Before I get into what I wanted to post today, I thought I'd share a little information about how this thing works. I get a decent number of comments to the things I share on here. Thanks for reading. Some of you reply directly to my e-mail (rbarron@rccfranklin.com for those who want to know). Others of you choose to use the comment button on this page. Either is fine. However, if you use the comment button on this page, you need to understand that it comes to me as an anonymous comment--there is no name or reply e-mail attached. If that's how you would like it to be, that's great. I don't mind that at all. Again, I just appreciate you reading. However, for me to know who you are, you must sign your name in the comment. For me to reply to you, you have to go a step further and put your e-mail in the comment. I just make it a policy that I usually won't respond to any anonymous comments through the blog. To protect your identity, if you would like for me to reply, it might be best to send me an e-mail. If you are just looking to make a comment, the regular route of doing so through the blog is fine. Hope that makes sense. On to the blog...

My last blog got lots of response. I guess I really touched on a concern that many of us have about where the church is headed and what kind of job we are doing in fulfilling our purpose. Especially since the responses have been overwhelmingly positive. There was, however, one comment (I know, I'm going against my policy of addressing anonymous comments but bear with me) that asked me to clarify what I meant at the end of the blog about "baby Christians that suck life and energy from the church." Please keep in mind that the thoughts I blog on here are not specifically addressing my church or people who attend there. This is a "universal" blog. I write to people who are long time friends from other places, new friends in some of the areas I travel to speak in, and even complete strangers who have been directed here by someone else who reads. I welcome each of you and thank you for taking the time to check it out.

The comments I made last time were universal in nature--more about the Church than my church. Now, does that mean I don't have some in my church who fit that description? Absolutely not. I've been in ministry for 20 years now and I've yet to find a church that did not have at least a few of these people (some churches had more than their share). So, yeah, I've got some. You do too if you go to church anywhere. And that was the reason for the post. Let me put it to you a different way and see if the comment makes more sense. We (the universal Church) serve a mighty God. He says if we glorify Him we'll draw more and more people to His name. We're not doing a very good job of it in a lot of cases. At a time when Congress is considering the passage of a "hate crime bill" that seriously could impede our ability to teach truth, the church is distracted by so many petty issues. When over half the world is living in deplorable conditions, going to bed hungry or dying with AIDs, the church is doing an okay job of response when we could be doing so much better. I attribute that to a weakened church--lack of purity in its leadership and lack of energy due to addressing unimportant issues.

Now, back to the question of this baby Christian thing. How do you know who I am talking about? Well, it wasn't written so that you and I could stand around and point fingers at the people we know who fit that description. It was written so that all of us (you and me) could do some serious soul-searching to determine if the shoe fits...Am I a part of the problem or a part of the solution? I used to have an associate in the ministry who put it this way (I know it didn't originate with him but he's the first I heard say it): "The main thing is to keep the Main Thing the main thing." Do we begin each day with the soul purpose of glorifying God? Do we honor God's command that whatever we do, "whether we eat or work or play," that it be done for the glory of God? If you are a part of the problem, will you deal with yourself and accept the command to consider the whole counsel of God's word? And, if you have seriously searched the recesses of your heart, allowed God to do the same and determined that you are not a "whiny Christian", will you pray with others that the ones that fit that description would diminish so that we can be about the work of the Kingdom? Thanks to the "poster" who asked for the clarification. Hope my thoughts are "clear as mud" now. And, I welcome other comments, good and bad on your thoughts regarding this subject.