Why Church People are All Talking about Their Churches and Nobody Talks about Jesus

Left out in the cold. If anyone hears
his voice and opens the door...
www.elkharttruth.com

It always happens when I talk  to church people, leaders or pastors--they're always apt to talk about church--their church or my church. "How's your church? How are your members? How many members do you have?" Things like that.

And then they go on talking about their churches, ministries, members, activities, etc. Anything except Jesus Christ. Or, they talk about their ministry strategies, new churches planted, formulas for church growth, their ministry goals, the number of people that came in that Sunday, "what God tells them" about ministry, how to grow more churches, and the like.

Recently, I attended a church denominational conference and all they talked about was themselves and their churches. During the worship, the speaker tried his best to appear excited talking about how to grow local churches.

They're all in this mad scramble to win the rat race of growing churches to expand their denominations. And yet, no one seems interested about Jesus. I can't help remembering--when you forget Jesus, you tend to rely on your own efforts:

Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, therefore you will plant pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings. In the day you will make your plant to grow, and in the morning you will make your seed to flourish. But the harvest will be a heap of ruins in the day of grief and desperate sorrow. [Isaiah 17.10-11]

"You will make your plant grow," and "you will make your seed to flourish." are all indicative of self efforts. The end result is "harvest a heap of ruins." Their many members later mostly turn out to be mere denominational church people, strangers to God's Kingdom, not Kingdom people who belong to the glorious church of Jesus Christ, without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish.

They talk of their churches and leave Jesus out in the cold.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. [Revelation 3.20]

He didn't say the above verse to non-believers but to the church at Laodicea.

I like church people or pastors who often humbly share about (not preach to you) their quiet times with God (and they enjoy doing so instead of talking of themselves and their little empires) and how they saw a deeper revelation about God, Jesus and His Kingdom on earth. Something like...

"How are you?"

"I'm good," I reply. "And you?"

He says somewhat the same thing. Then he starts off: 

"You remember about the time Jesus turned water into wine? It occurs to me that when Mary approached him about the lack of quality wine, Jesus was in the kitchen all the while with the servants, not seated at a table in the reception area. 

"Though he was invited in the celebration, Jesus didn't seem to stay long with the guests (or probably never lingered anywhere there) but rather enjoyed being with the servants in the kitchen!"

"He loved staying low-profile," I add.

"Yes, and isn't that so wonderful of him? A real King--in fact King of kings and Lord of lords--and yet he enjoyed staying with kitchen servants rather than distinguished guests."

I love talks like that about the Master, His wonders and wisdom, how he lived very human at the same time being truly God. I love deeper insights into His Word and how it can change us into meeker though more powerful individuals in Christ.

I've grown tired of people talking about themselves and their church accomplishments and ministries and showing people how great they are--not realizing that whatever accomplishments or greatness they seem to have is all the works of the hands of God and therefore HE ALONE deserves the praises and glory. They all say they know that, but just the same, they insist on sharing in the glory.

...all that we have accomplished you have done for us. [Isaiah 26.12]

I know, the bible tells us to give honor to whom honor is due [Romans 13.7], but it should be others doing it, not you or your own initiative. Better yet, let God promote you. Let him give you a tribute, not you yourself or other people who have vested interests in you.

Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips. [Proverbs 27.2]

I've attended a lot of "tributes" to church leaders and pastors and most of the time, tributes just twist facts to make the guy benefiting from it look better than he really is. A lot of what is said are lies. They're just patting each other's backs.

To be God's flesh on earth, you should have a lifestyle of talking about Jesus and his greatness alone. Well, you may mention other things in passing. 

And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! [Job 19,26-17]