Tag Archives: Church

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on January 30, 2016
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We Are The Body – Working Together – Not Attacking Each Other —- Rev. David J. Schreffler

                           January 30, 2016

“But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another.” (1 Corinthians 12:18-25)

Recently Glenn Fry, co-founder and guitarist/singer for the 70’s band The Eagles passed away at the age of 67. They stated his death came as the result of losing a long battle to rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and additional complications from pneumonia. From What I know of rheumatoid arthritis, it is a disease that occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body’s tissues. In addition to causing joint problems, rheumatoid arthritis sometimes can affect other organs of the body — such as the skin, eyes, lungs and blood vessels. From what we know about the body, it is amazing to us that it might attack itself — it is counter-intuitive to think it would do this. The body usually works so well together it is like a symphony of motion, flow, and coordinated effort. In fact, Paul used the body and how it works together to describe the church: “God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another.” But, of course, as in the case of Glenn Fry, the body can turn on itself – to destroy.

And this was Paul’s concern as well – that the people of G-d, working together like a body and its individual members, would work in concert rather than against one another to destroy. Once again, this is why we read the bible, because there is so much wisdom to be found within its pages. Where else might we read in such eloquent terms how we are to live, act and treat one another with such a clear analogy – we are the body of Christ, and as such, we are to work together, not against one another. The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need for you, nor the head say the same to the feet. As the body of Christ, we are stronger together than we might ever be as individuals. And when we read these words written by someone as wise and intuitive as Paul, it gives us courage to put these words into action.

Continue reading the word of G-d found in the bible my friends. There is wisdom in its pages – true wisdom.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on August 21, 2015
Tags: Church   

Does Your Church Need a Doctor? — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

image        August 21, 2015

“There are certain metrics and issues physicians check when we go to the doctor. They want to check our blood pressure and temperature. They do blood tests to see if there are any warning signs. They are looking for symptoms that might indicate real problems exist. After working with churches for 30 years, I too look for symptoms that might point to greater concerns. The symptoms are not necessarily the problem; they simply provide warnings or cautions of potential issues. While there are many potential symptoms of a sick church, I have found 10 to be consistently common. These 10 are not listed in any particular order:

1. Declining worship attendance. Surprisingly, the majority of church leaders do not monitor worship attendance. I advise leaders to compare each month’s average worship attendance to the same month of previous years.

2. Decline in frequency of attendance of church members. This symptom is the number one explanation for attendance decline in most churches. Members are not as committed as they once were. Their waning love for their church is reflected in their declining frequency in worship attendance.

3. Lack of joy and vibrancy in the worship service. Obviously, this symptom is subjective. It is still, however, very important. Most people can sense when a worship service is vibrant, lukewarm or dead.

4. Little evangelistic fruit. As a general rule, a healthy church will reach at least one non-Christian for every 20 in worship attendance. A church with a worship attendance of 200, for example, should see at least 10 new Christians a year.

5. Low community impact. In my consultations, I attempt to find clear indicators that a church is making a difference in its respective community. I ask both church leaders and community members for clear examples and indicators.

6. More meetings than ministry. A sick church will meet about what they should do rather than do it. Some churches have more committees than conversions.

7. Acrimonious business meetings. Christians can and do disagree. Sick churches have meetings where the disagreements reflect obvious bitterness and anger.

8. Very few guests in worship services. A vibrant church will attract guests. A sick church will not.

9. Worship wars. Yes, they still exist in many churches. Those wars are indicators of an inward focus by the members.

10. Unrealistic expectations of pastoral care. Sick churches view pastors and other staff as hired hands to do all of the work of ministry. Healthy churches view pastors as equippers for the members to do most of the ministry.

None of these symptoms are good, but churches do go through periods where they demonstrate a few of them. The key is to recognize the symptoms and respond early and quickly.”

(Anatomy of a Sick Church—10 Symptoms to Watch)
By Thom Rainer

Pastor Dave