The death of a church

I am sad tonight. A church I know and love (not the one I attend, but the one we used to) is dying. They have rejected the truth, they have rejected a Godly pastor, and they are hell-bent on having things their way. Not everyone in the church has this heart, of course. There are good and Godly people who call this church their home. However, they are out-maneuvered, out-powered and out-voted (congregational rule sucks) by those who insist it is "their" church. Christ is not going to argue with them about that. They want it to be "their" church, and the Lord has willingly left them to it. You walk in the building, and it's cold. There is no love, there is no friendship. There is only who said what to whom and about whom. There is only who is sitting in whose pew; who sits where in the choir loft; who leads what committee.

My heart breaks for the good people -- for my mom and dad, who still attend; for Nate's dad and step-mom; for the few other families I have known all my life who love the Lord and want to do His will. My heart breaks for Randy and his wife Lisa, his mom Dolly, his girls Abby and Becca. They uprooted their entire family and moved here from Kentucky under false pretenses. They were called to pastor, when this group of people only wanted a preacher. They wanted things their way, but to have someone to give the sermon on Sunday mornings so they could say they "did church."

I believe that the Lord has shown me the future of this church. No, I am not going crazy or new-age. But I believe that the doors of this church will close in the future. I don't know when, but I know it is going to happen. And it breaks my heart. However, the Church is the body of Christ, the people in whose hearts Christ resides -- and they are leaving that building in droves already.