Pastor's Pen - Dr. Jon Stubblefield

A young man went to the barber shop. Following the haircut, he decided to go all out and have a shave and manicure. A cute young woman gave him the manicure. He really was attracted to her, so he decided to ask her for a date. "Why don't you go out with me tonight when you get off work?" "I can't," she replied, "I'm married." Unfazed by her response, the young man continued, "Just call your husband and tell him you have to work late, and then go out with me." She countered, "Why don't you tell him yourself. He's shaving you!" It was a critical moment in that young man's life.

Critical moments come to individuals, churches, and nations. In my judgment Main Street Baptist Church is at a critical crossroads. Will we be content to stay the way we are, or are we willing to embrace the glorious future God wants for us? Assuming we want to go forward as God's people, let me make several imperative statements. These things we must do.

Be faithful in attendance. Sunday School and Morning Worship attendance have slipped the past few months. Are you faithful in attendance? There may be truth in the little rhyme, "Every time I pass the church I stop in for a visit. So that when I'm carried home the Lord won't say, 'Who is it?'"

Be prayerful. Devotional writer, S. D. Gordon put it well: "You can do more than pray after you have prayed; but you can do no more than pray until you have prayed." According to the Book of Acts, the early church was characterized by fervent, continual prayer. Will you be a prayer warrior for our church?

Be generous. The same Bible that tells us how to be saved also tells us we ought to tithe. "The tithe is the Lord's" (Leviticus 27:30). A pastor told his congregation that he had some good news and bad news. The good news was that there was enough money to accomplish the programs and ministries God had planned for their church. The bad news was that it was still in the pockets of the people. Our church suffers not from over-spending but from under-giving. (I'm not talking to those who tithe regularly and give generously.)

Be friendly. Welcome our guests on Sunday the way you receive guests at your door at home. It grieves me when I see visitors sitting by themselves on a pew, especially after the welcome/ greeting time. Why not move to where they are sitting, or ask them to sit with you? On at least one occasion guests have left before the service when they were told they were sitting in someone else's seat! Thankfully, this is a rare occasion. I believe we are a friendly, caring church.

Be a witness. Our Lord declared, "You shall be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8). All of us can tell others what the Lord has done for us. Our personal testimony is the best witness of all.