“Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” 1 Peter 5:5

Church visitors are a source of encouragement to me. When someone visits, a bag of goodies, carefully prepared in advance, is presented along with a card requesting their information. Following up with visitors can be interesting. One of the questions on the card asks, ‘Would you like the pastor to contact you Y/N?’ Most often, the ‘N’ is circled. After a couple weeks, I call them anyway. I mean… WHY the ‘N?’

The last few conversations I had with people about church were disconcerting. One person gave a detailed list of churches they had visited in the area. Everyone of which, “turned me off!” I never understood ‘WHY’ because it was never clearly explained. A non-attender told me that churches have a superior attitude and that, “everybody thinks they are better than me.” I told them it wasn’t true in our church. Since I KNEW that Jesus had chosen me… “because I was a chief Dirtbag!” I got a laugh… but not a visit!

Inside churches across America, there is a Laodicean attitude that has people pewed in. It is the attitude of lethargic apathy. As the news in the world gets worse, droopy eyes and dropped heads indicate slumber… not prayerful concern. In The Revelation… it was predicted. Sadly, successful churches often fill the gap with entertainment and low expectation.

All of this should be alarming to any Believer because it is COMPLETELY the opposite of what we have been called to. It indicates how well satan does his job when hard working and caring family members stop working and caring. If we believe the Bible to be TRUE, our ineffectiveness comes at great expense as lost ones increase and found one’s future rewards decrease. satan has stolen our reason for being because… we let him!

A number of years ago, there was a study published that surveyed 2100 pastors throughout the United States who had been fired or quit their churches. The conductors of this study asked these pastors and their churches, “What was the reason this pastor left?” You might expect to hear that these pastors were preaching heresy or that the churches they led weren’t Bible-believing churches. But the study found that more than any other reason – 58% of the time – these pastors were forced out or left because of personality differences with the members. The pastor called ‘zig’… and the majority wanted ‘zag.’ Sadly… what the Architect and Master of ‘The Church’ wanted was rarely even considered!

I believe that church problems might be remedied if people would be willing to simply follow the Leader… and move in direction FROM which THEY had been called. We ALL know what sin is, its cost and how blessed the remedy. But we forget that no matter WHAT position we fill, it is one of humble Servant-hood! Just like Jesus.

It’s my prayer that the people of God today would be willing to step up and kneel down. To play the Game of ‘Follow the Leader’ in humility, joy and concern for the lost and the weak ones. It is NOT a new idea, but simply a call to the original.

If we would seek, pray and focus on keeping the main thing, the main thing, and filter all of our energies through His call to the Great Commission of Discipleship, our Master promises that we will find unimaginable Joy and Peace in the coming storm. But first He asks, “do you care?”