“We have plenty of problems among our people. I don’t claim to be the Moses who can lead us out of the wilderness, but I think I know some of the answers. Half to two-thirds of those on our rolls will not attend church services on Sunday or Wednesday nights. You can harass, threaten and brow beat them but they are not going to change. Seventy percent of our members have never learned the meaning of liberal and generous giving. Almost none of us will work to lead others to Christ. Why so much lethargy and indifference in our ranks? Why the unconcern and ingratitude? Why so much secularism and materialism?
I think we count many as members who were converted to the church rather than to Christ! People join the country club for whatever benefits it has to offer. Similarly, some “join” the church because it offers salvation. Once they have taken out their fire insurance policies, they want to be left alone. They offer token contributions to keep their dues paid. They have never had a face-to-face confrontation with the living Savior. They were converted to an institution and not to Christ. Jesus never became the Lord of their lives. Convert a man to the church and he will not work for the Lord or the church. Convert him to Christ and he will work his fingers to the bone for both.”
From my observation, brother Allen’s above observations in 1973, still hold true today in 2015. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Have we been converted to Christ?” Let us seriously think about it and then take any necessary action (Galations 2:20; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21; Philippians 3:1-10; 1 Peter 4:1-2).
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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