Man The Life Boats

1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

If a church is built upon a man, it will not stand when the man is no longer there. If it's foundations are truly built of God it will remain until the Church becomes like one in Revelation and then the lampstand will be removed and no one will be able to keep it going. They are putting incense around a decaying corpse denying the smell.

They are polishing the doorknobs on a sinking ship. All you can do righteously is to abandon that ship and find safety in another one God is blessing. There is no honor in going down with the ship unless you are in the US Navy.

Many churches are failing because they relied on the charisma of a man and not the charisma of the Holy Spirit. They longed for a man to be the messiah of their dying church rather than the true Messiah bringing life. One famous man died and the board immediately prepared for decline. That is because people were coming for the man and now needed a new hero.

Pastor, you know in your heart when it is over and Ichabod is on the door, but you are comfortable and have a place to preach so you will not hold the funeral and send the people out of the tomb. One pastor said if it was just his wife and him he would keep the doors open. Why? The church has left the building and so should he. "I want quality, not quantity" is the motto of the pastor in a dying church and is not biblical.

Deacon/Elder/Trustee or whatever title you use, have discernment. If there is no pastor and maybe you have gone through five in five years with a dry baptistry and continued decline you initiate the funeral. Love your people and set them free from a decaying building and the struggle to maintain it.

Do not allow desperation for a pastor lead you to a man that will fleece you or hurt you. The church may be a hundred years old with a great past, but there are so few of you or most are over seventy don't die in the past when you can enjoy golden years where there is life and growth.

Member, you lead the exodus if you must. If your family is in the church cemetery and there has been family leaders in the church since the 1800s you do not have to be cold and stiff like them except you are in a pew.

For the pastors that are reading this and you are "successful", be careful you have not fallen into the trap that leads to the death of a church. Are you edifying your people to trust in the Word or you? If you left today, how long do you think the church would last without you? Careful how you answer as it may reveal your pride and that they are grounded in you and not the Lord.

Are you using Madison avenue marketing and branding? Those will fail. Jesus is branded by His scars and He brands His own with the Holy Spirit. No other branding is needed. If we walk in the Spirit, no marketing is better than people seeing Jesus in us. The Church is not a business.

Are you grooming your replacement? You may be awesome, but you will not live forever. If you take a new church, will you just leave them in a lurch to sort through a myriad of resumes? Will they know the right questions to ask a man? Will they end up like a church in NY that called a man that was a Baptist Bride dude because they had never heard of that group? They had to let him go after a month because he wanted everyone to get baptized again.

Maybe they will get a man who answers all the questions right but then sets about changing a cowboy church into a traditional church because it was not his style or wants to change the name the first month he is there? You are grooming them for failure if you are not grooming your replacement. Start before you are seventy as you may die at fifty. If you fear they will replace you before you are ready maybe you need to see why you have that concern. If God called you there then no one will remove you unless God has other plans for you.

COVID is not closing churches. Churches are closing because they should have closed decades ago or because they were built by men and not God. Besides, it is only buildings that are closing. If true believers met in that building then the Church left that building to meet elsewhere. The building is nothing. God is remodeling His true temple and equipping them to work under different conditions. After all, we are His workmanship, not a general contractor's.