Al Mohler recently reported (from the Ecumenical News International) of a pastor in the Netherlands who calls himself an atheist.

He says: “The theological self-destruction of the church never starts with a pastor who doesn’t even believe in the existence of God.  It begins with denials of one doctrine here, another there.  Before long, the unwillingness of the church to call its churches and ministers to account leads to further theological concessions.  The cowardice of church bureaucrats opens the door to any and all theological aberrations.  The next thing you know, there is an atheist in the pulpit.”

He concludes by saying: “The Dutch have become famous worldwide for their liberal approach to assisted suicide and euthanasia.  In this case we see something new — the suicide of a church.”

As I’ve been making my way through Lewis Drummond’s biography on Charles Spurgeon (entitled Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers) I came across this rather humorous story of how he got his church into a building project:

“One Sunday at New Park Street Chapel, being overwhelmed by the vast crowd and the hundreds, if not thousands, who were turned away every Sunday, he wheeled around in the pulpit, faced the back wall, and cried out, ‘By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, and by faith this wall shall come down too’. New building campaigns are not normally announced to churches quite that bluntly. The deacons were aghast. More than one informed the preacher they did not want to hear of it again. ‘What do you mean?’ asked Spurgeon, ‘You will hear no more about it when it is done; and therefore the sooner you set about doing it the better.’ They set about doing it! And it opened a new door of ministry…” (page 208)

Let’s see, how can I slip that into my sermon this Sunday……    

Today (March 24th) is Fanny Crosby’s birthday (she was born in 1820). She is best known for her many hymns (nearly 8000 - my favorite is “Blessed Assurance”). Here is a short video on her life.