The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1960-01-08

W ]iie TACT IndI ne Is interested
chiefly in the money; the church.
man is interested in the people Of
the church. The churchman Is a
member of the Christian commun-
1ty, he lives there, he feels respon-
sible. The dy-by-nighter is ire
sponsible; the churchman has been
stifly examined, and has spent
years learning his job.
Strong Churches Make
Strong Christians
Saint Paul was one Of the most
successful evangelists who ever
lived. But he never thought his
duty was done when he had simply
preached somewhere. Saint Paul
was a travelling preacher, but no
f1y-by-nighter. He had a sense Of
responsibility for the Christians
whom he had converted. He knew
that just getting people converted
and then doing no more about them
is like doctor who would spe-
cialize in delivering babies but
would not care what they ate,
drank or wore after that. A neg
lcctcd baby is a sickly baby, and a
neglected Christian is a sickly
Christian. The best place for babies
IS in q good home; and the best
place for growing Christians il
with other growing Christians,
namely in a church. Strong
churches make strong Christians.
What Makes A Church Strong7
Paul knew all this, indeed we
may say that this method Of work
demonstrated that this Is true. He
knew if he left weak churches be-
hind him the Christians would also
be weak.
The recipe for a strong church
has not changed since Paul's time.
Three foundation-stones for a
strong church are mentioned in
Acts 14:21-23. First Of these is
preaching. Paul had preached In
these churches before; they had
heard the gospel. But they needed
further help.
Can Christians be strengthened
by talk: Certainly II the talk is
right II the preaching in q church
is faithful to the Word Of God, and
If the preacher is trained to preach,
instead Of being q fuzzy-minded
Christian who likes to talk, the
listeners in that church Sunday
after Sunday are being fed, to the
health of mind and spirit.
Organization and Worship
Another foundation for a strong
church is organized leadership. A
church is not a mere collection Of
Christians, q religious mass-meet-
ing. It is, or should be, a power in
its community. It's responsibilities
to it's members and through It's
members are many. To do what
needs to be done, leaders are need
ed who have some authority, some
capacity for planning, some gifts
Of persuasion, some far vision,
Paul preached and organized, but
he also prayed. These churches
were to be communities Of prayer.
A church where all the praying Is
done by q few people, church
where people go only to be talked
to, or to meet their friends, is not
the strong kind Of church that will
nourish strong Christians. The
most important Person we can
meet in church is not some local
Mr.. Big" It is God; and II we do
not meet him we have missed the
meaning Of worship. For the real
source Of church's strength is not
the preacher and not tho official
board, whatever they may be call
ed or however good they are.
Everybody, knows that 1t is God;
but why do some churches grow
weak by forgetting that God = tbs
Center?
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