Church People

The lovely wife and I attended a small gathering of people from our church, and the more I think about it the more enjoyment I receive from it.

When walking through the doors of a Church, one sees people who want the best for others. In a Church there is not rampant jealousy, gossiping or other negative characteristics, if the Church is staying focused on God. Please don't get me wrong, these and other problems are still around, we are all sinners with selfish desires that at times get the best of us. However when people worship God they strive to be better, to be pleasing to God, to help others. A God centered Church has the ability to inspire people to ponder their position in God's creation and how they can further His Word. It becomes the purpose of the members of the Church to serve God to the utmost of their ability.

We were once in a church that was not so much God centered as it was philosophical. It considered itself a Church with Christian doctrine, and it was once a God centered Church, but with new leadership it became more theoretical, more based upon literature and the reasonings of man. The people then became more prone to worry about their favorite activities in the church, whether it be the type of music, the plates that were used at the church events, or if somebody used the pencil from their clipboard to sign up for another activity. Pettiness was not everywhere, but it pulled away the congregation's focus on God to worldly issues. It was a sad thing to see.

The key is leadership. The pastoral leadership is crucial. The leadership can keep the steady focus on God or it can begin to slip into the comfortable and easy secular world, bringing strife to the congregation. We are blessed with a terrific preacher at our Church that focuses on the Bible at all times and urges the congregation to remain centered on God's Word.

May all Churches make wise descisions in their leadership and gently correct the leadership when it goes astray, keeping Jesus the center of our world.