Much of the Church is Asleep
Much of the Church is asleep -- or worse.
Theft and embezzlement are rampant.
Waste in our current structures is epidemic.
"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed." (I Timothy 4:1-2, 6)
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boatful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God --- having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." (II Timothy 3:1-5)
Scary Stat: 95% of all church budgets in the US are spent on our own comforts and programs. Only 0.01% is spent on evangelism to the most unreached.
Scary Stat: Estimates say that the Christian Church loses $5,000,000 PER DAY to embezzlement by trusted leaders.
Money makes things happen -- and Americans are the ones with the assets. We're also the ones whose souls are at greatest risk. (more on this)
'Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."' (Matthew 19:21-24)
"But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets." (Luke 6:24-26)
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:15-21)
Scary Stat: We can help a Brother or Sister start a business in India with a loan of as little as $25.
Scary Stat: More than 90% of all Christian materials are in English, but only 8% of the world speaks English.
Business people are the ones that know how to manage effectively. It's time to stand up, acknowledge our responsibility and speak the truth in love to those among us and in the leadership of the Church that are asleep -- or worse. We've got to get our eyes back on JESUS. (more on this)
"You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother - my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children. The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful. They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness. And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds." (Hosea 4:5-9)
"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight." (Luke 16:13-15)
"Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning. The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgement ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them." (I Timothy 5:19-20,24)
Scary Stat: Percent of Christian resources spent in countries that are already more than 60% Christian - 99.9%. Percent spent in countries where less than half the people have EVER heard of Jesus - 0.01%.
Scary Stat: It is estimated that Christians worldwide spend around $8 BILLION dollars PER YEAR going to the more than 500 conferences to TALK about missions. That's more than HALF the total spent DOING missions.
REALLY Scary Stat: All costs of ministry divided by number of baptisms per year. Cost per baptism in India - $9803 per person. Cost per baptism in the United States - $1,550,000 per person.
It's time to stand up and be counted. It's time to take our skills and assets and accomplish something gigantic for the Kingdom. (more on this soon)
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." (I Timothy 6:21 NIV)
Scary Stat: US Christians control TRILLIONS in assets while at any given time 200 MILLION Brothers and Sisters live in the worst kind of poverty on the very edge of starvation.
Time is short. (more on this soon)
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." (Matthew 24:42-44)
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness." (II Peter 3:10-13)
Scary Stat: More than 70% of all Christians now live in countries where they are experiencing persecution. In some cases EXTREME persecution.