Is Your Church Dead?

They looked so well-fed; everything was just right. One person said, “That doesn’t look like a dead church to me.” The artist said, “Look closer.” As the man looked closer, he could see cobwebs in the baptistery. That is the portrait of a dead church—one that is not multiplying. A church will glow and grow, or it will dry and die; it will evangelize or it will fossilize, but it will not stand still.

Pastor Dewey Moede

August 21, 2024

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Church switchers — Manuel Hodel photo | Unsplash

FGGAM photo of Pastor Dewey Moede. Sharon and I spent three days ministering in Catron County. I am so very thankful to our Lord that Sharon travels with me now! Sharon makes our ministry much stronger! Glory! God gives us such joy! We so much love being a Great Commission ministry! A FULL HOUSE at the First Baptist Church in Glenwood! Glory! God is so very good to us! Folks loved our TEAM JESUS shirt!

Pastor Dewey Moede: I was told years ago by Joseph Bunce who was the head of the Southern Baptist Convention here in New Mexico at one time, “Some Churches just need to have a funeral.” He stunned me. I had never heard that before. Bunce was addressing an issue with a Church that I was trying to help through split. I learned a lot from that statement! From that day forward, I now know a dead Church when I see it! The Lord has given me an awesome education being a circuit preacher. The Holy Spirit shows me right away when I walk into a Church if it is alive or dying, or just plain dead.

Do you know what discernment is? Do you use that God given blessing? I beleive that some, or maybe many Christians put themselves first before what God really wants them to do. Ego gets in the way. What does the Bible say about discernment?

August 21, 2024
Today’s Daily Devotional with Adrian Rogers

PRAY OVER THIS

“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”

(Acts 5:42)

PONDER THIS

I heard of an artist commissioned to paint a picture of a dead church. The expectation was he would show a church with the roof sagging and weeds in the yard. They thought he would show a church with the upholstery tattered and the carpet unraveled, but he didn’t. He showed a gorgeous building, fresh paint, sparkling windows, wonderful carpet, and an elegant-looking crowd. They looked so well-fed; everything was just right. One person said, “That doesn’t look like a dead church to me.” The artist said, “Look closer.” As the man looked closer, he could see cobwebs in the baptistery. That is the portrait of a dead church—one that is not multiplying. A church will glow and grow, or it will dry and die; it will evangelize or it will fossilize, but it will not stand still.

Growth is not easy or automatic. To have growth, you have to plan for it, you have to pray for it, you have to work for it, and you have to cultivate and water that which you want to grow. But God must give the increase. Spiritual growth is the product of spiritual life and numerical growth is the product of spiritual growth.