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Discussion in 'Pastoral Ministries' started by exscentric, Jan 13, 2006.

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  1. exscentric

    exscentric Well-Known Member
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    "Surveys Show Pastors Claim Congregants Are Committed to God, but Congregants Deny It


    "How committed to God are Americans? Two new national surveys conducted by The Barna Group indicate that there is a huge gap between the perception of pastors and the reality of people's devotion to God. While interviewing 627 Protestant pastors, the Barna study discovered that pastors believe a large majority of their congregants deem their faith in God to be the highest priority in their life. On average, pastors contend that 70% of the adults in their church consider their personal faith in God to transcend all other priorities. In contrast, 1002 adults were asked the same question about their top priority in life, but only 15% placed their faith in God at the top of their priority list. To make an apples-to-apples comparison, the survey isolated those who attend Protestant churches and found that even among that segment of adults, not quite one out of every four (23%) named their faith in God as their top priority in life."

    from Crosswalk news
     
    #1 exscentric, Jan 13, 2006
  2. Brother Ian

    Brother Ian Active Member

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    I believe apathy is second only to ignorance when evaluating the problems facing the church today.
     
    #2 Brother Ian, Jan 13, 2006
  3. gb93433

    gb93433 Active Member
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    When I was pastoring I always felt that few sitting in the pews when I first came to a church really understood what it meant for Jesus to be their Lord. Most saw church as a social event rather than a place to worship God. So many see churhc as something they go to rather than to be equipped for service. As I began to disciple others some liked it and the control freaks did not. Discipling people takes away power from those who want power and control and gives it to those who are discipling others and leading them.
     
    #3 gb93433, Jan 13, 2006
  4. Pastor_Bob

    Pastor_Bob Well-Known Member

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    One pastor was asked what he thought was the biggest problem facing the church today, ignorance or apathy? His response..."I don't know and I don't care."

    Sadly, this is more tragic than humorous.
     
    #4 Pastor_Bob, Jan 13, 2006
  5. Hope of Glory

    Hope of Glory New Member

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    That's also something else I've noticed as a difference between small and large churches. Most small churches, in my personal experience, have more people who are committed to God.

    Most large churches have a few people who are committed, and a whole bunch of people who want political connections, business connections, entertainment, social activities, etc.
     
    #5 Hope of Glory, Jan 13, 2006
  6. gb93433

    gb93433 Active Member
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    I have found exactly the opposite to be true. The early church did not become large because it was weak and had a whole bunch of people who wanted political connections, business connections, entertainment and social activities.

    I attend a church that 8 years ago was fighting and could hardly pay its bills. They were more concerned about getting the right people in so they could get some more nickels. In fact one of the members talked about how the pastor at the time led them to all go by and visit the wealthy in hopes that they would join the church. The pastor now is not like that at all. Today loads of people are in Bible study. In fact to be a leader it is required that you be discipling at least one person. That same church is running about 2000 and is very much the opposite of what it once was. The church is alive and growing. People are sharing their faith.

    Show me a church where everyone shares their faith and is discipling people which stays small or shrinks in size.

    Every large church was small at one time. They didn't get large by being selfish and not sharing their faith.

    In Acts when it says 5000 were saved in one day I guess you would say that the church was weak and not committed?

    In a number of areas of the world the underground church is huge.
     
    #6 gb93433, Jan 13, 2006
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