Directional Devo - Empty Pews

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Several Sundays ago, my wife was not feeling well, so I ventured out to visit and old friend's church that I went to Bible College with. He is such a great guy, with a passion for the Lord, and the Word. He has been serving his church faithfully for 25 years. That is a long time for anyone to be anywhere in my opinion, especially in this day and age in which most pastors statistically only last 18 months at any church. I might have counted 20 people in attendance that morning.

On Wednesday night, I decided to venture back out to visit with the church and counted 3 people in attendance. I didn't even go inside. It was simply too discouraging for me. Instead of going home, I dropped by the next church on the street, sneaked a peek in side, and counted 5 people in attendance. I then drove down the street to a Southern Baptist church and the lights were out. I proceeded to another large SBC church only to find that on Wednesday evenings they only have a children's program.

What an absolute pathetic state the church in America is in. It is dead as a bag of hammers and totally breaks my heart; and my question is, "Why?" What has caused this? While I do not think that the answer is easy in that it is most likely many things that have contributed to it, and I can only speculate based on my experience as a pastor, teacher, and missionary. In other words, it's merely my opinion.

First, the majority of the churches in America are filled with people who are not truly born again. They are the tares among the wheat that the Lord spoke of (Matthew 13:30), and I believe that they represent the majority in the average church. They have turned our churches into childcare centers, entertainment venues, and country clubs. This is the result of the gospel not being clearly taught.

Second, many men in the pulpits are simply not called by God into the ministry. I have met and even ministered to several of them. They merely choose a career path. No doubt, they are "good" men and do indeed want to serve the Lord and their communities, but simply were not called by God to do so. As a result, they have no anointing on their ministries and are doing more harm than good.

Third, many men who have been called by God into the ministry have sold out. They no longer follow the Lord's leading, but are now coddling the "felt needs" of the aforementioned tares. As such, lest they offend, they no longer teach the Word of God, but prefer to amuse the goats instead of feeding the sheep in an attempt to gain acceptance, favor, and security.

Fourth, church members in the pews are simply too busy with the world to care. They whined about Wednesday night being a school night and the church capitulated. They then then whined about Sunday being their only day off that they can spend time with their families. The church capitulated again and canceled the evening services. The end result, most of them are carnal and look for any reason under the sun to not show up on Sunday morning.

In conclusion, the church is full of lost people and carnal Christians who are  being led by men who are not truly called to the ministry or who have sold out. Is it any wonder that the pews are empty? I think not.