Kill or be Killed

There are three types of churches in America today: ones that are brand new, ones that don't want to change, and ones that do want to change. How do you differentiate between the ones that want to change and the ones that don't want to? You tell me! I don't have a clue. More times than not I've heard of churches that say that they want to change then buck when it comes time. There are two different ways that churches "buck": they become reluctant followers or they fire you! In the words of Joe Seneca from the movie Crossroads: "Either way they both mean the same thing-Dead!"
There are two scenarios in regards to those churches that refuse to change. The first, is the unmoving church that is one-third filled with people that want change. These are a very frustrated bunch of people that have been waiting around for years hoping for a turn around. Now if those "good" people manage to hire a "good" pastor and they also decide to hang in there and refuse to give up, they will see change somewhere between 10 and 20 years (that's how long it takes for the new pastor to gain a high level of leadership, and for a few people to die!)
The second scenario is the church that, once again, has a small group of "good" people. However, the only problem is the church down the street is growing, moving, and reaching the world around it while their church is still fighting for the 50's. The problem here is it's way to easy to leave. Those "good" people may stay for five years, but sooner or later their going to give up. And who can blame them? After all, what are they giving up on? It's not Jesus or the Kingdom, that's for sure!
Our area is filled with desperate churches that can't get a pastor to come. A college professor told me that music ministers are getting out of the ministry by the loads because all they encounter are "pastor killers!" He said: "People in churches just aren't very nice anymore!" A growing number of Southern Baptist churches are dying today! Why? There's been thousands of books written about the why! It boils down to their excuse as to why they are dying. Every Sunday morning they sing "Send a great Revival to my soul" then leave deaf, dumb, and blind to their world around them.
This blog is dedicated to church planting around the world. There are others that might choose to go to that little brick one hundred year old church. Keep in mind the wisdom of: don't waste your life! Does that little church really want to change? That's up to you to decide.