Feed My Sheep

FEED MY SHEEP(John 21:17)

The Church is hungry and thirsty spiritually. The disciples of Christ are sitting on their Church pews growing colder and drier and less motivated while the leaders in the church prance around singing and dancing; making an amateur musical every Sunday for bored congregations . The Pastor makes his 10 or 15 minute condensed version of a Bible Story and then after they sing a song (I won't say hymn) that no one except the choir knows, there is a quick Benediction and the members of the church go home wondering why they feel nothing has happened, they're still thirsty for knowledge of God, hungry for a spiritual experience. They don't know anymore than when they walked into the church building at 10:45 A.M.. Something is very, very wrong.

Pastors, it is time to start ministering to your congregation. I know of a church that is starting a campaign to visit the town's citizens door to door. Spread the gospel and try to get them to come to church.

So they come to church, now what! I can tell you unless these new Christians or old Christians who come to Church service are spiritually fed, they won't come back. Why should they? These people are fed a lie. The people who invited them to Church now barely have time to shake their hand. The preacher shakes their hand but is looking over their heads for either a more important person or someone they are big friends with. Unless the new person gets busy and starts working like a slave in the church he or she will not get anymore Christian Love and fellowship. These Churches are not interested in nurturing fellow christians, they just want new members, who will add to the collection plate so they can buy more electronic equipment for the choir or start new programs for the church to lure more people in.

Stop it Church! Stop it! Church services are holy. The building is a holy place. The altar is holy; stained with the tears of hundreds of Christians. The ceilings and walls are covered with thousands of prayers that have gone up from the Saints. The Book of Revelation tells us God keeps their tears and prayers and they are like incense to him.

Having been a Christian all my life (70 years now)and a church member for 59 of those years, I have worshiped in dozens of churches and been to the service of of almost all the major denominations. I even went to a Roman Catholic mass one time with a friend. While living in Italy, I visited Rome and walked around the Vatican City and St. Peters Church. By accident, I got a short tour of the Christian Catacombs beneath the church. I did not feel the presence of God there.

I have watched the church I worshiped in (with my family) since 1985 turn into a circus. It's a big entertainment show for the people putting on the show. The minister is a very small part of the show. Sort of an after thought. I was horrified the first time I saw a so called Deaconess of the church passing the collection plate while wearing a very short black skirt with her outfit. Even more shocking were the female members of the choir with short skirts who kept wiggling around and crossing and uncrossing their legs. St. Paul must be rolling his eyes. What happened to Paul's instructions that the women of the church be modest? I believe women should be allowed, if they are seriously called by God, to teach and preach, but they are to be an example to the women of the church as well as the world.

The dancing and prancing of the music minister of the church would look well on MTV but is inappropriate for church. We are there to worship God, not to try out for American Idol or Dancing With the Stars. I do not believe the Israelite women who sang and danced before God danced the worldly way the modern church women dance. Women would you really shake your bosom and wiggle your hips in front of Jesus, if He was standing there in his physical body looking at you? I don't think so and I don't believe you think he really watches you do that in a so called "Worship Service".The only religious rite that this kind of sexually provocative dancing is appropriate for would be in some heathen ceremony such as voodoo.

Please have some respect and don't bring food or sodas to drink in the sanctuary. I actually saw a can of coke sitting on the Baby Grand piano in my church. This piano belongs to God, leave your soda in your car, don't make a ring on the piano finish. There are crumbs of food left in the pews and stains on the beautiful carpet, Please, please respect the house of God. What will the pagans think if they ever decide to visit the House of God, called a Church? They see the same disrespectful, irresponsible behavior they see in their local theater or football stadiums.

Preachers here is what todays young people want. They want spirituality. They want to touch the supernatural. They are thirsty for God. They want the stability, and the maturity in the church of their ancestors. These young people are smart and they spot phoniness a mile away. Leaders of the church please be grownups. Don't try to be cool. Don't turn the worship of God into a Rock Concert in order to entice young people. It won't. They are sick of the world, sick of old women in short skirts and face lifts trying to look 30 again. Tired of old men popping Viagra, wearing gold chains and trying to be the dashing cool guy he was in college. Stop it! These wonderful young people want grownups for leaders. No matter what they say.

The only reason people today are lured into goofy cults or strange religions is because they are not being fed the spiritual, the supernatural. they don't feel the divine power in church services. The kids are embarrassed by the amateur theatrics they see in church on Sunday mornings. People go to church to worship and to praise God. The do not want to sit and listen to  a "wannabe" woman warbling pitifully through 4 verses of a song she can't sing. They hear better at Karaoke on Saturday night. Even if hurts some feeling, ruffles some feathers, Pastors tell the women to sing in the shower. Not Sunday mornings to a captive audience. Please, don't just smile when they say "Well maybe is not the best singing but we're to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Maybe you could do a whole sermon on what that means. It doesn't mean what most people think.

I even know of a woman who is so vain, so arrogant she wears a type of headgear resembling what the professional singers wear. She wears it for no apparent reason as it doesn't work. The woman turns away sincere people who volunteer for the choir. She is the "Boss". She barks at he choir, issues orders and has hurt the feelings of many volunteers when she dismisses them saying "We don't need any more in the choir. I've got these people trained and I can't work with anyone new". Talk about full of yourself! If she knew Jesus she would know she is a servant, not the boss of her fellow members of the congregation.

Jesus was humble, kind, a servant to his brothers and sisters on Earth. Where is the servant spirit today?

Please Church go back to your first love. You are not here for entertainment. You are here to love God and your fellow Christians. You are here to love your Tribal Kinsmen, your Christian brothers and sisters. You are bought with the blood of Christ into a tribe called Christians. That's who your neighbor is! The Christian next to you.

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