{"id":19676,"date":"2020-02-24T07:40:26","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T12:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/?p=19676"},"modified":"2020-02-24T07:41:59","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T12:41:59","slug":"the-mentality-that-will-kill-your-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/the-mentality-that-will-kill-your-church\/","title":{"rendered":"The mentality that will kill your church"},"content":{"rendered":"

All this missions stuff is okay, I guess. But what\u2019s in it for us?<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Jesus said to His disciples, \u2018The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.\u00a0 Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest that He would send forth laborers into the harvest.\u2019\u00a0 And the disciples said, \u2018Why? What do we get out of it, Lord?’\u201d\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0 (Most of that is Matthew 9:37-38 but with a small insertion by moi to make the point.)<\/p>\n

\u201cBehold,\u201d Jesus said, \u201cI send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves\u2026. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the courts, and scourge you in their synagogues, and you shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.\u201d\u00a0 And the disciples said, \u201cEnough of the negative stuff, Lord! Let\u2019s get to the part where you reward us.\u201d\u00a0<\/em> (Matthew 10:16ff with my insertion.\u00a0 The promise of rewards comes in the last verse of the chapter.)<\/p>\n

Jesus told the disciples of John the Baptist, \u201cGo and report what you hear and see:\u00a0 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear.\u00a0 The dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.\u201d\u00a0 And the Lord\u2019s disciples said, \u201cOkay, enough about these losers, already.\u00a0 Tell us about the blessings you have for us.\u00a0 Who gets to sit on your right and who on your left?\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 11:3ff, with my tongue-in-cheek foolishness.)<\/p>\n

I was reading a church\u2019s minutes from a century earlier. In a business meeting, the clerk read \u00a0a request for ten dollars from a church start-up in Texas. This was back when ten dollars was two hundred. After voting to send the money, the secretary noted in the minutes, \u201cThis spirit of generosity was put to the test when someone pointed out the church fellowship hall needed renovating.\u201d\u00a0 As I recall, they ended up spending $2,000 on that project.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s in it for us? \u201d is the prevailing principle of decision-making for too many churches.\u00a0 Denominational leaders and professional fund-raisers admit \u00a0that to be successful in their promotions, they have to convince churches that this project will reap great rewards for them personally.\u00a0 It\u2019s not enough to do something for the kingdom.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not sufficient to do something to please God, honor Christ, or obey the Spirit.<\/p>\n

Show me how this will benefit us.<\/p>\n

And we wonder why so many congregations are stagnated, plateaued, or declining.<\/p>\n

We wonder why so many congregations go to church, log many hours in activities each week, and still feel unfulfilled.<\/p>\n

We wonder why churches run off pastors who are not meeting their needs, not leaving them with warm feelings after sermons, not making them feel better about themselves.<\/p>\n

I cannot tell you the times I\u2019ve heard someone pray in a worship service, \u201cLord, help us get something out of this today.\u201d<\/p>\n

As though it were all about them.<\/p>\n

God help us.<\/p>\n

Warren Wiersbe has said, \u201cIt pays to worship.\u00a0 But if you worship because it pays, it won\u2019t pay.\u201d\u00a0 Worship is about giving to the Lord the glory due His name, about bringing an offering and bowing down before the Ruler of the universe and honoring Him. When we do this right, we walk away blessed.<\/p>\n

Ironic, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

The irony of this\u2013\u201cworship pays, but not if you worship for the pay\u201d\u2013 is lost on a huge portion of the Lord\u2019s people, I fear.\u00a0 True, God wants to bless His children.\u00a0 He said to Abraham, \u201cI will bless you and make your name great, so you shall be a blessing\u201d (Genesis 12:2). At no time did the Lord tell Abraham (okay, he was Abram at first) to focus on getting that blessing, or to keep praying that his name would be great.\u00a0 \u201cI will do it,\u201d the Lord said.\u00a0 Then, Abram\u2019s job would be to be a blessing.<\/p>\n

When we concentrate on being a blessing to others, God blesses us.<\/p>\n

The mentality of this age is something else entirely\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Me\u2013before you.<\/em>\u00a0 My needs before anything else, my wants and desires above all. How can I tithe when I still owe on my boat and luxury car?\u00a0 Surely\u00a0 the Lord doesn\u2019t want that.<\/p>\n

Us\u2013before others.<\/em> Our needs and our comfort take priorities. We need a strong home base here, and then we will be able to give more to missions.<\/p>\n

All of us\u2013before God<\/em>.\u00a0 God wants our welfare, doesn\u2019t He?\u00a0 He\u2019s not honored if we are worshiping in something less than the best, right?<\/p>\n

And thus do we justify our materialism, our self-centeredness, our negligence of the needs of a lost world.\u00a0 Thus do we sanctify our disobedience.<\/p>\n

So easily do we\u00a0nullify the teachings of Scripture and discount\u00a0the commands of our Lord.\u00a0 (If this sounds vaguely familiar, you will notice in Matthew\u00a015:6 that the Pharisees and scribes\u00a0of Jesus\u2019 generation were slammed for the same selfish error.\u00a0 God is not amused.)<\/p>\n

A church I know split over\u00a0this.\u00a0 Some\u00a0of the leaders\u00a0resented spending money on missions. Their philosophy, according to the pastor, was that the Great Commission meant they were to reach Jerusalem first, after which they were to branch out into Judea, then on to Samaria, and from there to the ends of the earth.\u00a0 Live by that philosophy and Judea would still be waiting for the gospel.<\/em><\/p>\n

There will be reward aplenty.\u00a0 But the Lord is in charge of that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter said, \u201cLord, we\u2019ve left everything and followed you.\u201d\u00a0 He was leaving unsaid the question, \u201cSo, what do we get in return?\u201d\u00a0 Or, \u201cWhat\u2019s in it for us?\u201d\u00a0 Our Lord understood this and said, \u201cThere is no one who leaves houses or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms for my sake and the gospel\u2019s sake but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now\u2026and in the age to come, eternal life\u201d (Mark 10:28-31).<\/p>\n

The concept of reward from God both here and now and \u201cthere and then\u201d is found all through the Word.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur inner man is being renewed day by day. For this momentary, light affliction is working for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comprehension\u2026.\u201d (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing\u201d (2 Timothy 4:8).<\/p>\n

We do well to have the servant-slave attitude\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Early disciples introduced themselves as servants or slaves of the Lord. See Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1 and Jude 1.<\/p>\n

Not that the Lord felt that way about His choice servants. They were faithful, honored, His friends, His beloved.\u00a0 The point, however, is that they felt that way about themselves.<\/p>\n

And therein lies the secret to faithful and effective discipleship.<\/p>\n

The best way to understand this is found in the little parable of Luke 17:7-10.<\/p>\n

The servant who comes in from the field is not told to go take care of his own needs first and the master\u2019s second. Instead, he is instructed to go straight to the kitchen and prepare a meal for the master, then make himself presentable and serve it, after which he can see to his own needs. \u201cEven so,\u201d said our Lord, \u201cwhen you have done all the things I have commanded you, say (to yourself) \u2018I am only an unworthy slave; I\u2019ve just done my duty.’\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

This overlooked parable may be the one most needed by our generation of churches.<\/p>\n

It requires a little self-talk.\u00a0 The one who sees himself as a slave to Jesus does not work for reward.\u00a0 He is rewarded just\u00a0in serving the One he adores.\u00a0 So, he tells himself at the end of a long, hard day, \u201cI\u2019m an unworthy servant; just doing my duty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notice the Lord does not say that to us.\u00a0 His words to us are: \u201cWell done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many\u201d (Matthew 25:21,23).<\/p>\n

Notice also that we are not to say that to one another.\u00a0 Instead, we are to give honor to whom honor is due (Romans 13:7).\u00a0 We are to acknowledge (appreciate) those who serve faithfully and sacrificially (I Corinthians 16:18).\u00a0 And elders who serve well, we are told, are worthy of double honor (I Timothy 5:17).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They are not to seek that honor, but we are to give it.<\/p>\n

The servant of the Lord who labors hard, serves sacrifically, and stays humble and sees himself as unworthy is a rare\u00a0treasure.\u00a0 Let us labor to be such.<\/p>\n

Let those of us who teach and preach keep this great truth\u2013and therefore this wonderful parable\u2013before God\u2019s people at all times.<\/p>\n

You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.<\/em>\u00a0 (Luke 14:14)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All this missions stuff is okay, I guess. But what\u2019s in it for us? Jesus said to His disciples, \u2018The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.\u00a0 Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest that He would send forth … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,39,42,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conflict","category-faith","category-fellowship","category-healthy-church"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19676"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19691,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19676\/revisions\/19691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}