Real Churches Can Revive Detroit By Toko Bunga Surabaya 23052012

As my husband and I are jam tangan terbaru driving down the business areas in the city of Detroit, we always joke about seeing the same old thing, liquor stores, strip clubs, and churches, all in the same block for miles. We laugh, but in a way it's not really funny. The big bunga papan surabaya question that I always have on my mind is this: If Detroit has so many churches, why does jam tangan dengan personality Detroit seem to be going to hell? I mean this figuratively, of course. But, what I really mean is that karangan bunga Detroit, "The Motor City," used to be the place to be, but now it seems to be the place to flee. Throughout American system openerp surabaya history, the church has been known for playing a big role in implementing social change in communities. There are hundreds of churches in the city and brosur design surabaya suburbs of Detroit. Is it possible that these local institutions could combine their efforts and resources to help revive the city? I think it's absolutely possible; but it can only be accomplished by churches that are committed to the original purpose that Christ intended. From the jam tangan berkarakter time of the early internet marketing surabaya church, evangelism through charity webdesign surabaya has always been a major function of the church within its community. Much of bunga papan surabaya the charitable work that the servis jam tangan church gets involved in is based jam tangan terbaru on what Jesus said in Mathew 25: 37-40: "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ''..."Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, ''..."Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Also, Acts 2:44-47, illustrates how the Early Church actually functioned within the community: " All who believed were together and held everything in common, and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need. Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved." There is no doubt that the church is called to charity. Churches across America and here in Detroit, have played a great role in implementing social change through the creation of non-profit organizations. Some of the most well-known faith-based,non-profit organizations in Detroit are: Focus: HOPE, Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit, Habitat For Humanity, Salvation Army, Volunteers of America, Gleaners Community Food Bank, Don Bosco Hall, YMCA, United Way, St.Vincent Dupaul and many more. Aside from the creation of charitable organizations, many individual churches in Detroit are committed to serving the community in the areas of: job placement, housing, food drives, clothing drives, drug rehabilitation, prison, hospital and nursing home visitations, and college scholarships. This brings me back to the question. If we have so many churches in Detroit, and if community outreach is such a major function, why is our city suffering? For the past 30 years, Detroit has been headed in a downward spiral, and the fall of the auto industry didn't do much to help. But, in spite of the economic climate, we still manage to accumulate churches. Here is my opinion. I truly believe that the health of the community is a reflection on the health of the church. I'm sure this view will make some people angry, because it sounds pretty harsh to put the weight of the city's problems on the shoulders of the church. But, my reasons for saying this, is based on scripture. The bible says, in 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. " In this context, God is speaking to the children of Israel because of their disobedience in the land He promised them. In the same way that he spoke to his chosen ones then, I believe he speaks to the church today. In speaking on faith-based works of charity, I don't want to give the impression that I am discrediting secular works of charity. I think they are all great. But, charity for charity's sake does not change lives for the long-run. In Detroit, I think there is something deeper at work than financial poverty. There is a thirst of the soul that can't be quenched by any amount of money. As long as there is spiritual poverty in Detroit, the city will still be financially broke, and this along with charity is what I believe God expects our churches to address. I have been a Detroit resident all my life. My husband and I just moved into a new neighborhood. I felt good about where we moved, because there was a church directly across the street from us and another church a few houses down from us. So, I thought that was a plus. But, shortly after moving in, a house that was next to one of the churches got robbed twice. It's not that I thought the presence of a church building would deter crime; I just found the situation ironic. As I said, where we live, we see strip clubs, liquor stores and churches for miles. But, it's no surprise, because Detroiters are in pain, and pain is big business. Some people cope through the help of the local church, but where the church fails; strip clubs and liquor stores are conveniently located to pick up the slack. Detroiters are having it hard, and our churches have a great opportunity to be a part of the solution. But, speaking as one who was raised in the church, here are three main problems I see: Religiousness, division and the club mentality. What is religiousness? First, I'm not trying to say that there is anything wrong with religion. Christianity is a religion with many religious rituals, such as, going to church, going to bible study, prayer, joining a ministry, baptism, Communion, and celebrating special holidays. There's nothing wrong with this. It's what Christian's are supposed to do. The problem is when religious rituals replace a relationship with Christ. For example, we all know people who have been active in church for many years, but are the meanest, coldest, and most judgmental people we know. These folks are religious, but do not know Christ. Religious people get into disagreements about minor doctrinal issues, while missing the heart of the gospel. Like the Pharisees of Jesus' time, religious churches care more about sounding and looking godly, than being godly. Religious churches cannot do anything to help revive the city of Detroit, because they turn away the people that need help the most. Instead of relieving people of burdens, they make their burdens heavier. Another problem in our churches is division. I recently read an article titled, "The Black Church: How Black Churches Keep African American Women Single and Lonely." I have my own opinion on this topic, but I'll save that for another time. What I want to address is our tendency to view ourselves as "The Black Church." There is no such thing as "The Black Church," and any church that views itself as such is throwing a monkey wrench in God's plan. When Jesus said that he was going to heaven to build a place for us, I don't think he was planning to create one section for blacks and another section for whites. There is only one church and that is the Universal Church. Denominational differences are another kind of division. One church believes that we should only baptize in the name of Jesus, while another church believes we should baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Because of minor differences churches refuse to work together. So, we end up with a lot of churches doing good individually, but because of division, resources are limited, the power of God is short-circuited, and churches all over Detroit are handicapped. The club mentality in the church is another big problem. Churches and clubs have a lot in common and to an extent there's nothing wrong with this. For instance, both are places where people of common interests meet. Both involve activities that people enjoy; both have a variety of services that members benefit from; both are good social outlets; and both require funds to operate. But, there is a distinct difference between churches and clubs. For example, a club's main objective is to raise funds in order to increase membership, increase services, and increase in popularity. Clubs can also be involved in community outreach, but it isn't their main focus. By contrast, the mission of the church is evangelism through community outreach. Clubs are self-serving. Churches are Christ-serving. When this distinction gets lost, that's a problem. A church begins to look more like a club when: It is more concerned with its own personal needs, then what's going on outside its walls. It invests more money toward the building fund, state-of-the-art equipment, plush furniture, and retreats than toward charity. Gospel Conferences are held, with prosperity preachers, who ask for huge love gifts, while there's a homeless guy digging for food in the garbage across the street. These kind of churches can't help build up the community because they are too busy building up themselves. In spite of the problems I see, there is great reason for hope. In recent months, there has been an explosion of faith among Detroit believers. EACH (Everyone a Chance to Hear) in collaboration with Volunteers of America, started a community outreach campaign to help to revive the city. The campaign was kicked off by the Comerica Park Prayer Walk which occurred on April 16 th of this year. About 500 churches (20,000 people) located in the city and suburbs of Detroit participated by marching a 1.6 mile route from Comerica Park to the Spirit of Detroit Statue and back along Woodward Ave. Participants prayed for Detroit residents, preached the gospel, and pledged a 40 day commitment of community service from Easter Sunday to June 3 rd . Among churches that participated were Second Ebenezer Church in Detroit, and Kensington Community Church and Woodside Bible Church, in Troy. Also in partnership with EACH, Handyman Ministries pledged to help 40 low-income residential homeowners with home repairs and host barbeque gatherings for the neighbors while spreading the gospel. It's clear to see that Detroiters are a people of faith, and the Spirit of Detroit monument, located at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center on Woodward Avenue, is a daily reminder of that faith. Created by Marshall Fredericks in 1955, the large statue holds in his left hand a bronze sphere with rays emanating from it to symbolize God. In his right hand he holds a family symbolizing human relationships. We often see the statue draped with a jersey to celebrate the victory of our sports teams, and we assume that the word "spirit" refers to some sort of team sentiment. But, we are reminded of its greater meaning when we read the inscription on the wall behind it which says: "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." God has a plan to revive the city of Detroit. We may have hundreds of churches, but it's the not the quantity that matters. It's the quality. When our churches make a real commitment to the original purpose of Christ, then we will be unstoppable. Will the real churches please stand up? Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work!