TITLE: MAKE CHURCH GREAT AGAIN
SCRIPTURE: I TIMOTY 3:15
Next month, during the month of October we will dedicate the entire month for a “membership drive.” I will preach for the month on the importance as Jesus urged us to “compel them to come.” Oftentimes we think all we must do is sit in the pews and the Church will grow. I will challenge us for the month of October to work on an individual or family all month long to share Christ with them and introduce or re-introduce them to FBC and all we have to offer for their Spiritual development.
• Select a Neighbor
• Select a friend on the Job
• Select someone that has retired
• Select a Family that needs the Lord
• Select a Former Member
• Select someone that has left the Local Church
• Work with them for the month of October and invite them to make FBC their Church home
We have heard the slogan -- "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" -- abbreviated to MAGA, was a campaign slogan used in American politics that was popularized by Donald Trump in his 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent election although losing the Popular Vote and given the White House by Electoral College, the Gatekeepers of our nation. President Ronald Reagan used the similar slogan "LET’S MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" in his 1980 presidential campaign. "Let's Make America Great Again" was first used in President Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign, when the United States was suffering from a worsening economy at home marked by stagflation.
• Using the country’s economic distress as a springboard for his campaign, Reagan used the slogan to stir a sense of patriotism among the electorate
• As in other things Trump has done, he Stole and modified the Phrase that President Reagan originally used
• For the record I believe the Phrase used by Trump MAGA is a Racist Code and Calling
• For the record I believe our County is already Great
• We have some issues and dark areas
• But our country is Great and provides us the freedom to become whatever we desire
I believe the only way our Nation can rise above its challenges is if the church becomes great again! Someone said to me…WELL, REV, DON’T YOU THINK THE CHURCH IS GREAT? Our theme is not about what I think, it is about what we think coupled with what those outside the Church think.
• I believe when a Church has more empty Pews on Sunday than those occupied
• I believe when a Church has an Afternoon Worship and only 20 people show up
• I believe when a Church is struggling to keep Utilities on
• I believe when the community has no interest in visiting the local Churches
• I believe when Members are upset because the Preacher Preaches too long
• I believe when the District comes together and can’t fill the Church
• We need to Make Church Great Again!
The Bible records in PROVERBS 29:18 “WHERE THERE IS NO VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH.” A dying Church is one in which there is no vision to - BE MORE – SEE MORE – DO MORE. For the Church to be Great Again, it cannot have the kind of members who are content with the way things are but be like those who desire the Church to BE ALL IT CAN BE – DO ALL IT CAN DO.
• Some are happy and satisfied to be a Good Church
• Others are hungry to be a Great Church
THE QUESTION IS HOW CAN WE BECOME AND HAVE A GREAT CHURCH? The answer is very simple.
• Great Church members make great Churches
• If we have a great Church it depends on you and me who are the members of First Baptist Church
• The Church can be no Greater than its Members
When we talk about a great Church, we should ask ourselves what makes a church great? If we were to each write down on a sheet of paper our idea of what makes a Church great I am afraid that our common ideas of what makes a Church great are not what God says makes a Church great.
• Some think it is a healthy Financial Budget
• Some think it is an attractive Building and Church Campus that make the Church great
• Some think it is the Programs that a Church has that make it Great
• Some think it is Praise Teams, Gifted Musicians, Choirs that make the Church Great
It is none of those things that make a Church great. I believe we have the answer to this question found in our scripture text read this morning. Because of the misconception, I know that it will be increasingly difficult to compel those to come into the Church as we embark upon ‘MEMBERSHIP DRIVE’ for next month. It’s difficult to stand in defense of church when there are so many examples of DYSFUNCTIONAL CHURCHES AROUND US.
• But we need to be reminded that Church is vitally important
• We were designed for community
• But also something beyond community
• We were designed for Church
Many we will encounter during our efforts those who will object, and nearly everyone has gruesome tales of – HYPOCRITES – SELF RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE - PREDATORS. Not to mention what this Church is coming out of as well -- So, I get it. Some parts of the North American church are desperately sick, and in many cases the church hinders the spiritual growth of people.
• But before we allow some to have coffee and croissants at Starbucks and call it church
• I’d like to suggest that God has given us a few clues about what He thinks makes up a church and makes it great
In our text it was mentioned the Church is called “THE HOUSE OF GOD.” When the Church is spoken of as the house of God it is setting the Church apart from any and all places where people gather.
• It is a description that says the Church is a place where God’s presence dwells
• A house is not a place where one visits
• It is a place where one lives and dwells
• To call the Church the house of God is to say the Church is where God’s presence abides
I was raised on the East Coast and began my initial U.S. Pastorate in NJ. We would always say we are “GOING TO CHURCH.” It was not until I moved to Oklahoma that I heard the saints say “I’M GOING TO THE CHURCH HOUSE.” I had never heard that before. I used to think why in the world do people around here say “Church House?”
• We don’t’ live at the Church
• The Church is Not my House
• Why do people say “Church House”
• I didn’t understand it initially
It took me awhile to understand and it is so clearly stated in the text this is not our house it is the house of God. Therefore; we are going to the Church House. What has diminished the Church from being Great is the fact we have reduced it to our house instead of God’s house! This is the House of God!
When you come and visit my house, you just can’t come in dressed any kind of way. There is a certain level of respect that is expected when you come to my home. I ensure I am dressed appropriately whenever I visit the home of others.
• I don’t show up in a cotton T-Shirt that is often referred to as “Wife Beaters”
• I don’t show up in shorts and flip flops
• I don’t show up in my gym clothes
But today – anything goes. Churches often advertise: “COME AS YOU ARE.” In other words, dress how you want – shorts – flip flops – ragged jeans - and so forth. It’s a very self-serving ploy to get us to their church by catering to our self-centered feelings. So, if we don’t feel like dressing appropriately for church, we don’t have to.
• We don’t have to Respect God’s house
• We don’t have to Reverence God’s house
• We don’t have to maintain Dignity
I am talking about Make Church Great Again! I know what you are saying right now - I SAMUEL 16:7 “…FOR THE LORD SEETH NOT AS MAN SEETH; FOR MAN LOOKETH ON THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE, BUT THE LORD LOOKETH ON THE HEART.” This is so true, yet it does not exonerate us from doing the best we can with what we have.
• See young folks on Facebook at Clubs – looking Good
• See young folks going out dressed nice trying to catch themselves a date
• See those around us at WindStar World Casino Concerts, nothing wrong with that – looking good
• Want to come to Church any kind of way
Do you recall in 2005 after NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY’S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN’S LACROSSE TEAM visited the White House, a group photo showed several players wearing flip-flop sandals along with their dresses and skirts. A controversy quickly followed, with one front-page headline quoting an e-mail sent to a player: "YOU WORE FLIP-FLOPS TO THE WHITE HOUSE?!" Family members of other players were also dismayed, saying the footwear was too casual for a visit with the President. There is an expectation as to how we dress visiting the White House and meeting with the President. Is there not a standard when we come before the presence of the Lord!
In the Old Testament there was the TABERNACLE. On several occasions it is called the ‘House of God.’
• The Tabernacle was an earthly dwelling place for God
• It was built after God’s command in EXODUS 25:8, “AND LET THEM MAKE ME A SANCTUARY; THAT I MAY DWELL AMONG THEM”
• It was a place where God dwelt to meet His people
• God said in EXODUS 25:22, “AND THERE I WILL MEET WITH THEE, AND I WILL COMMUNE WITH THEE FROM ABOVE THE MERCY SEAT, FROM BETWEEN THE TWO CHERUBIMS WHICH ARE UPON THE ARK OF THE TESTIMONY”
• The same was true for the Temple which was a permanent structure that replaced the Tabernacle
• God said in II SAMUEL 7:13, “HE SHALL BUILD AN HOUSE FOR MY NAME, AND I WILL STABLISH THE THRONE OF HIS KINGDOM FOREVER”
• God called the Temple His house indicating that it would be a place where He dwelt
• In our time, God calls the Church His house
In order to Make Church Great Again we must bring back the Reverence, this is God’s House. All too often the Millennial’s have left the Church saying it is not relevant and does not meet their needs. We have played a role in that because we have Disrespected the House of the Lord and reduced it to our church.
• The Church was never designed to meet the needs of the Younger generation
• The Church was designed that we may gather and Worship the Lord
• The Church was not designed for our Entertainment
• The Church was designed that we may Magnify our Creator
I don't go to church to be entertained. I also don't go to church to be bored.
• I go to Worship
• I go to Read and Hear from God's Word
• I go to be Taught
• I go to be Challenged
• I go to be Discipled
• I go to Fellowship with other believers
• I go to be Inspired into action
I do realize we are talking about the BLACK BAPTIST CHURCH. Is it wrong to entertain people in the process of achieving the goals of the Gospel? Are they mutually exclusive?
• If we entertain people do they not encounter God?
• Can people only encounter and interact with the King of Kings if they are not entertained?
• How do we define entertainment?
The Bible is full of language and writing that entertains people – there’s - HISTORY – POETRY – STORIES – DRAMA – MURDER -- SUSPENSE – HYPERBOLE – MIRACLES -- SINISTER PLOTS – PROVERBS -- SONGS – FANTASY -- HUMOR and a whole lot more. God gave us a book that engages and entertains the imagination and enables us to encounter Him on every page.
• We should not entertain as a performance
• We don’t perform in our Worship
• I love encountering God in our church and all of the ingredients of our services make this possible
• Worship is the Key
• All we do must be to the Glory of the Lord
• Not for the Glory of man
• Not to “Shout” the congregation
• Not to get congregation all worked up
• All must be done to the Glory of God
• He must get the Glory
Remember what happened when Solomon dedicated the temple? He said to God, “I HAVE SURELY BUILT THEE AN HOUSE TO DWELL IN, A SETTLED PLACE FOR THEE TO ABIDE IN FOREVER” -- I KINGS 8:13 - The word “abide” simply means “to remain.”
• God’s abiding presence is a continual presence in the Church
• Every time we come to Church, God is with us
• He is present among us
• We may not always see or sense His presence, but He is always present
In order to Make Church Great Again we must understand we come to be in the presence of God every time we enter the Sanctuary. The Lord must be the center of attention.
• Not about the personality of the Pastor
• Not about how dynamic the Choir and Musicians are
• Not about Praise and Worship Team working us into a Frenzy
• It is about being in the Presence of God
Oftentimes we get caught up in crowds and large attendance. We think that is where the Lord is moving. Have a lot of Programs but No Ministry!
• God’s abiding presence is not determined by the number of people who gather
• Jesus said in ST. MATTHEW 18:20 -- “FOR WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME, THERE AM I IN THE MIDST OF THEM”
Don’t get me wrong this morning. I believe once we Make Church Great Again the Church will have steady growth. First SPIRITUALLY and then NUMERICALLY. This is what we will be Preaching and Teaching for the month of October as we move into our “MEMBERSHIP DRIVE.” We need to understand – WHEN CHRIST GETS INTO PEOPLE, PEOPLE WILL GET INTO THE CHURCH! They will be automatically added to the Lord’s worldwide church, but they will also want to be a part of a local church that is seeking to honor the Lord. We know the main avenue on how the Church will grow is found in the very words of Christ. ST. JOHN 12:32 “AND I, IF I BE LIFTED UP FROM THE EARTH WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME.”
We lift up the Lord through His Word and through Our Life Style. When we invite and introduce or re-introduce FBC – whenever a person comes to Church there should always be the PROCLAMATION OF THE WORD OF GOD. In our efforts to be more appealing and attractive to the world, the Bible is often replaced with other things to be more entertaining. However, God never called the Church to be entertainment centers in this world, but proclaimer’s of THUS SAITH THE LORD!
• The Church is here to faithfully and fearlessly proclaim the Word of God
• Being relevant is not the issue we are to be concerned about
• Being faithful is the issue
• Our main concern is not being attractive to the world but being accepted by God
When a Church substitutes other things for the Preaching and Teaching of the Bible, they have abandoned an important purpose for which the Church exists. Whenever the Church comes together, whether it is on Sunday morning or on Sunday night or Wednesday night it should always be for the purpose of hearing God’s Word.
• This very great purpose does not stop with the pulpit
• It is also assigned to the pews
-- Make Church Great Again
--Must be Word Focused
--Share the Word with those that come into visit the Church
--Point to Christ as those come in seeking a Church Home
--Everything we do must be Word Oriented and Mission Minded
--FBC, let’s Make Church Great Again!
--Let’s get excited about this, God’s House!
--PSALM 122:1 “I WAS GLAD WHEN THEY SAID UNTO ME, LET US GO INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD”
--Let’s Make Church Great Again
