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I think my church may be dying. What can I do?


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On 24 May 2019 at 10:00 AM, Michael37 said:

The operative word being guide, and "shepherd" being a function not a title. Also the NT teaches plurality of leadership.

Acts 11:30--elders at the church of Antioch

Acts 14:23--Paul and Barnabas appoint "elders in every church"

Acts 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23; 16:4--elders at the church in Jerusalem

Acts 20:17, 28--elders/bishops at the church of Ephesus (v. 17--"elders of the church")

Acts 21:18--elders at the church in Jerusalem

Phil 1:1--the church at Philippi has bishops and deacons

1 Tim 5:17--elders at the church of Ephesus

Titus 1:5--Titus is to appoint elders in every town7

Jas 5:14--"the elders of the church"

1 Pet 5:1-2--"the elders among you"8

And every committe has a chairman.

The bible teaches the unity of the trinity, yet that there is also a chain of command or authority in the trinity.

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The best thing you can do is pray.  Revivals have been started by one person interceding.  Pray.

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14 hours ago, Who me said:

And every committe has a chairman.

The bible teaches the unity of the trinity, yet that there is also a chain of command or authority in the trinity.

Well they are all equally God but certainly we should see the difference in function between the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, which is also a feature of the body of Christ.

The Eastern Orthodox are leaning towards the principle of equality as this Wkpd quote reveals"  

"The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the Bishop of Rome, but the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognised by all as primus inter pares ("first among equals") of the bishops."

John Ritenbaugh's Bio details his transition from the Worldwide Church of God to the breakaway Church of the Great God, and this quote shows how mistaken some folk are when they perceive the function of shepherd to be a matter of rank and elevation.

"At the Feast of Tabernacles in 1982, John was ordained to the rank of pastor." Source

Mat 20:25-28
(25)  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
(26)  But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
(27)  And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
(28)  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

 

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On 26 May 2019 at 5:48 AM, Michael37 said:

Well they are all equally God but certainly we should see the difference in function between the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, which is also a feature of the body of Christ.

 

Sorry missed your reply.

All are equaly God, but God the Father is not the Son, whileGod the Son is not the Spirit and God the Spirit is not the Father.

They all do have different roles, the Spirit works in the minds of men to point them to Jesus.

Jesus saves but also points towards God the Father who is our God.

There is order and structure within the trinity.

Because of the different entities in the trinity it is possible for Jesus to love and to experience love. It is a reality for him.

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We are the church personally first and the church as a body second. It is your relationship with Christ in you that makes us of the church. If this is the way it is with you  then you won't worry about the numbers. Church is not a place that looks like a church. I was once of a group that met under a tree. in a park. Numbers went up or down but that means nothing. Jesus knows who it is that love Him and live like it.

 

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On 5/22/2019 at 5:49 AM, Cool of the Day said:

When I look around I see more and more empty pews. Only select Sundays are they filled. The majority of the buzz from the elders is "how do we attract/keep the younger generation here?"

We are a Bible rooted church, but, I do think we lean more to head knowledge vs. truly getting to the heart and allowing the Holy Spirit to flow freely and unhindered. 

All that said, do any scriptures come to mind that I can pray? Or take back to the elders when they ask me my thoughts/ideas?

God Bless

You are not alone in this.

We live in an increasingly secularized nation.   We turned our collective backs upon God a long time ago and it isn't surprising to see more and more empty seats in every church.

Young people are fools that need training.  

This is an axiom of civilization not a reflection on pretty kids with empty skulls.  It is the responsibility of parents to make peace with God, to make God the most important person in their lives and to transmit that devotion to their children.   Instead our modern parents hand electronic distractions to their children so they won't have to deal with them.  Very often they refuse spiritual training for their children that they themselves will not provide.   It's a vicious circle.

America is no longer a godly nation.  America has become a mean-spirited fascist police state focused on atheistic philosophy rather than the rock solid precepts of the Word of God.  We see instances of this mean selfishness in the news every day and it's increasing.

"Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” - Revelation 22:11

THESE are the last days.  As it has been predicted so it has come to pass - that men and women will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (1 Tim 3:4).

"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." - Jesus as quoted by Luke 21:28

The last national revival took place in America from the late 1960's to the mid 1970's.  There has not been one since.  Without the spirit of revival America and its churches will continue to circle the drain of history.

Pray, therefore, for revival.    Even a small one in your neighborhood or community is better than nothing at all, for satan will take all those who do not repent of their sin.  Satan's harvest is becoming more bountiful every day.

that's me, hollering from the choir loft...

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4 hours ago, choir loft said:

You are not alone in this.

We live in an increasingly secularized nation.   We turned our collective backs upon God a long time ago and it isn't surprising to see more and more empty seats in every church.

Young people are fools that need training.  

This is an axiom of civilization not a reflection on pretty kids with empty skulls.  It is the responsibility of parents to make peace with God, to make God the most important person in their lives and to transmit that devotion to their children.   Instead our modern parents hand electronic distractions to their children so they won't have to deal with them.  Very often they refuse spiritual training for their children that they themselves will not provide.   It's a vicious circle.

America is no longer a godly nation.  America has become a mean-spirited fascist police state focused on atheistic philosophy rather than the rock solid precepts of the Word of God.  We see instances of this mean selfishness in the news every day and it's increasing.

"Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” - Revelation 22:11

THESE are the last days.  As it has been predicted so it has come to pass - that men and women will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (1 Tim 3:4).

"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." - Jesus as quoted by Luke 21:28

The last national revival took place in America from the late 1960's to the mid 1970's.  There has not been one since.  Without the spirit of revival America and its churches will continue to circle the drain of history.

Pray, therefore, for revival.    Even a small one in your neighborhood or community is better than nothing at all, for satan will take all those who do not repent of their sin.  Satan's harvest is becoming more bountiful every day.

that's me, hollering from the choir loft...

Thank you, brother. We are in complete agreement about revival. 

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On 5/22/2019 at 9:38 AM, Cool of the Day said:

And if I'm being led to stay put? Our small group breakouts are amazing. The Word preached does not stray. 

It has nothing to do for me with a fear of moving on. I just will not move until the Lord prompts me. I'm not just a one service observer. I'm relied upon there for various things.

Hi, Been gone for a week way out in the boonies, a  wonderful, just wonderful feeling to be away, really away.No GPS no cell phoneno cable tv, but for awhile to come I must be be just must for I am relied upon.

So you are relied upon too? Hmm, okay.  I was relied upon at church too, for 14 years, yet one day  my body fell apart.  I had no real choice but to retire from the work. I prayed about it considered fighting through  it.  But, there was God with my replacements at the ready. younger, smarter, better trained, and very eager to get on with the work at hand. Praise God, I am not indispensable.  I got excited about the prospect of  others taking  and running with the ball so to speak.  It has been just terrific. The new workers are hard at it.

 

Perhaps like people, places just need to  be refreshed  by younger blood or left to perish, and perhaps perish is the course for many. Yet all the time the church is growing, the church is growing, even as a local body perishes.

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On 6/7/2019 at 4:32 AM, Neighbor said:

Hi, Been gone for a week way out in the boonies, a  wonderful, just wonderful feeling to be away, really away.No GPS no cell phoneno cable tv, but for awhile to come I must be be just must for I am relied upon.

So you are relied upon too? Hmm, okay.  I was relied upon at church too, for 14 years, yet one day  my body fell apart.  I had no real choice but to retire from the work. I prayed about it considered fighting through  it.  But, there was God with my replacements at the ready. younger, smarter, better trained, and very eager to get on with the work at hand. Praise God, I am not indispensable.  I got excited about the prospect of  others taking  and running with the ball so to speak.  It has been just terrific. The new workers are hard at it.

 

Perhaps like people, places just need to  be refreshed  by younger blood or left to perish, and perhaps perish is the course for many. Yet all the time the church is growing, the church is growing, even as a local body perishes.

Ha, well, as the assistant to the current treasurer, who IS looking to retire, then, yes, I am that younger blood. 

Consequently, since my OP, my pastor put together a "transformation team" of sorts and it seems several other members had similar concerns. Less so, about the numbers and moreso with not stifling the move of the Holy Spirit. The age range of the group is about 35-70, with one PK twenty-something. It'll be cool to see what we come up with. 

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Today my pastor tweeted the below link asking for thoughts. 

https://e2elders.org/12-mistakes-dead-churches-make/

I'm just relieved to see that my thoughts and feelings were not off base and that the pastor and several others are very interested in seeing things turn around. Thanks to everyone who responded and/or joined with me in prayer. 

Be a blessing!

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