Monday, April 5, 2010

Time For A Decision

What is happening in your life? What is happening in the life of those who live across the street from the church? What is happening in the life of those who live within two blocks of the church building? Do you know who lives within a block of First Baptist Church? Are those local citizens in your Sunday School Class on Sunday morning? If not, where are they at that time? Why aren't they at FBC?

Who visits the sick folks in town during the week? Who gives comfort to a family when someone is dying in the hospital? My Dad was a member of First Baptist Church for around sixty years. However, when my Dad was dying, there was not a church member or church leader in sight, nor had there been for several days!

Do you think THAT is ministry? Do you call that representing Jesus?

Is softball still more important to you than actually knocking on doors and inviting lost people to church? Do you ask for real ministry from the leadership or are you satisfied with the status quo?

What about plans for the future? The "new club-house" building program was put on hold because God forgot to tell the congregation and the church leaders about His planned mini-recession for the economy. So what's gonna happen in Alamo now? First Baptist has been a nice, little neighborhood club for many years, a little religious club with weekly activities and a stagnant membership. How long will it remain a club, for members only, making very little, if any, impact on Alamo or Crockett County?

When will First Baptist actually reach out to the individuals in the local community, one on one?

When will First Baptist move from an idle, fruitless "we all together should..." style of ministry programs to a powerful, effectual "I, personally, will..." style of individual ministry? To have an impact on the community, it must happen. To have a positive, active spiritual influence on Alamo, members of First Baptist must each convert from the passive "we" idea to the active "I" idea of actually talking to individuals, one on one, and reaching them personally.

When you personally reach individuals, then the community receives the results.

First Baptist can remain just another, basically ineffective church, just another one of several in the community, as it has been for so many years. Or the individual church members can demand active ministry, positive, people-reaching ministry, life-changing ministry to individuals in Alamo.

Will First Baptist remain just another religious club, coasting along, serving up the status quo week after week? Or will each individual church member become genuinely involved in reaching an individual in Alamo, personally impacting the life of a citizen of Alamo, acting out the great commission of Jesus...one on one?

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