Observation: everyone has an opinion but few are willing to commit.
I took an amazing Bible class at Moody in Spokane, taught by Pastor Bob Smith. Pastor Bob taught us that throughout history, in every generation, the church has fought a spiritual battle. Without a doubt, God specially handpicked a spiritual battle for every generation of Christians to confront. Some of the battles were over doctrine, some over practice, and OUR generation has been called to battle "a serious lack of commitment by Gods people".
You have to ask yourself, WHAT causes people to commit to a course of action?
An interesting side note is that throughout history, when the church came under heavy persecution from governments trying to control the people, the church of Jesus Christ flourished and grew strong.
My point is this, I believe that an important ingredient in commitment is pressure and testing. When there is peace, the church gets complacent and soft. Satan knows this.
No one knows what they honestly believe, until it is challenged.
No one knows what they will fight for until someone tries to take it away.
No one knows what they will die for until a gun is placed to their head.
The greatest threat to commitment -- is complacency.
Personal RIGHTS: when people want for nothing and expect everything -- we become a nation with an attitude that demands entitlements.
My grandparents generation believed they had a RIGHT to work hard and serve. So when they walked into a church, their first question is, "Where can I serve?"
Today, in a culture that is built on entitlements and personal rights, the first thing they ask is, "What can you do for me?"
If you ask any pastor in America what the greatest area of turmoil and division in their church is, most of them will answer without hesitation, "Music".
I have prayed and studied for years, trying to determine why music was such a divisive issue. By design, music should be an expression of a Christians heart song of praise and adoration to God.
Then God pointed me in a direction that made sense. God changed my perspective.
If you walk into a church and your perspective is meeting other people's needs, then if the music doesn't suit your taste -- you recognize that God is using it to meet other people's spiritual needs and draw them to Himself. You immediate begin to pray that God uses this music to draw hurt and struggling people to Himself.
If you walk into a church and your perspective is having your own preferences satisfied before anyone else's -- then you fail to recognize that God is at work and you miss the blessing. You will know if this is true because you will walk out the door feeling frustrated and unsatisfied. Instead of praying -- you find your focus on criticizing.
You feel unsatisfied because you stood at the fountain of life but failed to drink.
"All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ." Philippians 2:21
"What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it." James 4:1-2
"For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.". 2 Timothy 3:2-4
