Last week was ONE-OF-THOSE-WEEKS. I only got one blog out. I am really hoping to do better this week. I could write this blog on last week, but I would rather forget the whole thing. However, if you just HAVE to know, drop me a note at oldirishguy51@yahoo.com.

Where I live now, there is a great exodus from church that is going on. Churches surround me that were once vibrant, growing churches. I grew up here, and I know what I am talking about. Now, a few of those churches are closed, some should be closed, and others are struggling. Is it because some churches refused to change their music or their style of preaching or the way they dress? Are churches struggling because they are stuffy or outdated or because they dictate how people should live? Are churches dying because they refuse to drop their denominational names and adopt cool names instead? Names like Vitality Church or Church in the Trees? You would never associate these churches with the Baptist denominations. Their secret is safe.

We have come to think that these are the reasons for failure. However, in my area now, one of the largest churches in our area is very legalistic, they dictate how you dress and how you live your lives, they stick with the old hymns, men wear ties and women where dresses and they have their denomination proudly included in their name. So, what gives?

Satan.

That is right. Satan.

Satan wants you to think that all you have to do is change your music or change your dress style or any of those other things. By the time churches come to realize that those things don't work, the churches will be little more than dust. I know traditional churches that are thriving and I know contemporary churches that are soaring, but I also know many of both types that are dying.

Four reasons why churches are in trouble:

1.) Childhood beliefs shattered. Children are taught in Sunday School that the Bible is holy, God is love and that prayer is the answer. Then, around ten or eleven, they really begin to have these beliefs assaulted in school. Lately, even earlier. They hear other viewpoints from teachers, TV, movies and books. Why should they be stuck to one set of beliefs? Kids move away from the Lord quickly and easily. However, it is not because the other beliefs are so inviting. It is because parents and grandparents are too casual with their own beliefs. Do your kids ever see you bent over a Bible? Do they ever hear you pray other than at the table? Do they see you live a Godly and separated life? Your kids are at school 7 hours a day, but you have them the rest of time. You wouldn't let them walk out of your house naked, but do you let them go out without being clothed in Godliness?

2.) Disrespect. Uh, what now? What do you mean? Sunday afternoon. Lunch has been in the slow cooker all morning and is smelling great when the family walks in. The crew sits around the table and prays and the feast begins. Not the food feast, but rather the feasting on the people at church. I wish Mrs. Sanchez would not bring that grandchild! He is so noisy! I did not like that third song. Has no place in church. Mr. Blankenship smelled funny again. Can you believe those two strangers took our pew? This roast would taste even better if the preacher would mind his time a little closer. Not only do the children hear this, but the adults, as well. It under cuts the respect and love Christians should feel for one another.

3.) Television preachers. If you know me, you know this is one of my pet peeves. For every Charles Stanley out there, it seems to be a dozen schemers who are using gullibility and the Bible to strip folks of their money. Why should I go to church when the preaching is so much better and I can sit in my PJs and listen? And then, something happens and the TV preacher is found to be involved in something truly disgusting. Faith is placed in a person and then is shattered. Actually, this goes for any facet of Christian life. Some human is placed on a pedestal and then, when they sin, faith is shattered. Sometimes it doesn't even take sin. My wife and I were going to go visit a shut-in one Saturday afternoon. One of the ladies wanted to go along with us. None of the three of us had ever been to this home and it was before GPS had even been thought of. We were going by someone's directions and so when we came to a place where we could only go left or right, I asked my wife what she thought. Left, she said. OK, I think right and we can double back if I am wrong. Our passenger never came to church again BECAUSE A PREACHER AND HIS WIFE SHOULD NEVER DISAGREE! Silly, but the point is, ALWAYS PUT YOUR FAITH IN THE LORD!  

4.) Unkind treatment. Most churches express the desire to grow. Years ago my wife and I were on vacation. It was a rare vacation where I was not scheduled to preach somewhere. We were out of town and saw a larger brick church. There was where we would go to church the next day. When we got there, we saw that the sanctuary would have easily sat 500, but there were only about 60 scattered throughout. You would have thought they would have been all over these two strangers. But no. Not only were we ignored, but when church was over, people pushed by us rushing to get out. If we had been new to the community, we would never have gone back. Anyone who has gone through the process of finding a new church has encountered this treatment somewhere. 

So, what does this say? Why are churches dying? It is not because of music or style of preaching or anything else like that. No, the reason so many churches are struggling is because the people in the congregation have left their Godliness behind, both in the church and in their personal lives. Your actions, your language, your attitude gives you away. But you can change that. Start with prayer. Get back to the Word of God, and don't commit to reading the Bible in a year. Take your time. Soak it up. Begin to live the Word.

Talk to you all in a few days.

Blessings.