A Growing Church Requires Clean Spirits

Today’s reading: Luke 11:37-44

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about why some churches attract new members nearly every week and some have not seen a visitor in months. (I’ve been doing all this thinking because I’m involved in something called The Healthy Church Initiative with several other people in my church. We’re all concerned about our church’s recent trend toward stagnancy.) Today’s reading gives me  insight into that question.

A healthy, growing church comes to be because its members keep their insides as clean as the church’s outside.

“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.’

In otherwords, a church grows when its people live its sermons instead of just listen to them.

These thoughts give me new determination to do all I can to make sure the churches I am involved with (yes, these days, I have two church families) are growing and vibrant. If Sunday attendance declines — or even just holds steady — that’s my cue to take a moral inventory of myself. When I find signs of greed and wickedness in my own spirit, I’ll remove them quickly.

That will help me find the time to check up on friends who have been missing from church for a while, to invite church new comers for coffee or lunch, and to introduce deeply troubled souls to the loving sanctuary of the church.

It will also help me find the energy to organize more things to bring even of His spirit to the church. Like the trip I’m hoping I can convince several my fellow trained disaster responders to take with me to Oklahoma to help with the tornado recovery in the coming weeks. Or  the Internet radio station featuring Christian music that I’ve been talking about starting through my church for months.

The more I grow in Christ, the more my church(s) grow, too. Thanks be to God for that simple formula for a successful life. May I always remember to act on it.