We need to stop blaming the Congregation
By-Rev. William Cobb:
If you are a christian on social media then you have most likely either read or perhaps posted something similar to this....."Why is it that you can get excited during a football game, but you can't get excited during the church service?" or maybe something like this... "You can sit through a 3 hour movie, but you can't sit through a 45 minute sermon?".
First of all I reject both of these "witty" posts. The Bible talks about speaking the truth in "love". This post is not about loving the people who are lost. It shows the dark side of "Christianity" that so many in the world stray from. Those we are trying to reach don't understand these posts. They seek to humiliate and criticize those that just don't feel the Spirit of God.
Let's talk about these "Witty" posts and lets see whether the fault is with the members of the congregation or with Leadership.
"You can get excited at the football game, but not at church?"
I've been a member of four different churches over the course of my life and there have been churches that I can safely say had no moving of the Holy Spirit, as such the members of the congregation would often respond as you would expect when there is an absence of the presence of God.... they didn't respond at all. Yet those that are in leadership will say something like this....
"Wow! The Spirit of the Lord is in this place! Isn't this amazing!" I'm sure that any minister that does this is simply trying to encourage and bring hope to the congregation, but what ends up happening is it discourages the saints and especially any visitors that may be in attendance at the time, because in the case of the saints they know that there was no moving of God in that service and just discourages them and as for the visitor they will think to themselves " That was a powerful move of God? I felt nothing, I feel more power at the bar than I do at the church. You see the reason people get excited at the football game is because something is actually happening! If nothing happens at church there is a reason! What the minister should do is acknowledge that lack of God's presence and do something about it! We can't be afraid as ministers to go against the grain. We must be bold make a change and fight against whatever it is that is hindering and grieving the Holy Spirit. Maybe instead of singing another emotionless song we break into prayer, maybe it's that some of your worship leaders aren't living right and they are hindering things, it could be any number of things, but most of the time it isn't the congregations fault.
Too often we like to blame the congregation for not participating, for not running the aisles, for not falling on their knees and crying their eyes out. As ministers and leaders in the church we are supposed to bridge the gap between God and the common man, to help usher in the presence of God and if the congregation doesn't accept what is happening then that is on them, but 9 times out of 10 it is leadership that needs to get passionate its the ministers that need to make a change.
"You can sit through a 3 hour movie, but not a 45 minute sermon?"
Lets be honest most sermons can be preached in 15-20 minutes, but sometimes we just end up dragging things out longer than they need to be. There have been many times where a great sermon turns into a dud because the minister just wanted to tell one more story or make one more point and they miss the timing of the Holy Spirit and they miss the opportunity of the open hearts of the people. Not only that, but some ministers use the pulpit as a platform to either complain or brag to an audience. As ministers we are here for God and His people.
The reason they can sit through a 3 hour movie and not a 45 minute sermon is because they feel like they are actually getting something out of the movie. Movies are designed to encourage, motivate, uplift, and bring out the emotions of the audience. Our sermons are meant to inspire the spirits of the listeners, but so many preachers at best can only excite the flesh....and sometimes they can't even do that.
When we blame and criticize the congregation we are not inspiring them to try harder we are instead encouraging them to give up. We must be humble enough to recognize where we need improvement and when we need to change the order of things. We are the men and women of God, but that doesn't mean we won't make mistakes. One of my favorite things about the bible is that the short comings, failures, and weaknesses of the characters are not hidden they are right there in the open for us to learn from.
This is not meant to discourage leaders it is meant to grab their attention and to inspire them to pray and seek the leading of God Almighty. Let's stop blaming others and start inspiring others, perhaps starting with ourselves. Remember God called us therefore He knows that we have what it takes to fulfill His Will and desire on earth. I pray that every minister and every church leader would be in the Will of God and would be successful in ministry not for my sake or their sake, but for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.
God bless all that read this you are in my prayers amen.