Words to Ponder... The Decline of the Church ...
In the Gospel Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Matt. 28:19-20).”
Christ commanded the disciples to make new disciples. It was not a
choice it was a command. However, today’s
world is very different, so how we respond is also different then it was for
the first disciples. Paul for example
traveled throughout the known world making use of every means of
transportation and communications available in the first century to make
disciples. He walked roads and traveled the
waterways by boat to spread the Good News to anyone who would listen. He wrote
letters to various communities sharing the teachings of Jesus.
If Paul lived today I imagine he
would be using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram as well as every possible means of
communications to share the teachings of Jesus to the known world. He would also be sending ministry teams to
all know parts of the world to share the gospel and to baptize new disciples in
the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To do otherwise would be to ignore
Jesus’ command.
The world is different today, so
does this ‘difference’ excuse Christians from obeying Jesus’ command? In a world of billions does Jesus still
expect us to travel across the globe to baptize all people? I believe the
answer is yes; I also believe Christians today should walk across the street to
share the stories of Jesus.
I confess that I love the church,
not just the people that make up the church, but also the institution that is
the United Methodist Church. I believe
the United Methodist Church stands on solid ground with a message of hope and
love that is true to the Gospel teachings that can make a difference in the 21st
century. In the first century Jesus started the church with twelve men and
those twelve men shared the Gospel story with all who would listen. In every
generation that followed churches formed and grew when men and women shared the
story of hope in Jesus Christ with others.
I believe the church today is
declining because “so called disciples” have stopped sharing the story of hope in
Jesus Christ with their neighbors. They have stopped walking across the street
to share the Good News. We the people of the United Methodist Church have a story
to tell the nations as well as those who live across the street, which is the Good News of Jesus Christ. Words to ponder...
In Christian Love, pastor and friend in
Christ, Ed
