a visitor, with clothes that dont speak of well to do monies, find not even a hello to greet you.

And we see those churches that are being destroyed and being taken apart...
'A quarter of Methodist congregations in the U.S. are leaving the United Methodist Church as one of the country's largest Protestant denominations wrestles with issues of sexuality and gender identity...
More than 7,600 of United Methodist’s approximately 30,000 congregations had voted to leave as of this week, and the number could grow as the Dec. 31 deadline for departures approaches...
“It’s the biggest schism in any American denomination in the history of our country,” said Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston....

What's at issue?
Controversies have been brewing within the church for several decades, particularly those dealing with LGBTQ+ issues, Wilson said.

Progressive factions within the church, he said, want to overhaul church teachings to, for instance, permit same-sex marriages and allow the ordination of gay clergy....'
.. A quarter of Methodist congregations abandon the church as schism grows over LGBTQ+ issues

They are 'dead' churches and dying churches and dont even know it.. what is happening in your church, what is your church like.

 

[WIP]

The church I attend is a small country church which shares a pastor as part of a two point parish with another church of the same size. Each week we alternate churches instead of having individual worship services. On any given Sunday we may have roughly 40-50 in attendance combined.

Originally our church was part of the American Lutheran Church (ALC) and although unanimously voted against it but later accepting it, in 1988 with the merger of the ALC, the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) it became part of the newly formed Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Right from the get go there were concerns about such influences as LGBTQ+, Universalism, and others and after many failed attempts to stop of curb those influences, our two congregations voted in 1997 to disassociate from the ELCA. We remained independent congregations for about 10 years until we joined the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC).

Unfortunately, being a country church has its disadvantages. With fewer small family farms in the area along with smaller families in general, the membership has been slowly diminishing and aging over the years. In our two congregations, we currently have three children pre confirmation age and two of them are our pastor's children. Unless something changes, it is only a matter of time before we will probably have to talk about closing one of the two churches and that won't be an easy decision.

Has our church died? To this question I would say no for the time being. In fact, our young, new pastor who came here two years ago has brought new life to our congregations. She does a great job of sharing the hope that is found in Jesus.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Progressive factions within the church, he said, want to overhaul church teachings to, for instance, permit same-sex marriages and allow the ordination of gay clergy....'
.. A quarter of Methodist congregations abandon the church as schism grows over LGBTQ+ issues

I found it interesting that the conservative churches were (not surprisingly) the ones that were actually growing, the point being that spiritual compromise leads to the Spirit of God departing, which in turn leads to a church dying.

It's common sense really. I don't see the mystery in any of it.

Wilson said it’s also the nature of the churches that are leaving that could have major reverberations. “Some of the churches that are leaving are some of the most vibrant churches,” he said. “You have to look at where the energy and dynamism is…. By and large, the energy and growth is in more conservative churches. So as they leave, that creates problems for the denomination, one that has been shrinking anyway.”

 

[Christian Saboteur]

Be the 'Church' wherever you go,display the Supernatural of God to people around you.We are the descendants of another world that hasn't been revealed yet,you are the first clue to people around you.