Last Thursday and Friday was our first Cabinet meeting of 2009. Our special guest was Ed Stetzer from LifeWay Research. The basic report that he gave us based upon a survey of Assemblies of God pastors showed that the Assemblies of God as a fellowship was ahead of all other denominations in areas of discipleship, doctrinal loyalty, and practice of distinctive beliefs. That is the Good News.
The bad news is that the bar has been set pretty low. My interpretation of the information given is that the evangelical church of today is rapidly descending to the levels of the mainline denominations before us. And that saddens me, it truly is bad news.
Unless you believe as I do that God will once again raise up a Revival Movement to replace all that is dieing or has died. One thing that I will always remember through my concentration in Church History is that Christian groups tend to follow a cycle. The cycle begins with a man, then becomes a movement, then a machine, and finally a monument. I know that this is simplistic but it is still true. Just look at the history of any major mainline denomination or any of our 100+ Universities in America that once had their roots in the purpose of training men and women to serve God.
When we get "too big for our britches" and get comfortable doing things in our own strength and power, God then looks for someone who will lean on Him and trust Him for the impossible and the cycle begins again. And this is where we need to be-right now.
For info on various church research go to www.edstetzer.com or www.lifewayresearch.com
Pastor P
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