But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the
love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen;
repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and
remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Revelation 2:4-5
Why have so many
churches lost the spiritual passion they once had? That was the subject of a
lively conversation I had last week with an experienced pastor. He
recalled days gone by when churches were filled with people who sang
enthusiastically, studied the Bible intently, donated generously and shared
their faith with confidence. Now, he lamented, it seems that churches have a
lot more empty seats, hardly anyone actually sings, few people carry a Bible
(even an electronic one) and tithers have become an endangered species. As we
discussed the challenges churches face, we agreed that the root of the problem
seems to be with the lack of personal spirituality.
In our current culture, people have become so busy they no
longer take time to read the Bible and pray, which greatly impacts the depth of
their devotion to God. Likewise, people have become so focused on having the
latest gadgets, the newest cars and the most fabulous vacations that they no
longer feel they can afford to tithe. Many young adults have borrowed so much
money in order to secure an education; tithing seems like a financial
impossibility. All of this impacts the church more than most people realize.
A church is only as strong as its individual members, so
when the individual members struggle spiritually, so does the church as a
whole. When individual members no longer study the Bible on their own, know how
to engage in worship or give of their time, talent and treasure, the church as
an organization can no longer accomplish its mission as effectively as it once
did.
The good news is that churches can be revived fairly simply.
All it takes is individual members once again accepting responsibility for
their own spiritual disciplines. Imagine it each of us began to have a daily
time of Bible reading and prayer like our grandparent’s generation! Imagine if
each of actually denied our wants and took up our cross daily and lived for
Christ, volunteering our time and giving of our financial resources! Some may
say it is unrealistic to expect everyone to do this. What if only 1/3 of the
members of each church did this? I believe revival would come to such a church
in a matter of months. Revival would come without the church having to start
any new programs, build any new buildings or hire any new staff members. It
would come as a result of the hearts of individual members being revived.
As 2015 draws to a close, perhaps it is time for us to focus
on reviving the church by experiencing personal spiritual revival ourselves.
Let us pray together toward that end.
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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:
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