The world is teetering on the verge of moral, political and spiritual collapse while the only army that has sufficient weaponry to bring order out of chaos hasn't even left the barracks. I am not speaking of the military of the United States; I have the utmost respect for the active members of our armed services as well as the highest honor for the veterans who have served our nation on foreign soil. Rather, I am speaking of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and, in particular, the vast proliferation of churches of all denominations across America. Only the church has the ultimate authority for "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this world."
According to the Hartford Institute of Religious Research, there are over 600,000 men and women affiliated with denominations in the United States who identify themselves as clergymen. The number who are unaffiliated denominationally is unknown. It is, however, a safe estimate that there are over one million Christian preachers in America. Think of that! Just think of that! There are over one million preachers who have in their hands the greatest weapon ever delivered to mankind, the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, and yet the world is sliding at avalanche speed into a moral and spiritual septic tank.
National armies are organized for activity on battlefields; they are not organized to see which military base can attract the most recruits. The army of the church, however, has the three B's of a flimsy definition of success...buildings, budgets and baptisms. Generals are not remembered in history for the brilliance of their oratory; they are remembered for their love of their troops and the battles they've won.
It is my opinion, after having been in the ministry for a period spanning over fifty years, and having preached in hundreds of churches large and small of a myriad of denominations, the church in America is a giant army that is asleep because of pastors (the generals) who are either too lazy or too cowardly to lead them into battle.
I love preachers. I am a preacher. For twenty-eight years I was a pastor. Here are some issues that must be addressed by pastors if the future is secure for our succeeding generations:
*QUIT USING THE PULPIT AS A SHIELD: I learned a long time ago that sermon statements are safe when said in a pulpit. We hear a preacher with great passion and fervor excoriate sin and blast the wickedness of the age and we go away thinking, "What a great preacher!" Let's be honest. He's preaching to the choir. The people in his congregation will, in the vast majority, agree with him. It takes no courage to preach against cultural transgressions in that setting. His pulpit protects him in a one-way monologue. Many communities never see change though a brilliant pulpiteer and strong preacher is the pastor of a church right in the middle of the community. That is why I determined as a pastor to develop talk radio programs so wicked people could challenge me, instead of playing some recorded sermon I had previously preached. I joined civic clubs. I made myself available to the news media to comment on any story. I led one secular group in a fight against pornography. If this cultural battle is won, pastors must leave the safety of the pulpit and enter society's battlefields, but I am certain the majority of pastors reading this will not or do not, and the majority of laymen reading this have pastors who will not or do not.
*PERSONALLY KNOW YOUR CHURCH MEMBERS (your troops): Especially large church pastors will answer me with two responses when I speak of knowing, really knowing, individual members: (1) "My church is too large" or (2) "I'm not going to sacrifice time with my family." Frankly, both of those are excuses, and a pastor who says either one of them should look for a smaller church. Dr Lee Roberson, the legendary pastor of the Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga where he preached to 12,000 on Sunday, knew all of his people and taught me the concept of crisis visitation. He said that within every five year period every family would have at least one crisis, and the pastor should be there. I started following that plan in 1978 and it works, and my family didn't suffer and my two sons are today the epitomes of godly men. Toward the end of my pastorate at North Jacksonville, one of our elderly ladies said, "Dr Hunter, we know you love us and we sure do love you. In fact, we would follow you into hell wearing gasoline underwear!"
*STAY WITH YOUR TROOPS WHERE GOD STATIONED YOU ( the church to which God called you). It was my privilege to speak on an occasion with Dr Homer Lindsay of the great First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, FL. Under his leadership the church had grown to a point that a 9100-seat auditorium was erected to accommodate the crowds. One of the reasons for its growth both numerically and spiritually, according to him, was that he was seldom gone from Jacksonville even during the week, much less on Sundays. Dr Lindsay said he simply could not understand pastors taking Holy Land trips, leading sightseers to Alaska, accepting invitations to preach at every Tom, Dick and Harry conference but somehow never being available to know his people and serve, except for vacations, where God called him. He continued by saying that those times pastors are away preaching here, there and everywhere could have been used better at home holding the hand of a scared little resident of a nursing home, visiting a family that's about to break up or knock on the door of a lost person. I found it interesting that Dr Lindsay was so respected by even the secular community that the mayors would always ask his opinion before starting a project. As a note, when I was a pastor, I almost never took invitations to speak elsewhere but my church; plus I added nursing home services I led once a week and jail visitation. Also, I personally did handwritten birthday cards to my members, my troops, in the army of the Lord.
In conclusion, there is a spiritual war of epic proportions taking place in front of our very eyes. The barracks (church buildings) are full of troops, many of whom are willing to fight. Sadly, very sadly, the generals ( pastors) are, for the most part, AWOL.
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