In the Phillips paraphrase, Hebrews 8:13 reads this way – "When a thing grows weak and out of date, it is obviously soon going to disappear."
I was talking to a lady from the Lutheran Church in the town where I live last evening. I know the church, the folks and the pastor and the church is the traditional Lutheran church in every respect. She was saying how the church there is in trouble financially and how attendance has dropped way down to just a few people so that there are not enough helpers to serve communion etc. They are talking about the possibility of the church closing. She said she can't understand how the people could want the church to be there for them when they had a need but they didn't attend or support the work.
She also spoke concerning the support moneywise and how the folks there raised the question about giving more money to something that might close soon.She said this because the thought was introduced, by leadership people, that the people should give more to meet the financial needs the are overwhelming the church now.
According to Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Community church and author of the book, "The Purpose Driven Church," the reason that 95% of all churches in the world never grow past 300 members is because their structure keeps them from growing beyond that point. Quoting today's scripture, he said, "When a thing grows weak and out of date, it is obviously soon going to disappear. That's true of churches, too. If a church cannot change, it will eventually die." (taken from Timothy Satryan's First Impressions page)
Is the traditional church in trouble today? Not just one church or denomination but the way church has been done throughout the land. Is it time for a change in the methods or the way we approach the idea of "church"? What do you think? Do you even care? Give me some feedback..Thank you.
Blessings on Ya!
Pastor Kitner
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