Why just warm the pews'?

you would think so.

but many many many of them havn't seen or even realized the magnitude of that act.

so they put on the parachute thinking it will improve their flight. yet alas - the other passangers mock him, so he gets up, takes off the parachute - and throws it on the floor. according to him - he's been told a lie. and it'll be a long time before anyone gets that parachute on his back... as far as he's concerned.

enter the narrow gate and follow the narrow path. many preachers stop at "enter the narrow gate" and leave the rest for imagination.

its very sad... "nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Jesus said that...)

 

Here are some possibilities:

1. They could be intimidated. They might not think themselves worthy or capable (kinda like Moses).
2. They might not be sure what it is they should be doing.
3. Have they ever been asked to do anything by the leadership. It is possible that if this core group you talk about is always doing everything, they might figure that they are the movers and shakers in the Church and that is why the pastor has them do everything. Their perception could be wrong, but if the pastor simply asked them, they might be willing to get in there and do more.

Joseph Botwinick

 

Or it could be that they have been led to believe there are no consequences for not doing what they are called to do. There is no fear of the Lord in a great many Christians these days :tear:

 

A lot of you may know that I'm in between churches right now, having left my last church (along with several people) over doctrinal and accountability issues.

But the church I was in before that was very much service oriented. Not in a legalistic way, but in a spirit of serving God out of gratitude for what He has done for us.

In my experience, people don't serve for one of three reasons.

1. They don't realize that they're commanded to. The NT model of the church is one of every believer serving in some way to edifiy the body and to encourage, nurture and edify other believers.

2. They don't know that they're already equipped. It's easy to look at a brilliant preacher like, say, Adrian Rogers, or a great servant like Lottie Moon and say, "Oh, I could never do that".

The truth is, the things that God calls us to do in the church are very often things that we do in our day to day lives, anyway.

Encourage a hurting friend. Take a meal to a shut in. Stay and eat with a shut in. Change the oil in the car for the widows. Offer to take the little boy with no father to a ball game. Tell your pastor, "thank you for your service to the church. I am praying for you". Go to your church building and clean a toilet. Clean two and really live it up.



3. They don't realize the rewards and blessing they're missing out on.

 

Some may be intimidated and feel unworthy when talking about ministry in the church. Many may not understand what ministry is.Some may not appreciate the value of small helps in the church such as cutting the grass,washing the windows,visiting.Some may feel unqualified. My guess it would be up to the pastor,deacons,teachers,and others on the inner circle to reach out and not only invite those who are warming the pews to help but also to educate and mentor into helping.

A little help wanted section in the church bulletin would be helpful as well as the pastor emphasizing the need for help from the pulpit.Now this may not get every seat off the pews but it would move some.raise:

 

This should be the creed of every Christian:

I am a soldier in the army of my God. The Lord Jesus Christ is my commanding officer. The Holy Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, prayer, and the Word are my weapons of warfare.
I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire.
I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity.
I will either retire in this army at the rapture or die in this army, but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable and dependable.
If my God needs me, I am there. If He needs me in Sunday school, to teach the children, work with the youth, help adults or just sit and learn He can use me because I am there!
I am a soldier; I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me. I am a soldier. I am not a wimp.
I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around. I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.
When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing. If I end up with nothing, I will still come out ahead. I will win. My God has and will continue to supply all of my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me.
Governments cannot silence me and hell cannot handle me. I am a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to Captain and then allow me to rule with Him. I am a soldier in the army, and I am marching claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around. I am a soldier, marching Heaven bound. Here I stand! I will not turn around. Will you stand with me?

Author Unknown​

 

oh but according to you J.Jump... all they're gonna miss out on is the 1000 years and a few rewards... so i guess its a win-win situation here.

 

Pew-warmers bug me.....BIG TIME!

If even a stupid cab-driver can play a guitar, write & teach a kids' Sunday school lesson, do a puppet show for kids, drive a Church bus, make a dvd of service, even preach on occasion....and probably a few other things over the years that I can't think of at the moment.....then anyone should be able to.

If each of us is a part of a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9 NIV), then all should stop messing around and start declaring His praises already....

Don't just warm a pew. Don't just wait for an invitation to do something. If you think you can't do something are you sure you can't? Have you tried? Give everything a go, you might even get a surprise yourself with what God can do through you.



Here's an oldie but a goodie: This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

 

Why just warm the pews'?

Why not?

What have we shown them that makes them want to do more?

of course apathy is the most accomodating worldview available...have you had to try to relate to a father/mother of 2.5 kids working about 70 hours a week with a one hour commute each way every day who are up to their eyeballs in debt because they don't know anything different and are trying to realize the American dream of financial/social/career success while providing for their family with millions of pounds of stress in their lives? Hard to motivate them past the pew when we demand of their time with no linkage to growth spiritually because they can't see that in us...

just my opinion
thanks for the thread

 

As I read this thought, something occurred to me.

Isn't it possible that those pew warmers, when we get to heaven, will have a bigger reward than some of the more active people in the church?

Christians need to be active and involved in the life of the church, but they also need to make sure they're taking care of their families. So it is possible that some "pew warmers" have particularly difficult family situations at home that consume large amounts of time. I'm not talking about disabled children/spouse (although that could definitely be the case) but even relational problems that take a long time to sort out.

Plus, what is often missed when we start looking at how much we're "serving" is those people who are being used by God to truly change someone's life.

I have a friend who teaches Sunday School. He's also faithful in attending the services, but you won't see him in the orchestra, or in the choir, or handing out communion or any other myriad of things that could be done for service. But yet, I have never met any person who has prompted more people on a deeply personal level to grab hold of the truths of scripture and be changed by them.

I also know of a woman who doesn't always come to church. Isn't at all the "women's events" helping set up, or tear down. But yet, she goes over to a woman's house about once a week to cook and clean for her (the woman is on bedrest).

Most people, if they saw these two individuals, would consider them "pew warmers" or perhaps slightly better. Yet, the ministry that they are doing has a profound impact on the life of others. It just isn't that public.

So let's remember when someone doesn't jump at the chance to teach a children's SS class, or drive the church van, it isn't NECESSARILY an indication of their spiritual immaturity. It's possible they're lazy Christians, but it's also possible that they're representing the body of Christ in other areas that aren't so public.

 

You do know why they are called pews don't you?

Because people come to church
Sit in Service
Soak up the word
Sour because they never use it
Then they start to Stink.... Therefore their seats are called "pews"

 

PREACH IT, NateT!! :applause:

Worth everyone's reading again.

Plus, preachinJesus made some good points.

As to why I don't go over to church and clean a toilet, ( I realize you were just giving a concrete example, Mike) my church has a custodian plus a contract cleaning crew. The grounds committee oversees asking people to mow the lawn. There is a kitchen committee that would NOT like me coming in to rearrange the drawers. The sound and lights people know what they are doing. Etc., etc.
Sometimes if you don't have enough volunteers, you have not clearly presented the need. And some people you are looking at with a critical eye are indeed doing things behind the scenes quietly.
For example, in my church, there is a person with a very significant long-term physical challenge.
A number of people for YEARS now have quietly and systematically helped this person for free. Takes hours a week for all of them. It would be easy, not knowing this, to look at what they do in our church and call them unspiritual pew-sitters. They are not.

I have said this before. If you see someone in your church just pew-sitting, get to know them better. Dangerous, because they likely have a situation with which you will need to help them. You very possibly will find some strong Christians from whom you can learn a lot.

Karen

 

Gekko there are some that view it that way. I have even had people tell me what is a 1,000 years compared to eternity.

However I don't think that 1,000-year period is going to be a big ole hoot nanny for those that do not rule and reign. We are told that they will experience outer darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth, which is speaking of intense grief. We see the picture in the OT in Esau that sought repentance on the part of his father with wailing, becuase he realized the value of what he lost.

A number of Christians see little value in the kingdom age, but they will realize exactly how valuable their inheritance was, but it will be too late.

Not to mention the disciplining they will receive during this time.

I don't see how in the world anyone would want to waste a 1,000 years. I mean just stop and think about how long a 1,000 years is. We are hear for less then a century, but those that are unfaithful, disobedient and non-overcomers will experience this deep grief and disciplining for 1,000 years.

Talk about a bummer of a time. I hope and pray that I am found to be faithful, obedient and overcoming on that day!

 

A few more reasons:
1. Too busy. Although they can find the time to do the things they like.
2. Too lazy. At least they are honest.
3. Our church might grow and we would lose that family feeling.
4. Someone may get my seat.
5. Someone may take my parking space.
6. Someone new may come with small children who do not know how to behave in church.
7. We may lose our control of the church.
I know I sound a little bitter, but in thirty-five years of pastoring, I have heard each one of these excuses several times.

 

I agree that it is a problem for those who aren't serving at all. I think we need to be careful that we don't just assume someone isn't serving though.

One thought occurred to me last night. It is something that I've fallen victim to before. We need to make sure we aren't saying "Thank you Lord, that I serve a lot in my church, and am not like that pew warmer over there." I've felt that way before. I've looked at everything I've done at a church and wondered where everyone else is. But with 20/20 hindsight, I see that some of them were doing things that just weren't obvious and I essentially made a fool out of myself for thinking I was doing so mcuh, as if that was going to make God more pleased with me.

 

Tiny Tim,
That is a great creed to live by. It has always amazed me people who bother to go on Sunday morning and it stops there. I think a Christian walk with God involves much more than pew sitting, much, much more. If that was all I was move to do, sit on Sunday morning, I think I would not even bother and stay home.

 

Years ago I was in a church where there were people waiting to help. In that church were men who recruited people to help them in ministry. The church had people actively involved in ministry. Too many Baptist chuirches have a typical program instead of discipling people and training them to reach people where they live and work.

 

Thats terrible Tiny lol:tongue3: :smilewinkgrin: