Resurrecting a Dead Church
During my sixteen years of pastoring, I did a lot of funerals. I remember doing one in particular for an avid farmer who attended our church. As morbid as this might sound, I specifically remember how cool the casket was. On the side of it was an exquisite engraving of the deceased, driving a John Deer tractor. It actually looked just like him. I was impressed. Later on, I noticed a lot of families did things like that for their loved ones. I’ve seen everything from racecars to twelve point bucks engraved on caskets. As I look at churches in America today, I am fearful, no I am certain, that many serve in the same capacity as a fancy casket. Their buildings are nothing more than nice decorated boxes that hold something that used to be alive . Matter of fact, if you hang around long enough, you may hear a story about “the good ole days.” You will probably hear about crowded Sundays and people meeting Jesus. Isn’t that just like a funeral? Talking about the things that hap