"300" © Warner Bros Pictures

Here is a nice little quote that you all may find interesting…

“When the Spartans marched into battle they advanced with cheerful songs, willing to fight; but when the Persians entered the conflict, you could hear, as the regiments came on, the crack of whips by which the officers drove the cowards to the fray. You need not wonder that a few Spartans were more than a match for thousands of Persians, that in fact they were like lions in the midst of sheep. So let it be with the church; never should she be forced to reluctant action, but full of irrepressible life, she should long for conflict against everything which is contrary to God. Were we enthusiastic soldiers of the cross we should be like lions in the midst of herds of enemies, and through God’s help nothing would be able to stand against us.” – Charles Spurgeon

1. We have given up passion for “mission statements.”

2. We have traded in our calling for the discipleship of all people for “specialized ministry experience.”

3. We have given up the biblical qualifications of a bishop and traded it in for a Master’s degree.

4. We deride postmodernism as an invention of Satan and act as if Modernism was invented by Jesus.

5. We have no concept of promoting the varieties of gifts that we are given “for the common good.” (1 Cor 12:7) and instead only care about placing people into vacancies of our formulaic, uninspired “ministries”

6. We have Pastors and Elders that are disassociated from their own community of believers.

7. We desire candidates with 10 years of ministry experience, and an M.Div. and then want to pay him $20,000 a year.

8. We pass up those that want to serve because they do not have “full time staff” experience even though they have served in the church all their life.

10. We expect youth pastors to be cool, hip and relevant, but not so much that lives are actually changed apart from what the modernist elders want.

11. We say if you are young then you have to be a youth pastor, even though God has given different gifts to various people.

12. Those who wish to be youth pastors we then look down upon as immature and not as sophisticated as a “real pastor” even though that may be his gifting. I suppose we expect the least experienced person to teach our children.

13. The fact that we have any “entry level position” in a church.

14. The fact that we “hire” people as “employees” to service us instead of true pastors who are called of God to minister to the people of God.