The Church That Died!

The story is told of a wealthy man who wasn’t really dedicated to his church.  His custom, when he was in town, and when the fish weren’t biting, and when he was not at the golf course, and when he had no company, and when he had nothing else to do, was to go to church.  He often reminded his family that the Sunday school attendance was low, the congregation was small, the offering was poor, and the preacher was often dry in his delivery.  He always seemed to find some excuse for not enjoying himself when he did attend.  It seemed his passion and interests were very misguided.

            As the rich man grew old his children grew up and did not go to church after they left home.  He blamed the church, not his children, for their lack of interest.  When his health began to fail he called the church building only to find that the number was disconnected.  He only wanted to pray with the preacher or see if the congregation would place his name on the prayer list, but found no one to help him.  He looked in the phone book and found no address listed, so he became very angry!

            The old man called a lady who used to attend the congregation.  He demanded to know, “Where is the church?”  She said, “Oh, didn’t you know?  The church went out of business several years ago!”   He began to weep saying, “They should have never let it die!”  After a brief silence on the other end of the line the lady replied by saying, “If you had only shown more interest when you were healthy, maybe things would be different now.”

            The Lord’s church is strong enough to withstand the gates of Hell (Matthew 16:18)!  However, without people confessing Jesus with their words and lifestyle it will prove difficult to keep the doors open forever (Matthew 16:16).  As we prepare for this move to County Road 6 let’s work hard to make sure that our fire NEVER goes out.  Let’s use our talents to keep the church alive!!!