Why Are There So Many Different Churches?

It’s funny but whenever I drive, I always notice dozens and dozens of churches. They have all kinds of different names, shapes and symbols hanging on their walls. Many times their sanctuaries are so close to each other that the signs almost touch.

In my hometown, we only had a little over 3,000 people, but shockingly had over 30 churches. I thought of this recently as I read a remark in the Christianity Today Magazine. Mark Gali noted that, "Protestants have managed in 500 years to create out of two traditions (Orthodox and Catholic) some 30,000 denominations." (Mark Gali; Christianity Today; July 2009)

Why are there so many different churches?

I suppose there are a lot of reasons for this. People enjoy churches that fit them. They like the worship services to be convenient and accommodating. Since there are so many different types of people, there are a lot of different churches. The bottom line is that our churches have been built to suit us.

What does God have to say about this issue? In Ezekiel 36:22, the Lord affirms, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name.”

In this powerful passage, God is affirming that it is not about us, but about Him.

What would happen today if we, once again, made church about God? Well, for one thing, we might not have so many different congregations…

What is Unbelief Costing Us? - By Steve Gray

"They were not able to enter, because of their unbelief." (Hebrews 3:19)

There are many issues Christians seem to be concerned with today. I know many believers who are up in arms against the evils of adultery, abortion and pornography. I have also met others who are mobilizing to deal with the debilitating issues of poverty and injustice. Many Christian mothers are working to get badly-needed improvements in our underperforming schools.

There are certainly many valid problems vying for the attention of believers. Churches and society are experiencing breakdowns that are hard to ignore.

Yet, it seems there is one thing that we are not all that bothered about. Christians talk about all the different problems and overlook the one thing that may have the most serious impact.

What I am talking about is our unbelief. As I have prayed and studied the scriptures, I have found that unbelief is one of the most horrific things that can ever be manifest in the people of God.

Unbelief closes the door of deliverance. It causes the rains to be withheld and the ground to be barren. In Hebrews 3:19, we are warned that Israel's unbelief kept them from entering the Promise Land.

How can Christians be worried about so many other things when we really don't believe God? We must become a people of faith and devotion. If we ever truly believed, we might experience some changes in all of these other areas that are arresting our attention.

It is time to believe God!

Soothing The Savage Beast?

"Let us find a good musician to play the harp for you whenever the tormenting spirit is bothering you. The harp music will quiet you, and you will soon be well again." (1 Samuel 16:15-16 NLT)

King Saul turned away from the Lord. Though knowing what was right and receiving what was needed to walk in righteousness, he embraced sin. As a result of selfishness and pride, trouble came upon him.

This experience should have brought him to repentance. Yet, Saul had no intention of changing. He wanted to live selfishly and still obtain God's blessing. Rather than driving out the darkness, he tried to use David's anointed worship to soothe his demons.

Many individuals attending churches today are like Saul. Their lives are absorbed with selfish pursuits. With an insatiable hunger for entertainment and material gain, there is little time for God. Now they come into church and expect the worship music to "soothe the savage beast." They seem to believe that a single experience of God will justify a life out of sync with the Kingdom.

We must be careful about this. Believers must rise and be disentangled from darkness. We can no longer use anointed worship to cover up our selfishness. Worship is for showing love and devotion to God, not to justify our darkness. Worship is about honoring God and submitting our lives to him. It has nothing to do with making us feel better.

5 Strategies for Experiencing the Presence of God - Steve Gray

I would like to discuss strategies for leading people into the presence of God.

I certainly don't want to imply that these five are exclusive. I am sure there are others, but I have found these particular concepts have helped me in my leadership capacity.

Let me share them with you:

1. Break a Man-Centered Focus, While Cultivating a God-Centered Focus.

"…the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God." (Mark 1:16)

Too many Christians make the Kingdom of God about meeting individual hurts and needs. The only song they want to sing is, "When He was on the cross, I was on his mind." We need to be reminded that the Gospel is not about us. It is about the Lord and his purposes. If we would truly make God the focus, I know our services would be transformed.

2. Move Beyond the Restraints of Time and Culture.

"You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what has been promised." (Hebrews 10:36)

I think Americans are more time conscious than any people in the world. We speed through life going to appointment after appointment. we are always pulling out Iphones, Blackberries and checking our calendars. People leave little time for God to work. Churches must be prepared to be in conflict with American assumptions about time and other things. We need to be reminded that the world does not dictate our values or our schedule. If we would only allow Jesus to set our values and agenda, a greater sense of the glory would be experienced.

3. Don't Do Everything! Decide What is the Most "Needful Thing," and Do That.

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best…" (Phillipians 1:9, 10a)

A lot of churches are trying to do everything. They have food pantries, "mom's day out," men and boy's baseball, prison outreach and many other activities going on - all at the same time. These things are perfectly good, but it's difficult to do all of them and do them well. Sometimes it seems that - in the process of trying to do everything - nothing really gets down. Churches should stop asking, "What do we need to do?" Instead they need to ask, "What are the most important things we need to do?" When we begin to focus on the weightier matters, we will experience a greater expression of the grace of God.

4. Make Every Adjustment Necessary to Replicate the Atmosphere of Heaven.

"I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in Heaven shouting: 'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments.'" (Revelation 19:1b-2a)

What is Heaven like? We should consider the atmosphere of heaven and strive to see it increasingly manifest in our services. There is no betrayal in heaven. There is no backbiting in heaven. No one is saying I don't feel like singing or lifting my hands. In heaven, every creature is in utter submission to God. If we could get the people of God to become like those who are in heaven, we would see an immediate transformation in our services.

5. Make Every Possible Effort to Restore Honor unto God.

"Therefore say to the House of Israel, 'This what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake oh house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my Holy name…" (Ezekiel 36:22)

Many of us no longer have a grasp of honor. The only people we seem to care about is ourselves. We forget that we were created to bring honor to God. If we would only bring honor to God, it would change everything. If we could only show the greatest respect and deference to Him -placing the highest regard for who He is and and what He wants. When a congregation begins to bring glory and honor to God, the glorious presence of God will soon envelope the room.

I believe these strategies are very important. If the people of God would only focus our attention on God and make the necessary changes, we would have a place the Lord wants to visit. Everybody likes to talk about the presence of God, but so few are willing to do what it requires to see the presence manifest in our midst.

I pray you will apply these strategies both individually as well as corporately. If you do so, I believe you will notice a remarkable change.

City On a Hill...

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)

In the early 1630's John Winthrop studied this powerful passage while journeying to America. In the midst of prayer, he was convinced the Lord wanted to show His glory in this new nation. Winthrop believed that the eyes of the world would look and see the righteousness of God. He wrote,

"For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses . . ."

In many ways, Winthrop's hope prevailed. In addition to justice and freedom, America became a nation where glory was manifest. From the Great Awakening of the Eighteenth Century to the wondrous outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the late Twentieth Century, America has been ablaze with His presence. Despite the numerous failures and misguided notions, America has still demonstrated a powerful hunger for the glory of God.

Years later, President Ronald Reagan would draw from Winthrop's overarching hope of America. On the eve of his election in November of 1980, he affirmed the following,

"Let us resolve tonight that young Americans will always ... find a city of hope in a country that is free.... And let us resolve they will say of our day and our generation, we did keep the faith with our God, that we did act worthy of ourselves, that we did protect and pass on lovingly that shining city on a hill."

He visited this imagery again as he prepared to leave office in January of 1989. Reagan noted,

"I've thought a bit of the `shining city upon a hill.' The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we'd call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free. I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace… That's how I saw it, and see it still."

Even in turmoil and social unrest we cannot forget our purpose and calling. We are to shine the glorious light of Jesus!

Perhaps Winthrop and Reagan understood something easily overlooked in these trying times. Yes, there are great challenges and terror that threaten us. Anger and disappointment certainly mar the judgment of many. Yet, these things do not really matter. Though the darkness rises, we are still called to be a shining city on a hill.