There is a total lack of unity in the body of Christ. In Genesis when speaking at the tower of Babel God declared there is NOTHING man can not do when they are united!!!! Never before especially in this city of Bridgeport has there been so much spiritual disunity, Churches speaking against other churches and Pastors having grudges towards other Pastors, Christians misrepresenting their churches and gossiping about people in others it’s atrocious. Churches all on the same street all with a different vision from "God" for the SAME street and yet nothing happens but we want a radical move of God? If the Holy Spirit hit Bridgeport in full strength many in the churches would perish. It is by God's mercy we have not experienced an outpouring because his outpouring would demand holiness (Lev 20:26).
We are divided by beliefs, denominations (demonizations), racial and ethnic backgrounds, and the list goes on. This church here don't like this church, these 2 pastors have bad blood, this church is too liberal, this church is too legalistic, this churches music is unholy, this Pastor is too young, I heard this about him I heard that about her, this organization believes Jesus only but this church believes in the trinity etc....When will it end?!!!!
When will churches finally get together to promote Christ and not their organization?! From Genesis to Revelation you will never find a demon fighting a demon or a principality of Satan going against another evil principality or a witch fighting a witch for as Jesus declared when accused of using Satanic power to cast out a demon "A KINGDOM DIVIDED CAN NOT STAND!" (Luke 11:17) It is only in churches that we fight and are in disarray and the Kingdom of God suffers because it's "citizens" are fighting one another!
It is estimated there are over 400 churches in Bridgeport alone! That is a lot but yet the city is getting no better. So many churches and so many different visions and yet none are really changing the city and don't get me wrong i know we all do our little part and we all have successful events but yet where is the dramatic change? In cities all around the U.S. churches united and REVOLUTIONIZED their city and even got Jesus back into the schools because it made such a difference...
Where is the unity? Unity is a weapon! It is a tool! We lack it. No churches want to follow. NO pastors desire to submit to a citywide agenda...25 churches in Bridgeport of the same denomination all in competition and none having an impact. All struggling financially and none saying "hey there are more than 50 churches from our denomination within a 20 mile radius why don't we get together and have the areas ONLY mega church?! Then, all the bills could be paid, all the pastors can be paid and be full time, we would have more people for all the functions we are doing and we could hit the streets and really win souls for God and not just attract church hoppers!!!" Please, I implore you if by this point your offended don't be...I only desire to point to the obviousness of our dilemma in the north east. It is a spiritually dry place and this is why...churches have not allowed God to operate and everyone wants him to start it with them and if it doesn't start there, they will speak against it, boycott it, bad mouth the leaders of that church and more.
Read this short story and then I will continue this topic:
Growing Good Corn
Author Unknown |
There once was a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each
year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon.
One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.
"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.
"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn."
He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves.
So it is with our lives. Those who choose to live in peace must help their neighbors to live in peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others to find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all. The lesson for each of us is this: if we are to grow good corn, we must help our neighbors grow good corn.
One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.
"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.
"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn."
He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves.
So it is with our lives. Those who choose to live in peace must help their neighbors to live in peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others to find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all. The lesson for each of us is this: if we are to grow good corn, we must help our neighbors grow good corn.
I heard this story while working retail as a Store
Manager for CVS/Pharmacy. This
story really challenged me and really inspired me to help the other stores in
my area do better so we all as a company could have a better reputation.
Realize it is not ALL bad
news. At the heart of this blog is a call for unity, a call for the surrender
of our individualized church visions and a war cry for people with a heart for
the city to unite. Who cares if you’re black and I'm Hispanic. Who cares if you’re
white and the people next to you are Asian...aren't we all Christians?
The key is to sow good corn. If we as churches would speak
life to each other and not give the public a bad taste towards each other in an
effort to boost our own numbers, people will see genuine Christians. We should
be excited that other churches are growing and not jealous! We should share all
our best practices. What worked for you and what didn’t?
We should share ideas, seminars, worship tips, musical
styles, help build musicians in EVERY church, help get all our IRS
501c3 paperwork together so we are legal in the eyes of Uncle Sam. We should
help each other get incorporated and structured. We should be sharing
accounting practices and counting practices. Curriculum's and teaching
materials should flow from church to church in an effort to join the city in
one mindset to educate God's people. I don't care how elaborate your church vision is portrayed isn't
the bottom line the same for EVERY church? TO WIN
SOULS AND DISCIPLE THEM! That is the goal!
There should be a constant fellowship of believers and
leaders. Pastors should sharpen other pastors not dull them. We should
constantly continue to keep blessing other churches and seeing how God blesses them
should excite us! Growth should be in every church. God is OBSESSED with
growth...the first thing he made was a GARDEN! If a church isn't growing it has
an issue because if you read scripture God is obsessed with the growth of man
and the church! In Acts 2 the church grew DAILY! Not just on Sundays or
Wednesdays...EVERY DAY folks came to God
because the city was UNITED!!!!
What would Bridgeport
look like if we all fellowship together? What would our streets look like if we
pulled all our resources together and had a united front against sin, crime,
and more. What would happen? Revival would happen...Renaissance would take
place...if only we would unite.
We should be sharing our seed with churches around us in order to grow better corn! In order to gain better ground against the enemy we should be helping each other out for there is no competition in the kingdom!
We shouldn't be afraid to share what is working in our
churches to other churches for it is written:
It is possible to give away
and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose
everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters
himself.
Proverbs
11:24-25I pray we don't wait until it is way too late and we have lost the opportunity to see God move...Bridgeport needs to unite. Kids are dying, people are going hungry, crime is rampant and so much more...With over 400 churches there should be something happening but there isn't....Unity is needed and it will bring an anointing to this city...I don't want to upset you but rather implore you to unite and to get your churches involved...talk to your Pastors and lets change Bridgeport for real!
Ps 133
133:1 A song of ascents. Of David.
How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
NIV
Feel free to FB
me or tweet me!133:1 A song of ascents. Of David.
How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
NIV
I’m not here to be popular but rather, obedient.
More to come.......................
Amen!!! This type of unity is what the Holy Spirit longs for.
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