How to separate the pretenders from the believers

I took J.D.'s OP to mean that if for some unknown reason there was no more music or entertainment in the church, would people still show up Sun morning, Sun night and Wed night. would fellowship and worshipping God and God's word and the preaching thereof and prayer BE ENOUGH?

or would those who are there for the "social" aspect of it all just leave and not come back. I personally really enjoy PREACHING it is my favorite time (helps not to have a boring pastor ours is pretty funny and interesting I learn alot) I also enjoy being around other joyful edifying people when the world can be so self centered and cold.

That is the way I saw the question

 

I do not agree with having entertainment in the services to get people to come in. If you do that you will get a psuedo member there for the wrong reasons. I do agree, however, with having activities in the church. The church is not restricted to a building and services, it is a family. My home family does not get together just for meetings but we also have activities together. I believe this should be also true with your spiritual family, the church. I also feel that if you have people there at the church taht are just there for the activities the Lord will soon weed them out. Yet, what we have to remember is that this is not our job but the Lords. Isn't this what Jesus taught his disciples in the parable of the wheat and the tares.

Just a thought. Take it for what it is worth.

 

I do not agree with having entertainment in the services to get people to come in. If you do that you will get a psuedo member there for the wrong reasons. I do agree, however, with having activities in the church. The church is not restricted to a building and services, it is a family. My home family does not get together just for meetings but we also have activities together. I believe this should be also true with your spiritual family, the church. I also feel that if you have people there at the church taht are just there for the activities the Lord will soon weed them out. Yet, what we have to remember is that this is not our job but the Lords. Isn't this what Jesus taught his disciples in the parable of the wheat and the tares.

Just a thought. Take it for what it is worth.

 

I do not agree with having entertainment in the services to get people to come in. If you do that you will get a psuedo member there for the wrong reasons. I do agree, however, with having activities in the church. The church is not restricted to a building and services, it is a family. My home family does not get together just for meetings but we also have activities together. I believe this should be also true with your spiritual family, the church. I also feel that if you have people there at the church taht are just there for the activities the Lord will soon weed them out. Yet, what we have to remember is that this is not our job but the Lords. Isn't this what Jesus taught his disciples in the parable of the wheat and the tares.

Just a thought. Take it for what it is worth.

 

sorry i hit the add reply button twice

see what you get for trying to post and do something else at the same time

 

Let me give it a coupla shots:

1. The parents did not do what Deut. 6:4-6 instructed parents to do, but left the instructing to Sunday School teachers, so the kids grew up thinking church should be a little more fun and kid friendly;

2. Or, the parents did, but then usually did not 'practice what they preached', and kids being the perceptive creatures they are at certain ages, see the same thing in their churches;

 

Because too many evangelical churches are negative in spirit and anti-intellectual in attitude. If you are 18 and go off to college and learn some history, some biology, and some logic, and your church has been violating all those areas of knowledge, you will either have to compartmentalize or make a choice. And honesty will lead you out of a church that does not engage the mind.

 

I must say I agree with the OP ......

I have seen youth groups and churche's so many times have the majority of kids/adults in them are worse than the kids/adults that never go to church to often the children follow the parents example and that is ,"We go to church so we are good people." They think because of this they can do as they please outside of church and God is OK with it. You see they never learn any better because theres no preaching anymore. If you preach to them they want come anymore. I have seen it with my own eye's in several church's. They want there ear tickled and there weekly warm and fuzzy and nothing else.

I don't know who said, "If you get them in the door with a gimmick you have to keep on with the gimmick to get them to stay." It's a great saying and very true.

A good way to tell who the real believers are and who the pretenders are is see who is at church on Sunday evening, Wednesday, and Prayer Meets. Excluding those that are working of course.

 

Because too many evangelical churches are negative in spirit and anti-intellectual in attitude. If you are 18 and go off to college and learn some history, some biology, and some logic, and your church has been violating all those areas of knowledge, you will either have to compartmentalize or make a choice. And honesty will lead you out of a church that does not engage the mind. </font>[/QUOTE]Very true! I have met many adults from Pentecostal backgrounds who will not darken a church door because as kids they saw the fakery of 'healing' and 'speaking in tongues' and could not reconcile that with what they read in the Bible.

 

Some very good thoughts finally coming on this thread.

I agree with Rev. Lowery.

Also, if salvation is a gift from God, and a person has that gift, then they will remain (1 John). However, if salvation is dependent upon the psychological decision of man, then when trials and persecution (or lack of entertainment) come, they will wither away (parable of soils).

 

If the parents are living consistent Christian lives, so will the kids. Today we are dealing with parents who have been married before or single parent homes. Both parents working and the kids involved with so many school activities that church is an exception rather than the rule.

 

I have always believed that as long as Christ came back into the situation I'm currently in...including my kids and their church youth groups...and he was pleased with what we were doing(that it was not sinful)....then that was 'pleasing in his sight'. God has many ways of bringing his children to him....whether it be in church...a youth group....a christian concert....a friend talking you through a difficult time and helping you find God....etc. Why take softball games out of youth time or adult time after church? We are there to praise him....have good, clean fun....
My current church has no athletic teams but I'm not opposed to them. I'd much rather have my kids involved in church related gatherings than out on the street. We have ladies night at church where we eat....do "lady" type things....but have fun with sisters in Christ.

 

Not necessarily. Surely you're not this naive to make a generalization this severe?

So instead of reaching out to them, we tell them that they're "bad, bad, bad!" instead of welcoming them in and meeting them where they are. Maybe that includes feeding them on Wednesday night before church. Maybe that means you have some fun activities to show them church can be more than 3 songs, 3 points, a poem, an invitation, and announcements. Maybe that means having programs that teach the kids Scripture through Bible Study, games, and team-building activities. Maybe that includes helping mom and dad (and ultimately, the kids) learn how to be better stewards of their finances. Whatever it is, you can't shut them out because they don't look like you, smell like you, or like what you like. Yes, the Gospel must be at the forefront of everything that is needed. That's why we have Bible Study and worship at almost every youth event. And the students know they're gonna get that when they come, and they crave deep study that they can apply to their lives. And sometimes we get a little crazy and have a fun event... but that's ok too.

 

I am a divorced parent....two children....remarried and I work. (teach in the public school system) Church is not an exception....it is and remains a way of life. As I've said on another strand, I used to look at divorced people differently until I became one.

 

So instead of reaching out to them, we tell them that they're "bad, bad, bad!" instead of welcoming them in and meeting them where they are.
-----------------------------------------------
Not by the hair of your chinny chin chin buster Josh. Why do you people always read down when you read something I wrote? I never said anything you said. I am a pastor and have been one for a good many years. By the looks of you, you haven't even started shaving yet. It is getting harder and harder to reach people these days and I eluded to some of the reasons why. I never intended for it to be a blanket statement for EVERYBODY. I guess I think people are smart enough to figger that out, however.......

 

But, when you wrote these words, you wrote directly to me and many others whether you intended to or not.

 

LOL!

Where did I accuse you of anything, Shiloh? The church as a whole does these things... and pretty blatantly too. If you'll go back and read I used "we" to include myself as a fellow church member and Baptist. I also said, "Whatever it is, you can't shut them out because they don't look like you, smell like you, or like what you like." I didn't mean this to imply you, Shiloh, necessarily. But I do mean "you" in a broader context, meaning you just can't do that.

I never would have guessed that by some of your posts here.

Didn't know that was a prerequisite to understanding truth, but if you must know, that picture is 4 years old, and I'll be 30 in 3 weeks. What does my age have to do with anything?

Well I guess we both misread. My bad... and yours, too.

As I thought people were smart enough to figure out my post as well.