Wednesday's Word-Who is the Church YOKED to?!

"Pastors spend more time catering to the pagans than they do making disciples and caring for the sheep. Can they be saved by this or are these things just used to draw them in? Are they preaching the true gospel? By what means are people becoming Christians? Entertainment or repentance?...

...I would say that this is a major shift in our American churches. Many are leaving a basic preaching of the Word and leaning towards a performance and entertaining the crowd. It sure draws people and pastors think that it is God’s Will because the church is growing. The simple fact is, few are coming to an authentic salvation and most won’t stay in church after it isn’t fun anymore. We should draw people in by the word of God, repentance and through prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to work in them and be present in our services. This sounds archaic even as I write. Doesn’t it? But we can’t move away from a simple Jesus that preached a simple message, sell everything you have and follow me, love me with all your heart, soul and mind and have no other God before me (what are idols in our lives? Churches?). He was born in a manger, didn’t own much and didn’t have a home. He called people to be bondservants (servants that worked without the expectation of being paid – the lowest of servants). He said we must wash each others' feet and if we want to be great, we must be a servant to all. He called people to leave everything they know, professions and hometowns, to go be fisher of men with the promise of a simple life, persecution and a difficult death (for most of the Apostles). "

A friend (and pastor) of ours sent this to me today. I wholeheartedly agree! I think he is RIGHT on the money! My fear is that the Church has "sold out" to the unbelievers. We have allowed them, instead of Jesus and Biblical teachings, to determine how we worship, preach and commune with God. Have we exchanged the truth of God for a lie? (Rom 1: 25) Jesus told us to take on HIS yoke (Matt 11:29), NOT THEIRS ( 2 Cor 6:14)!

It's time that we take a step back and objectively look at the practices that the Church is engaged in! Are they biblical? Is this how JESUS commanded us to pray, to worship, to take communion?! Have we diverged from what His Church is supposed to look like...to be like? What is our intention behind our practices? Are we trying too hard to please the pagans at the believers' spiritual expense?

We are called to "... go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matt 28: 19, 20)

OUCH.
This is the "GREAT COMMISSION."
OUR...Great Commission!
ARE WE...going?
ARE WE...making disciples of all nations?
ARE WE teaching them what Jesus commanded us to be following?