On October 20, 2010, Dr. Joe Savage, Director of the Center for Leadership at the University of Mobile, sent an email as part of the Center's Twelve23 project that contained one of the most poignant and true messages of our generation. His text follows in its entirety. If you have not already read it, you need to.
It's Our Fault!
The church is not a building or an institution. The church is a people!
"We the Church" are in grave trouble! Currently, 70-80% of all churches in America are in plateau or in decline numerically. One poll states that at the current rate, three-fourths of all churches in America will cease to exist in less than twenty years if the current hemorrhage does not stop! Let me illustrate: Simply take away those individuals in your church who are older than 60 years and tell me what is left - most likely very few people! Friend, we are rapidly heading toward becoming a nation whose God is everything but Jesus Christ!
Why are we in this condition? Is it because of plurality, liberalism, or secularism? Is it because of the economy, the government, immigration, or Islam? Is it because of Hollywood, the music industry, or too much entertainment? What is it? Why are we rapidly declining and becoming a weak voice in our nation?
May I suggest it is because "We the Church" really don't care - at least our actions suggest this to be true. I mean, have we really done as the Lord mandates in His Word or have we done our own style of following Christ based on our own desires? I am afraid that we have asked Him to follow us, instead of us following Him. Certainly this is not authentic Lordship!
Let's be honest. The reason we are in a mess as a nation is because of "We the Church!" It is not the other people's faults! It is our fault! We are to blame!
For decades now we have been more concerned about ourselves than we were making God known in our land. We have been more concerned about what style music we should sing in the church than we have been about simply falling in love with Jesus.
We have been more focused on competing against the church across town than we have about destroying evil in our town.
We have allowed sin . . . blatant sin to rule our cities without ever saying a word.
We have gagged ourselves for the sake of being politically correct.
We have read thousands of pages of books, magazines, newspapers, and internet junk while rarely opening our Bibles.
Annually we as individual churches have spent hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars on the same old programs to do the same old things in the same old ways while hardly reaching anyone who is lost.
We have built building after building to the "glory" of God yet we quench the Spirit of God week after week with tradition, entertainment, or self-comfort.
We have complained and griped about not having prayer in schools when we aren't even praying at home.
Many Christians have voted time and time again for those who advocate for abortion, gay marriage, and other actions contrary to the desires of God. Have we become this ignorant that we don't understand when one votes in those who advocate for sin, that it is going to result in sin becoming law?
We as God's Church have allowed our churches to become boring, lifeless, and a place filled more with self than with God. Oh, it is our fault friend. You and me. We allowed it! We kept silent. We looked the other way! We participated!
As Henry Blackaby said, "Too many of God's people do not clearly and passionately see the desperate need for a mighty return to God by the people of God. Many do not realize they have departed. They still 'practice religion' and assume their activity is a relationship with God. Religious activity, no matter how faithful, is not necessarily a relationship with God. This has been the tragedy of God's people throughout the Bible."
No doubt, not all Christians and all churches fit into what I say above. But as Billy Graham said, "There certainly are many instances of Christians who have been touched by God, and in turn are touching the lives of others for Christ. But for every instance of that, there are many more Christians who are living defeated, joyless lives . . . the greatest need within the Christian Church is . . . to experience the touch of the Holy Spirit, bringing true 'revival' and 'renewal' to the lives of countless Christians."
We have one opportunity to turn this thing around . . . one! The only chance we have is if you and I humble ourselves before God, pray like never before, turn from every sin, and absolutely seek God with total abandonment of self! This is the hope of the nation!
To win this battle, we can no longer do things in the same way! The time has come to step it up! We cannot keep doing the same things in the same way expecting a different result!
Rise up Christian! Rise up and be the man . . . or the woman that will be responsible for winning our nation back in its most desperate hour of survival! May God help us!
"Oh Lord, we need you. Please help us! Please forgive us! Please revive us! Please heal our land! Here I am Lord, use me to your glory sake! Amen."
More later.
