"Passionately Seeking & Speaking the Love of Jesus Christ"
Dateline: Phillips West
I want to let you all in a a secret. A simple truth recently obscured by bold claims, opinion, and lip service. People today love to talk about how the church is weak, powerless, disjointed, hypocritical, and useless. The truth is that the church is still effective. Although many critics and naysayers (outside and inside the church) love to speak of "the good old days" and nitpick what they see as flaws in the Bride of Christ; I assure you, and encourage you, that the church today is effective and powerful. I am in my 5th decade of experience with the church. I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly since the late 1970's. I have been a worshiper in the pew, a cynic from the bar stool, a visitor in the shadows, and a preacher in the pulpit. I "graduated" from VBS and summer camp to rebellious teen and criminal adult to the blessed wretch I am today. I saw first hand that the ways of the world fall apart but the church was still there and amid the ash and brokenness, The Bride of Christ still stood. Matter of fact, the church is the only consistently effective entity I have seen over my 40 years on this earth. To put it bluntly, everything else has proven to be ineffective, radically changed, or utterly failed.
I could talk about how some years ago New Hope Baptist Church moved into a building in the middle of the worst neighborhood in a city with the well earned moniker "Murderapolis." I could talk about how that church body has survived every single challenge heaven and hell have thrown at her. I could talk about how Jesus Christ worked through that church to change countless lives (including my own). I could talk about how that church has been used to change the city, indeed it has, amen! But let me instead briefly describe a recent incident. This past weekend a group from another church came and put together a playground (which was donated by a member of another church) and over 30 children came to play at the "park" the Bride of Christ provided. You see, there was no park for these kids to play. This is but one example of the church's effectiveness at doing something no one else has. Not the city, the government, the park dept., or the local businesses, the church did it. Yeah, it might seem like a little victory but it is a victory nonetheless and I praise God and all His people for this victory.
Which brings me to this point. The best way to encourage each other is to start talking to each other. Discouraged pastors and ministry leaders, I implore you to ask your people about the victories they have seen. I guarantee you that their stories will give you greater hope than I ever could in an email. For anyone reading this who feels disconnected, hopeless, powerless, and afraid; I assure you that Jesus Christ is still the head of the church. We just need to trust Him... no one else. Just trust Him. He is and will always be effective and He desires His Bride to be all this and more.
