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Preachers, what is our problem? Why are our Sunday night and Wednesday night services 1/2 to 3/4 empty? Why are those same services so DEAD? It has been years since I have visited another INDEPENDENT BAPTIST church while on vacation or traveling on a Sunday or Wednesday night, when the singing was vibrant, the preaching was hot, and the service lasted for even an hour. I have left wondering why even the few who did show up bothered to interrupt their schedule to endure such a short, dead service. Like the church at Sardis we have a name that says we're alive, but are dead. What's the PROBLEM?

If we were to ask most of our preachers for the reason, we would get answers which basically would blame the people. They think, that the few who do come on Sunday and Wednesday nights would stop if we sang for 45 minutes and preached for an hour. After all, people are not as spiritual as they used to be. They just won't come if they have to stay very long. We sound like Aaron when he attempted to exonerate himself with Moses for making the golden calf in Exodus 32 by shifting the blame, "Thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief." Or Saul, when confronted by Samuel in 1 Samuel 15 about his failure to fully obey the Lord's command concerning the Amalekites, explained, "I have obeyed the voice of the Lord... But the people took of the spoil..." (20, 21). However, God's assessment of the latter situation was not an indictment on the people, but on their leader, "Thou has rejected the word of the Lord."

I don't know if Dr. Lee Roberson began the phrase "Three to thrive" (referring to the importance of attending the house of God Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday) but it is only true if the preacher is offering three full services to thrive in. Many times Dr. Roberson admonished preachers to give the people three full and vibrant services to attend. We should give the people enough singing to prepare the heart, and enough preaching to change the heart.

Paul's command to Timothy was "PREACH THE WORD, reprove, rebuke, exhort." Study the New Testament. The emphasis is on PREACHING. Pastor, if you are called to preach, then preach! If you are called to teach, then resign the pastorate, apologize to the people for filling a position that calls for a preacher, get a secular job, and teach Sunday school.

Preacher you should know the people. You should know the people need preaching. They need a man of God on fire for God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and burning with a message from the Word of God, every time they come to Church. Our movement was full of preachers on fire for God in the 70's. Now we are loaded down with men who are simply trying to maintain their weekly paycheck without rocking the boat. God give us PREACHERS, who will lead our churches back to the glory days.

Dr. Mike Allison,
Madison Baptist Church,
Madison Al.