Finally...or maybe Finale?

Finally this election cycle is over and the press and the Dems are happy. So everything must be right in the world 'cuz the press says it is.

Obama is an incredible speech giver. He may be the best I've ever heard, though Clinton was pretty good.

It reminded me of a caution in Scripture. You see, many people are swayed by someone who communicates or inspires. Frankly, it can lead to terrible consequences when massive egos are encouraged by following of the masses to their cause, movement, church, etc...

We are told to always check what is being said along with the motives of the person that is speaking or trying to move others to some action.

Here's The Messages version:

2 Timothy 4:3 You're going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They'll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you—keep your eye on what you're doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God's servant.

I think that many churches today are not following this caution. As a Christ follower, you must test the growth of a church and the cause of it. ie: How many are coming to know Christ that DIDN'T before? How many baptisms are occuring? Are they new converts? or children of members? How many people are involved in leading? A lot or just a few? Who makes the money decisions? Does the teaching reflect the change that people need or the direction the leaders are seeking? Are those that leave degraded either in character or motive by leadership? Is there a lot of turnover? Grow,shrink, grow, shrink, grow? You get the picture.

Obama is a big target right now for Christians, but we have many more planks in front of us like these. It is easy to look past them because they are harder to deal with and remove.

Maybe it is just a case of getting older and getting some perspective, but I think that most growth is personal. We should examine our own growth, but also our churches. If either are stagnant, it might be time for some challenge or change.

Barack Obama, for what it's worth, will not have a huge impact over our lives day-to-day. Our churches have a much bigger impact on our growth than any Presidents or congressperson. Fellow Christians, let's move our eyes a little closer to home. Before we attack Obama, we need to make sure our backyards are pretty well picked up.