An open letter to my church This is an open letter to the home church I love but I believe it applies to a huge percentage of local churches that were once a vital part of their communities. I write this with a broken heart for I feel like I am going through my second divorce. After my first divorce I had colitis for three years and I and my family still wear the scars from it that run deep into all aspects of our lives. But this divorce has world implications. You see as the bride of Christ we are on the verge of divorce. ----- What do couples almost always say? “I don’t really know we just grew apart” When couples first really get serious about spending their life together they are full of dreams and plans. Their excitement for the future is contagious to friends and family. Celebration is in the air. And then little by little their dreams are replaced by the cares of the day. Well-meaning people actually tell them that is just the way it is. There is nothing sadder than a marriage with no dreams. All biblical principles apply regardless of the size of the situation. What works for a person works for a marriage. It works for a town. It works for a state. It applies to a nation. The bible clearly states and demonstrates that without a vision the people parish. We as Gods people have stopped dreaming and started excepting. We have no vision. ----- Let’s talk a little bit about our groom. If we are the bride of Crist then Christ is the groom. There is absolutely nothing more devastating to a marriage then when a man feels his wife has no respect for who he is. This is not about all that submission crap this is about a woman believing deeply in her man and showing it in action and deed. I had a friend who had been through a couple of very bad marriages and was struggling financially a little all the time. And then he married Linda. He had just started a small business out of the back of a pickup truck. His business started to grow and anyone with eyes could tell why. When he bought his first piece of used equipment on shaky credit she got dressed to the nines and came out to the job where several crews were working to see it. She could turn some heads if you know what I mean and she let my friend tell her all about what that machine was going to do for them. Now I’m Sure she had heard it at home and I don’t think she gave a hoot about a machine but she loved and believed in her man. And then she did a wonderful thing in front of all those rough men. She put her arms around his neck drew him down to her and kissed him long and hard. Then she said I’m so proud of you baby when you get home tonight you can bet we are GOING TO CELIBRATE. Every man on that crew wished they were him. He died a relatively young man and the equipment he owned filled a huge parking lot. After that first machine he had paid cash for every one of them and there was several million dollars’ worth. People often tell me what an inspiration I am with this cancer and I hope I remain strong but the truth is I’m married to Pat Kidd and she treats me that same way and that makes all the difference. ----- So back to who we think we are married to. First I would like to point out who the groom is and then we will get into who we act like he is. He is the Christ one third of the God head; creator of heaven and earth. He was and is and always will be. He is the lion of Judah. This earth is a tiny part of his vision. He literally spoke everything we know into existence. I could go on and on. It sure makes me get all swelled up just thinking I’m part of something that is married to that. What a shame we have reduced his vision for this earth down to our lack of any at all. Let me tell you of a vision I have had lately about our broken nation. I envision three men walking boldly onto the floor of the US Senate and later the house. Three men who love and trust each other and deeply deeply love and trust their God. They walk right past all security as if it wasnt there. They calmly walk to the front of that evil hall. They lift their hands in the air and boldly command in the name of the one true God That his spirit descend on this body. I see a mighty revival sweeping all of DC and flowing out, out, out, into the utmost parts of the nation and the ramifications of it to the whole world. That noise you hear in the background is Ron Vining and Howard Olver reading this and going oooohhh craaaap! If you don’t think this is possible and you are teaching Sunday school or running a youth group resign today! Today! If you are a pastor do not step into another pulpit unless it is to confess and beg forgiveness of your people. And most of all if you are on a church board get off of it post haste. How can you in good conscience tell of Gods people from Noah to Nehemiah and not believe this is possible. If you don’t feel your spirit quicken with the possibility of this and long to be one of the three, resign. If you don’t believe as my friend Wes Smith is so quick to point out that Jesus told us that we would do even greater things than he did, resign. How can we possibly teach that a man with the help of his friends held his hands in the air and slowed the passing of the sun and not believe this is possible? ----- I started writing this with a different plan in mind but the spirit led me this way so I will just say I have some very practical suggestion for my home church that would apply to many other churches and I will write them up and share with anyone who has an interest. But they will be mildly successful at best if we do not share a vision with our groom.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 14:53:54 +0000
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