Browsing Tag

dying churches

sin

Not enough sin on this blog?

Apparently, I don’t write enough about sin.

Amanda Greene over at Wilmington Faith and Values alerted me to a piece that one of her colleagues wrote. Daniel A. Thompson writes about faith and sports and he responded to my post on Robert Griffin III and dying churches. Thompson’s article is here and it’s entitle, “Sin and Sardis: what’s football got to do with it?”

Thompson liked my connection with rookie phenom RG3 but thought it fell short. I found Thompson’s take interesting because he thinks that we don’t talk enough about sin:

I think Mr. Rudnick made a nice parallel between RG3 (Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III) and the dying church, however, I don’t think he got close to what the problem in the church is today nor the remedy for the dying church…in the Book of Revelation, Jesus speaking through the Apostle John, makes it clear what is expected of the “dead” church at Sardis… To the dead church at Sardis, he instructs with these words in Revelation 3:3: “so remember what you have received and heard (the Gosple); and keep it, and REPENT… I believe Mr. Rudnick got close to some of the problems of a dying church in the words I highlighted… but sadly, he does not address the real problem in most churches today – repentance of sin and focus on the life-long process of sanctification.

The issue of repentance within a dying church is a concept that I really didn’t think too much about. But, it does raise the question, “To what degree does sin play in the role of a dying church?” And, is that a missing conversation on this blog?

What do you think? Read. Respond. Render.

Church Leadership

Robert Griffin III, the Redskins, and dying churches

rg3It was awful. It was embarrassing. I couldn’t watch it anymore.

My team, the Washington Redskins had started a good fight against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night football. The Redskins came out strong and scored 14 points quickly. My team was looking like they were a sure win to continue into the NFL playoffs with strong momentum. I was hopefully that my Redskins were going to taste a Super Bowl after 20 years.

And then, a Redskins fans greatest fear came to reality.

Robert Griffin III our star rookie quarterback, who was not 100% healthy, sustained hit after hit and injury after injury. Mean while, the Seahawks put together a multi-quarter drive to put points on the score board. As it happened, RG3, became weaker and weaker. His passes were ineffective and his signature running game was just a limb jog to the sideline.

Ugh. It was like watching a train wreck slowly.

“Is anyone going to do anything about RG3!?!”  I yelled at the TV.

Passes were misfired, plays were broken up, and interceptions occurred. The play-maker for the Redskins was hurt and no one seemed to do anything about it. Finally, the game was lost.

Immediately, fingers start to point as to who was responsible for RG3’s unhealthy play. It was the coach. It was RG3. It was the team doctor. The list went on. It seems that the team leadership was simply concerned about winning and not about the long term health of the quarterback

How could this happen?

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