by MIKE BOYD
February 12, 2020 –
Admittedly I am very conservative. I grew up and made my profession of Faith in Jesus at the Second Baptist Church of Ocala. It was a church of working people made up of families other than mine, such as the Guinn’s (lots of them) Baldwins, Nalls, McCoulloughs, Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Clements, and countless others. Being a child, I was not involved in or even aware of church politics. All I knew is that we learned the Bible, had a youth choir, Sunday School, Training Union (now extinct) Royal Ambassador’s, Girls Auxiliary, and the like. Over the years, it seems that our churches have changed. Let me quickly interject that there are many great ministers and churches that still teach the gospel and serve our Lord, but it seems like many of my denomination have lost sight of their mission.
Now we see very few Baptist churches. They have changed their names for various reasons. Some say that people don’t flock to the Baptist name. I wonder if many are trying to save money by deserting the home and foreign mission program. I wonder if the seminaries are teaching our ministerial students to abandon the deacons, set up a board, and become the CEO rather than being ministers who serve, study, pray, and teach. And then there is the dream of being a megachurch. There is the philosophy of “get more people to get more money to build bigger buildings to get more people to build bigger buildings to get more people…..” Sermons that once came as a result of the prayerful study are now being found on the internet from a subscription service.
If all this has happened in my lifetime, what will happen next? I hope God snatches our churches by the neck, and we get back to what we need to be doing: leading the lost to Jesus and providing the avenue for His children to grow.
It is with a sense of grief that I put my thoughts on paper. The church is where I found Jesus and made an attempt to serve Him. It is also where I met my wife, raised my children, and made lifelong friends. I will continue to be in my church, although not Baptist, and ask God to not give up on me.