Cliques Don’t Belong in Church

13 Dec 2011 2 Comments

by bhlambkin in Uncategorized Tags: Christ, Church (building), God, I Wonder..., Jesus, Lord, Pastor, Sunday school, Tithe

This subject has been on my mind for a while.  I have visited several churches in the area looking for a church home.  I have encountered some really unbelievable attitudes that left me feeling less than welcome.  It is on my heart to share some of this with you.  If you are a pastor, please re-examine your policies, your agendas, your priorities.  It is our calling to grow the church and to welcome everyone, and seek to save lost souls.  The work is not to be for ourselves, but for God and for his kingdom.

I have gone into several churches and offered my services, as a musician, and in teaching a Sunday School class, nursing home ministries, prison ministries.  I have not found one single church or pastor that was willing or interested in my offers of help.  My point is that I wanted to offer my services, to share in the Lord‘s work, to be a part of the church ministries.  The disinterest told me that their church is not a church where I was meant to be.

Another church even told me that I could not come and practice on their piano and organ, in order to play music for their services, even though I had offered to serve and play, have a background of having played in my grandmother’s church growing up, have played piano and organ for many years.   The pastor’s wife went so far as to say that even though they had a piano and an organ sitting in their sanctuary, and had not had anyone to play them for many years, had been depending on tapes and CDs for music during their services, because I was not a member there, I could not come practice there, even in order to prepare for their services.  Needless to say, with that attitude, I knew I would never be interested in being a member in that church.

I have to ask you all….how many people who visited your church have you bothered to get to know?  Have you bothered to ask their name?  Did you try to remember their name?  Did you invite them back?  Did you act like you cared that they had attended?  How many people have sent their tithes or paid their tithes into your offering plates only to find that when they had a true need, not one single member of the church where they had paid tithes bothered to call, to send a card, to visit, to check and see if you were doing allright.  Such was my experience when my oldest son committed suicide.  I did not hear one single word from the church, much less one single word of encouragement, or any offers of prayer.

I had yet another negative experience visiting a church recently.  My arm had been hurting for quite some time, and I had gone to church to worship and sing praises to my Lord.  I was also rather discouraged about school, employment, and finances and was seeking prayer, blessings, and peace.  The church was having a prayer line, so if you needed prayer, you could wait in the line until it moved toward the front of the church and pray with some of the elders, the pastor, or his wife.  As I stood in the prayer line at the front of the church, earnestly wanting to pray with others, this woman started screeching ” I sense an addiction!”  I was thinking to myself, “Good grief, anybody that came here searching for peace, healing, blessings is certainly not going to find it here!”  I also walked out of that church without what I came looking for and thinking of a couple of messages in God’s word such as these:

“Get the log out of your own eye before you try to remove the plank from my eye.”

When the towns people were going to stone the woman who had been caught in the act of adultery, Jesus said, “Let the one of you who is without sin cast the first stone.”  Needless to say, not a single person could cast one stone.  Jesus told her, “Go and sin no more.  Your sins are forgiven.”

I do not drink, I do not use drugs, I do not sleep around. I have sought God, repented and am forgiven.  My grandmother preached for over 40 years.  I was best friends with a Baptist preacher’s daughter as a child and was saved when I was 6 years old!I am a child of God!  I have to ask, who on earth did that woman think she was?  I do not believe all that nonsense is anything to do with God.  Jesus did not behave that way.  Those who are proud, self-righteous, or critical of others need to examine themselves, and fix themselves before they start trying to fix anyone else.  If we needed fixing and needed to only put our faith in man, we could go to a psychologist or psychiatrist.  God is the only one who can truly fill every need and staunch the bleeding of our hearts, and truly renew us.

How many people today are walking with a pure and right heart before God?  Are you critical of others, self-righteous and thinking yourself perfect?  God says that if you claim you love him and yet hate your own brother, you are nothing but a murderer and you do not know him.  So, if you do not love others, how can you claim to love God?  If you do not encourage your brother or your sister in Christ, how can you claim to love God?  If you have your specific little clan or clique in the church that does all of the ministry tasks or chores, and you do not welcome new people or the service of others, how can you claim to be doing the work of God?  Your ministry will become stagnant and your congregation remain small because you are not truly doing the work of the Lord.

God says in James 2:8-11 NCV- “The royal law is found in the Scriptures:  “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  If you obey this law, you are doing right.  But if you treat one person as being more important than another, you are sinning.  You are guilty of breaking God’s law.  A person who follows all of God’s law but fails to obey even one command is guilty of breaking all the commands in that law.”

You see, when I visited the church and offered my services, to play the piano and organ, and offering to help grow their congregation, participating in nursing home, home visits, and prison ministry, they rejected me and they rejected my service offerings.  What they do not realize is that God sent me to their church.  I was offering services for the Lord’s sake, not for their sake.  They failed miserably in what they were supposed to respond to.  They are a very small congregation and refuse to consider doing things any other way but their way, the way they have been doing things for years.  There are no children.  There does not seem to be the joy that should be there when God’s presence is in attendance.  They are stagnant and not growing.

Be aware that Paul talks of the churches that are lukewarm.  God says that they are neither hot nor cold and that he will spew them out of his mouth.  God wants people on fire for him, that take joy in worshipping him, that remember the orphans and the widows.  You are not saved by your works, but through grace, but faith without works is dead.

Many of the church’s messages today are all about prosperity, advancement, blessings….etc.  We’ve all heard it…”Send in $1000 and you can receive your blessings today for your finances and properity, full and running over. ”  It just makes me sick.  God doesn’t need our money…but he needs our obedience.  When the churches are not doing the Lord’s work but have their own agendas, and are constantly begging for money on television, is it any wonder that so many have lost faith, or are not attending church?  Those people who have turned Christian broadcasting into a beggar’s barn or a sale barn to hock their wares have turned away many.  Those pastors set a very bad example and do not well represent the people of God’s kingdom.

God asks that we tithe, not because he needs our money, but as an act of obedience, and because we are to put our faith and our trust in him.  You cannot buy God’s forgiveness, you cannot buy blessings.  Jesus already paid the price for us with his blood.  You can go before the throne of Father God through our redeemer Jesus Christ and ask humbly and with Thanksgiving for forgiveness for yourself, for wisdom, for your needs to be met.

Church is supposed to be really great for all of us because it is meant to be a gathering place for all of God’s children.  God says that “When two or more of you gather together in my name, ask what you will and it will be granted.”  That is so awesome!  But I have to ask, “Church, are you truly there for the people, and especially when the needs are great?  Or do you have your own agendas?”

It is time for a great revival and a renewal!  We all need to be actively seeking lost souls for God’s Kingdom.  The time is now in preparation for the return of Christ!  Ask the Lord for a renewal of your heart and for him to allow the Holy Spirit to set you on fire right now for Christ!  Even a lukewarm salesperson doesn’t have much success!  Put a smile on your face and set out today to share the Lord with someone else!  Be a Blessing to others!