Produced Church

The life-saving station

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little life-saving station grew.

Some of the members of the life-saving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now, the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely, because they used it as a sort of club.

Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on lifesaving missions, so they hired life-boat crews to do this work. The life-saving motif still prevailed in this club's decoration, and there was a symbolic life-boat in the room where the club initiations were held.

About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick and some of them had black skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon life-saving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast. They did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another life-saving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that sea coast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore.

Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, but most of the people just drown because the exclusive clubs no longer do rescue work.

That's a pretty graphic tale of some folks who forgot what they were supposed to be about. Are we - the church and "modern" Christians" like those folks. Sometimes I wonder if we think Jesus was just kidding around when he said, "Go fish." Jesus called his disciples to do two things: (1) Follow him. (2) Go fish. We are quick to hear the first part, but not the second. "

Not freaked out!

It's not that God doesn't care about your issue, He's just not freaked out about your issue.

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows ~ Luke 12:7

Facebook customization for your church

Some churches have really done a great job
customizing their Facebook landing pages.


Check out these two sites and then check out
the last link to see how they went about it.


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crossway/67712732119?v=app_6009294086

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pvcckids?v=app_4949752878&ref=ts

http://stevefogg.typepad.com/blog/2010/07/how-to-create-a-facebook-landing-page-for-your-church.html

I fall down. I get up….and believe

This is so worth the read! It is long but it will speak to you!

I fall down. I get up….and believe. Over and over again. That’s as good as it gets in this world. This life of faith, is a battle full of weakness and brokenness.

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/from-the-imonk-archives-when-i-am-weak-why-we-must-embrace-our-brokenness-and-never-be-good-christians

Would Jesus recognize His Church?

I visited a church recently by myself kind of scoping out a place, I was kind of troubled though because other than the building having a steeple, I was not so sure I was actually in a Christian Church in fact, the whole time I was there I literally heard the name of "Jesus" once only once including the music and sermon. Before you think I may have visited a church that was out of the mainstream this place was actually recommended to me and was known to be a Evangelical Christan church but it did not seem that way to me. It made me think would Jesus recognize the places that we call church today?

"Bring The Rain"

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray

Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty