On this past Sunday afternoon at Cumberland United Methodist Church, where Reverend Kathy B. Anderson serves as the Pastor, one of the guest speakers at their annual campmeeting revival was Reverend Prince Polite. The thought-provoking, powerful message that he delivered was entitled “The Man in the Mirror,” a popular song by the late Michael Jackson, and also a poem written by Dale Wimbrow. However, Pastor Polite’s main focus in this message was “The Church is Under Attack”! He drove home the point that the attack is not from the outside of the church, but the inside. Glory to God! The Scripture that he used to prove that it’s an inside attack is Psalm 55:10-14 (KJV), especially verses 12-14: “For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.” What I gathered from this message is that we need to look in the mirror to see if we are guilty of hindering the growth of the church, or if we are helping the church to grow. Therefore, we each need to ask ourselves the poignant question: Am I the cause of the attack on the church? If the church is not run according to the laws of GOD, then it is under attack. If you are not about teaching and demonstrating the love of GOD to your fellow man, then you are a perpetrator of the attack on the church. Further, you are a root cause of an unhealthy church.
Have you ever been a part of a congregation, and you finally wake up one day and say, “Something just isn’t right here!” If that feeling goes on and on, chances are, you are a part of an unhealthy church. I read an article entitled, “10 Warning Signs That You Are in an Unhealthy Church.” Due to space limitation, I will share three that I feel are most important:
• There are requirements in addition to the Bible. (Deuteronomy 4:2)
• The culture of the church is exclusive. (James 2:8-10)
• The church leadership does not accurately divide the Word of God. (2 Timothy 2:15)
If you are causing an attack on the church, just know that GOD is not pleased. Always abound in the faith, and never leave home without Him!
