The Local Church is Sinking and Most People Don't Know it.

When a ship hits an iceberg and begins to sink, no one needs to tell the passengers.  Everyone knows what has happened and they know that it is not good.  No amount of arguing or disagreeing can change the fact that the ship is in trouble and action must be taken.  In fact, failure to acknowledge the problem will do nothing but lead to a passengers' own demise.  This is especially true if the captain denies that anything is wrong.  Just picture it:  You are a passenger on a luxury cruise line and suddenly you are tossed to the ground due to a sudden impact. You then realize that you're cabin is slowly starting to fill with water.  Suddenly, the captain comes over the PA system and announces that nothing is wrong and for everyone to keep going on as normal.  How foolish would that scenario be if you found yourself in it.  Of course something is wrong.  Otherwise there would not be water filling up your cabin.  To deny that truth does not change the fact that it is true!

With all that being said, I would like to make an announcement to most local churches:  YOUR SHIP IS SINKING!  You might be in denial,and hoping that it is not true, but that does not change the fact that it is happening rapidly all across America.  The worst part about this truth is that most churches do not even realize it.  We have basked in past successes for far too long and in the process are losing an entire generation.  May I suggest that the time has come for church leadership to stop trying to ignore the problem and to come out and let the people know that we are in trouble.  I know that it's not the best news in the world, and I know that no one likes to paint a dismal picture.  However, if we are unwilling to acknowledge that there is a problem, how can it ever be fixed?  My biggest fear is that the American church will continue to sink and that everyone, including the captain, will go down with her.  

There is a silver lining in this gloomy post, and His name is Jesus.  If you look all throughout the Old and New Testament, you will see example upon example of a God who is in the business of bringing renewed life and revival to desperate situations.  A couple of suggestions:

1. Admit that the ship is going down and let everyone else know too.  There's no reason to mask the problem any longer.  Share it with your people.
2. Point everyone back to the cross of Christ.  This may sound cliche, but the answer is found at the foot of the cross and no where else.  You cannot rip the rug out from underneath everyone without giving them hope as well.
3. Pray earnestly.  Somewhere along the way the American church stopped praying corporately   I'm not speaking of praying for every boo boo that everyone has, but earnestly praying for revival.
4. Be prepared to make tough decisions.  I will try and put this as delicately as I possibly can.  WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IS NOT WORKING.  We have to be willing to change in order to be effective once more.
5. Be willing to put in the time.  As far as I see it, leadership and laity have one of two options.  We can either abandon ship, or we can roll up our sleeves and work together to fix the problem.  Which choice will you make?