BernardShuford.com

Back last fall, when I went through one of my many spells of being fired up about physical fitness, I began reading Vic Magary's blog over at Gym Junkies.  Vic is a trainer, ex-military, a martial artist, and a guy who just puts it out there like it is.  He was also the owner of a "gym", as they are called in the trade, but now has apparently filed for bankruptcy.  Vic's a roughshod kind of guy, but he's apparently a good trainer, knows a lot about fitness, and has a lot of friends. 

But his business is bankrupt.  It has ripped his life to shreds to try to run the business of his gym, and there are so many "church" parallels here that it's not funny.

Lots of pastors are really good Christians.  Lots of Christians are really good Christians.  They love God, they love Jesus, they love people, they love Scripture, and they love following Christ.

Yet, somehow, there's a brick wall that they run into on Sunday morning when they pass through the church doors, and they find themselves struggling in the context of that ministry.

They have no idea of how to teach a Sunday School class.  They don't know how to sing.  They don't play a musical instrument.  They don't know how to run an evangelism effort.  They don't know how to counsel.  They're not outgoing, so just HAVING friends is a stretch for them.  Or perhaps their kids don't behave the way everyone wants them to.  Or they disagree with some minor teachings of the church. 

Being a good Christian doesn't mean that we are automatically qualified to lead a church.  Being a good Christian doesn't automatically make us "successful" inside the church environment.

Yet, all too often, judgments are made about our spirituality based on how we function in the church environment. 

And that's unfortunate. 

And I am also baffled at how to interpret Matthew 16:18 based on the fact that so many churches, mine included, are continually suffering in a way that sure makes it look like Satan is prevailing.  Hard to resolve.  Maybe that's another post. 

Praying for Michael Spencer.  Like him or not, it's painfully sad to read of a Christian brother suffering what is quite likely his last year. 

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/michael-spencer-update-392010

So, thanks to Thomas Nelson, I have a new KJV Study Bible.