Topic(s): Worship

Alexander Maclaren, an English preacher, once lamented,

You do not know the despair that comes over us preachers time after time, as we look down upon the faces of our congregations and feel, “What shall I do to put a sharp enough point upon this truth to get it into the heart of some man who has been sitting there as long as I have been standing here, and is never a bit the better for it?” Some of you have been listening, listening, listening, until your systems have become so habituated to this Christian preaching that it does not produce the least effect. It all runs off you like rain off waterproof.

Today we say, “like water off a duck’s back.” Waterproofed worship! A man can live by the side of Niagara until he cannot hear the falls! It is a frightening thought that a churchgoer can immunize himself against the truth by continually hearing it without receiving it. The Scriptures tell of those who, hearing, hear not (Matthew 13:13). In worship, some turn off the hearing aids God gave them and might as well have them in their pockets.

We should never accept such a condition as though it were a matter of course with nothing to be done about it. It is better that those who attend leave the worship angry than that they just leave! The issues of life and death, heaven and hell, are too urgent to be waterproofed out by indifference.

“Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have" - Luke 8:18

Eddie Robinson and Church Growth

Topic(s): Encouragement, Evangelism

Eddie Robinson has coached his last game as head coach of Grambling University. Some are asking, “Who is Eddie Robinson?” For those who don’t know, he is the winningest college football coach of all time (surpassing even the beloved Bear Bryant by a little less than 100 games). He has coached at what is now Grambling since 1941 with his last game having been on November 29, 1997.

I don’t know much about “Coach Rob” (as his players called him). I don’t know what kind of life he has lived or anything about his morals. What I do know is what he said about his philosophy of coaching, and I like it. From what I can tell after hearing an interview a few days ago, “Coach Rob’s” philosophy is to build the man and a winning season will follow. He said he was not concerned with how many games he had won but how many boys he had helped to be better men. You know, he has something there (at least it has worked for him for more than 50 years).

I wonder how often we get caught up in church programs and forget who makes up the church. We all know the church is made of individuals who are seeking to be pleasing to the Lord. We all know that winning souls is done most often one individual at a time. Perhaps we need to be careful to pay attention to individuals. If we placed our prime emphasis on building individual Christians would congregations be stronger? If we sought to help every individual be as faithful and productive as possible, would numbers follow (as with the case of Robinson’s win record)? Jesus taught the multitudes (Mtatthew 5:1,2), but He also spent time with individuals (John 3:1ff; 4:1ff).

May our eyes never grow so dim as to only see congregations and programs. Each individual must stand before God (Romans 14:12). Because of this, let us focus our attention on these individuals who are constantly struggling to press toward heaven. —Mark Howell, Atwood, Tennessee

“How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?” - Matthew 18:12

Eternal Revenue

Topic(s): Faith

I work for the Department of Internal Revenue. Yes, I’m the chap everybody loathes. I go over income tax returns. Recently I checked an odd return. Some guy making under $20,000 claimed he gave $2,624 to some church. Though under the 15% limit, it looked suspicious. So I grabbed a trolley and dropped in on him to check his “contributions.” Most people get nervous and say they “might have made a mistake,” but not him! He said he had given $2,624 without batting an eyelash. “Do you have a receipt?” I asked, figuring that would make him squirm.

“Sure,” he said, “my canceled checks are right here in a drawer.”

He had me! The checks showed he was on the level. I apologized and explained I had to check deductions that seemed too high.

At the door he said, “I’d like to invite you to our church some time.”

“Thanks,” I replied, “but I belong to a church.”

“Excuse me,” he said, “but that possibility hadn’t occurred to me.”

Riding home, I kept wondering what he meant by that remark. It wasn’t until Sunday when I dropped my usual twenty into the collection plate that it came to me.

“...lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…” - Matthew 6:20