Dumb things Christians do

[creativemechanic]

 Ive been reading a book called- The 10 Dumbest things Christians do. A good read. Its written by a pastor showing  things we Christians inadvertently do  that cause damage to the kingdom- eg bad talking our church or other christians and make us all look bad and make stumbling blocks to the unsaved, winning the unsaved to our church rather than to Jesus.

 

So I got to thinking. What are some of the things have you noticed that we as Christians do that inadvertently cause  damage to our ministries or the church as a whole. Im not talking about  sins , because we already know from Scripture that we shouldnt do things the bible forbids but those  things that under analysis make little to no sense but we continue with them, possibly due to culture or tradition.

Examples

1. Getting too comfortable with unsaved church attendants. Not that we ostracize them but sometimes, persons who have never accepted Jesus as Savior but just attend our churches get so accustomed to that  they get allowed to participate in ministries- eg How many  singers do we know started out in church choirs never having been saved, eventually leave and go on to sing the lewdest most ungodly songs, making christianity as a whole look bad- eg Tina Turner started singing in church, is now a devout  Buddist and has been for decades

 

[Hopefully]

5 minutes ago, creativemechanic said:

What are some of the things have you noticed that we as Christians do that inadvertently cause  damage to our ministries or the church as a whole

Act like this doesn’t happen anymore.

“Some people have secretly entered your group. These people have already been judged guilty for what they are doing. Long ago the prophets wrote about them. They are against God. They have used the grace of our God in the wrong way—to do sinful things. They refuse to follow Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.
 

These people are like dirty spots among you—they bring shame to you in the special meals you share together. They eat with you and have no fear. They take care of only themselves. They are like clouds without rain. The wind blows them around. They are like trees that have no fruit at harvest time and are pulled out of the ground. So they are twice dead.”
‭‭Jude‬ ‭1:4, 12‬ ‭

[kwikphilly]

Blessings!

Great Topic and I personally could write a book but it might begin with 100 Dumbest things a Christian can do!

Hey, I'm far from perfect and many of the dumbest things to do I know about because I've done then myself- the important lesson is that we learn from our mistakes

Maybe I'll point out a couple of the " dumb" things I believe truly get in the way of spreading the Gospel, pointing the Way to Jesus

First, IMO is " Christianese"... I have witnessed numerous ministry opportunities slip through ones fingers simply because the hearer doesn't have a clue what the person is saying- instead of having a regular conversation with the unbeliever they reply in random verses of Scripture with no explanation( KJV to boot!) The listener has a dumb look on their face as though they've landed on the moon and an alien is speaking an unknown language

Jesus Message was clear, He Didn't Speak in a foreign language and He Didn't force Himself on anyone which leads me to the next " dumb" move IMO

Being a broken record and trying to " force feed" an unreceptive audience.... Wow, can't people see when no one is listening? The best way to " preach" the Gospel is very often not with spoken words but in your actions....they will ASK why you are so kind, so thoughtful, understanding, loving etc... If you just LISTEN .... So many Christian just seem to talk way too much and really " do little"

I'll stop there for now

With love in Christ, Kwik

[Who me]

Dumbist things Christians say  " Just believe "

[Starise]

Outside the church- Worldy behavior and an attempt to 'fit in' with non believers. Yes we might have to work with them but we don't have to go out drinking with them at the bars. People can usually see compromise and they see it was a weakness. Do we want to be weak people who fit in or strong Christians with a message? No matter how much the world may make fun of you, internally they are not happy and they are all searching for something. Many of them self medicate on booze, drugs and other things. 

If we aren't content being Christians, how will we convey the benefits to a lost world?  A real believer doesn't need to advertise. All they need to do is be themselves following the Lord.

There were some groups I was a part of I pulled away from. I once played Irish sessions at bars. None of these people are believers that I can tell and I grew uninterested in doing that after awhile. Being in the bars with them does nothing to minister to them. I don't like bars, so why was I there? Because the Lord had to show me how empty it was. After I left none of them cared what happened to me, so I guess I have my answer. A beer and a song and a fake set of friends for 3 hours. No thanks. If you found your identity being Irish and playing Irish music maybe that's ok, but it won't mean anything standing before Jesus one day.

Inside the church- Pastors who talk too much about themselves. Every sermon is a story about THEM. Get real. People didn't show up to learn about your life. I'm not against a personal illustration here and there. I like those in fact. No, I'm talking about a narcissist behind the podium. They think everyone showed up to hear them pontificate about themselves or to hear their wonderful displays of biblical knowledge. PFFFFFFFt.

Churches who are too focused inward to actually be doing anything outward. Look who we promoted, look who we put on the payroll, look at what WE are doing for "the church". It's like a little fish tank that never gets any larger.

Rant off.

[Hopefully]

47 minutes ago, Starise said:

Pastors who talk too much about themselves. Every sermon is a story about THEM.

Thank you for stating this because I was wondering if this was normal. It doesn’t happen at my church but I have seen it often and felt something wasn’t right about it.

[Starise]

1 minute ago, Hopefully said:

Thank you for stating this because I was wondering if this was normal. It doesn’t happen at my church but I have seen it often and felt something wasn’t right about it.

It doesn't happen at my church now. At my last church it did. One reason I left it. While on pastors, here's another one. Know your subject before you preach it. OUCH!

I know this is tough on pators. Not expressly picking on pastors, but I have sat through so many either 4th grade Sunday school lessons that were passed of as sermons or sermons that were way off the mark factually.

 

[missmuffet]

4 hours ago, creativemechanic said:

 Ive been reading a book called- The 10 Dumbest things Christians do. A good read. Its written by a pastor showing  things we Christians inadvertently do  that cause damage to the kingdom- eg bad talking our church or other christians and make us all look bad and make stumbling blocks to the unsaved, winning the unsaved to our church rather than to Jesus.

 

So I got to thinking. What are some of the things have you noticed that we as Christians do that inadvertently cause  damage to our ministries or the church as a whole. Im not talking about  sins , because we already know from Scripture that we shouldnt do things the bible forbids but those  things that under analysis make little to no sense but we continue with them, possibly due to culture or tradition.

Examples

1. Getting too comfortable with unsaved church attendants. Not that we ostracize them but sometimes, persons who have never accepted Jesus as Savior but just attend our churches get so accustomed to that  they get allowed to participate in ministries- eg How many  singers do we know started out in church choirs never having been saved, eventually leave and go on to sing the lewdest most ungodly songs, making christianity as a whole look bad- eg Tina Turner started singing in church, is now a devout  Buddist and has been for decades

 

Christians do dumb things all the time. We are not perfect just saved. We can pray to God and ask for Him to search our heart and give us Christian discernmet on what He wants us to do. To guide us and direct us through this journey we are taking on this earth.

[Amigo42]

Christians certainly do and say things sometimes that are not helpful witnesses.  For example, the cult like worship of a corrupt, non-Christian man like Donald Trump makes Christians look crazy and is embarrassing for the world.

 

[Riverwalker]

8 minutes ago, Amigo42 said:

Christians certainly do and say things sometimes that are not helpful witnesses.  For example, the cult like worship of a corrupt, non-Christian man like Donald Trump makes Christians look crazy and is embarrassing for the world.

 

I don't know anyone who "worships" Trump. He just did everything right and I  would like to see him back in power.

He was right on the economy

He was right in Foreign Policy

He was right in energy production

He was right on illegal immigration

 

And Biden (or who ever the handler of that bobble head is) has been an absolute train wreck for America