Tuesday, February 9, 2010

HOW THE CHURCH NEGLECTS IT'S CHILDREN( Have some cookies and kool-ade and leave us alone)

Greetings from the country Yall! It sure has been raining a lot- too wet to lay any brick or stone. And the Goat barn is all clean- so today is a good day for philosophisin' and frettin"( or maybe a little of both).. yep the old agrarian agitator is agitated again .. ya see, we JUST started a NEW YEAR and LOTS of Churches have been looking ahead ; making plans; deciding what is REALLY important to focus on for this year!! As we know, SOME things are a GIVEN( or as the young folks say: a No-brainer..)Churches need to Preach the Word and administer the sacraments- but the question for EVERY CHURCH MEMBER IS: "HOW SHOULD I USE MY GIFTS IN THE BODY OF CHRIST?"That's right... we know that we are to use our gifts to build up the body.. and it seems to me that LOTS of folks are missing the boat.. or should I say they are sitting IN the boat when they should be getting out and walking... yep... there's a mighty sea out there.. and let me tell you about some folks that are waiting for you to extend your hand... You see them sometimes in the hallways at church( sometimes You JUST HEAR THEM).. yep... thats right it's the children of the church... and let me tell you a secret.. the children are NOT THE FUTURE of the CHURCH- They ARE THE CHURCH RIGHT NOW... and they NEED YOU (and YOU need them.. whether you admit it or not).. Oh, You know how things go...NOT MANY people want to teach children's Sunday School or Children's Church.. well.. let me tell you a little church secret.. I'm gonna whisper so come closer.. I do'nt want everyone to hear this:" The awful truth is... it's EASY to find people to teach ADULT classes.. and to attend adult classes.. it's just so much more fun sitting around talking about supralapsarianism for the TEN-THOUSANDTH time...and ya know if you keep going to that Adult Sunday School class for a few more years, you might discover the answer to the question, " How many Calvinists does it take to start a contentious theological argument?"( answer- ONE.. if he's alone, he will start an argument with himself)... Yep- it's the truth.. Not too many folks realize that the church is filled with little ones who need to be reminded that God is not only the God of their Parents,, He is THEIR GOD.. The children need to be taught the truth about God's grace... Dear Friends, when those children were baptised, you made a vow to help their parents raise them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord- even my mistaken Anti-paedo baptist brethren have their "baby dedications" when the congregation makes the same vows( by the way... add a little water to the baby dedication, mix with prayer, and you will be getting close to the correct ordiance:).. yep- you made a VOW.. but NO... You ca'nt spend any time with the children of the church, you have to make sure that the praise team wardrobe is color- coordinated, you have to sit in a class and argue with the arminian visitors about the Bondage of the Will for the millionth time... Guess what??? there's some little followers of Jesus who need you to love them... do'nt just drop off the snacks for the children's sunday school , pat them on the head and say God Bless you... why do'nt you sit down and have a snack with them( i recommend Cheese crackers and water)?.. You wo'nt be arguing about supralapsarianism... you'll be spending time with little souls that love Jesus.. and HE will be there with you...Ya might have to miss playing the triangle in the Worship Orchestra from time to time... but hey.. it will be worth it:) Shalom !