From Tom
I read a few articles over the last few days about the numbers of professed Christians shrinking in our country, down from 86 percent to 75 percent. The temptation for religious people and professionals is to begin blaming the people, that they just aren’t committed to God anymore. Or we can easily become discouraged and buy a lie that people just don’t want to know God. In the end both lies blame people and abdicate leadership.
When we blame people for not coming to Church, we are abdicating our roles as spiritual leaders. If people are not following us and growing spiritually then the first place we need to look as spiritual leaders is in the mirror. This principle isn’t just for professional religious leaders. It is a principle for every parent, every Christian frustrated by the behaviors or attitudes of the un-churched people around them. God has called us to lead people into a growing relationship with his Son. People really do hunger for God and many people’s happiness in this life and the next depend upon us being true spiritual leaders who refuse to abdicate this responsibility.
What a difference it would make in this country if every Church leader and even every single disciple of Christ understood and accepted their responsibility to lead people in a growing relationship with Christ. What a difference it would make if all of us as followers of Jesus Christ were willing to be brutally honest with ourselves when we’re not producing more disciples. The number of Christians wouldn’t just be growing, it would be exploding.
