Prison Break!

When you think of a prison break, what comes to mind?
I'm sure many of you are envisioning inmates jumping a barbwire prison fence or busting out of a confined fortress. However, I am using a prison metaphor to describe the fortress of the institution of church. There are many churches and pastors that have an immense love and compassion for God and His people, and they dedicate their lives to empower the lives of others. Many of them are overworked, underpaid, and under-appreciated. Nevertheless, the mandate upon their lives is greater than their own lack of comfort. However, there are some pastors who milk vulnerable people dry while selling them illusions to support their own personal kingdoms. This has become a religious epidemic.

Many Shepherds have developed a ravenous appetite for lamb chops as they place many of their congregants under the hypnosis of pulpit theatrics and emotional drama before they feast upon their souls and finances. As the curtain closes for the final scene there is a money trail to the pastors gated community which reflects the silence of the lambs. The black church of the 1800's to the 1960's which focused on the; salvation, healing, deliverance, discipleship, and economic development of its community has left the building like Elvis. Only to be replaced with Mr Bojangles and other forms of minstrel acts. These colorful and powerless acts are both entertaining and amusing, however they lack the true power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives and break generational bondage of ignorance and poverty. These realities reflect the mass exodus of many black men from the black church, as well as those who are dying to meet the Christ and are outside of the fortress walls of our churches.
According to recent Church of God statistics, churches in America are slowly dying, and the main reasons for the death is lack of evangelism and community service.
Stats reflect that every month 1,700 pastors quit.
Annually 4,000 new churches start, however 7,000 closed.
Only 5% of the church population focus on evangelism.
Only 2% of the unsaved attend church.
90% of boys who are raised in the church will abandon it by their 20th birthday.
67% of American churches have a population of under 100 members.
The fortress mindset of many church leaders is to teach their ministers to convoy from the church and ascend upon the unsaved with spiritual guns drawn, forcing them to receive Christ or "die and be hell bound." These ridiculous and crusader-type tactics lack compassion and biblical merit. This does not reflect the attitude nor the teaching of Jesus "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd." (Matthew 9:36). The Christ clearly shows us how we "should" engage others in conversation and demonstration by showing an earnest interest in them. If the institution of church had more of a vested interest in people, then people would have more of a vested interest in the church.

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