No more excuses

Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against His church. Although there have been different interpretations of what Jesus meant when He spoke these words, most scholars are in agreement that regardless of any attacks or resistance from any quarter, the church will emerge victorious. If this is true, and I believe it is, then why are so many churches struggling today and why are church leaders offering so many excuses for these struggles?

The church has always faced challenges, and Jesus never said that it wouldn't; He said those challenges would not prevail. Historically, the church has faced many difficulties, and it emerged from every one of them. Why is it today that so many churches and church leaders are giving up? Instead of  boldly proclaiming the Gospel and reaching out to people, many churches have circled the wagons hoping to survive until Jesus comes. The church isn't called to try to survive. It's not called to try to hang on. It's called to be the Body of Christ, an army filled with the Holy Spirit, tearing down the strongholds that hold people captive.

We don't need excuses. We need men and women to preach the infallible Word of God and
willing to withstand every attack from the enemy that would silence them. I once recommended a person to serve a church as their interim pastor. This was a church with a history of conflict. Someone asked if I believed this individual could stand up to the pressure a group within the church would bring. I smiled at the questioner and said, "This person would charge hell with a water pistol." This is the kind of leader the church needs today.

We don't need a dozen reasons why something won't work. We need leaders who have captured God's vision for the church and are determined to make it happen. A certain percentage of pastors do not feel called to leadership. May I be bold enough to suggest that perhaps they shouldn't be pastors? Too many pastors are more concerned about the fellowship of the church than they are about the mission of the church. Yes, shepherding is part of a pastor's job, but so is leading, and without strong leadership the flock will wander aimlessly with no real purpose.

Instead of offering excuses for why the church is struggling it might be better to spend more time in prayer seeking God's power to overcome the struggles. The largest church in the world, located in South Korea, is well-known for its Prayer Mountain where hundreds of thousands of persons pray each year. The founding pastor and members of the church quickly point to the power of prayer for the church's amazing growth and ministries.

It's time the church quits offering excuses and starts offering solutions to the challenges it is facing. It's time we become determined to be the church Jesus envisioned when He said nothing could stand against it. In New Testament times the church became known as the people who turned the world upside-down. It's time to do it again.