It is Actually the Church in Belize that Needs to Repent
For 4 years I have been calling church leaders in Belize to repent of the items in the list below. I have gone in person to 142 ministries, churches and missionaries to call them to repentance one on one, and face to face in love, and everyone of them told me to my face that they agreed with me but then made no change. It is a sad state of affairs leaving many angry, hurt, lost and broken people in their path including me.
Here is an interview of someone from southside who left the church and in speaking with most men they have similar opinions to him.?Most men on southside follow a combination of beliefs from the Bible, Rastafarianism, Islam and Marcus Garvey.?
Click the link below to see an interview with a female pastors son who left not only the church, but the faith.
At the heart of the violence problem in southside and at the heart of many problems in Belize is the rebellion of church leaders and members and how they go about reclaiming their lost sheep.
The main error in strategy of the church is that they need to go after the male lost sheep and CARRY them back to the fold. Notice the wording in Luke 15...he literally picks up the lost sheep and lays it on his shoulders and carries it. He does not call it to come, he does not tie a rope to it and try to force it to walk back, he does not prod it or demand that it walk back and he does not coax it with sweet treats or manipulate it into coming back. HE PICKS IT UP and CARRIES it back to the fold. That is what is missing in church strategy today So, basically the church needs to repent of bad strategy towards men and go and locate their lost sheep and CARRY them back to the fold
Luke 15 NLT
So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully CARRY it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed
Luke 15 ESV (states he lays it on his shoulders)
3 So he told them this parable: 4“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine fin the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
So What Does It Look Like to Carry a Man Back to the Fold (well, it is usually a very long journey)
I have found that for an intervention to be successful there needs to be daily contact with the person and accountability for the first 6 weeks and possibly up to a year or more and sometimes more than once a day and that is also biblical...it is kind of like they are on life support and you are the nurse making sure they have everything they need.
Acts 2:46 states Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
What they need more than anything is a FRIEND. They need someone to pick them up and take them for ice cream or to get a hair cut or for a meal or someone to take them to an AA meeting or counselling or group therapy or church or a job interview and walk alongside them. They need someone to walk into church with them EVERY DAY for about 6 weeks and maybe up to a year before they feel confident to do those things on their own. They need someone to call and check on them and see how their day went and ask them if they have eaten and if not to solve that. They need someone to help them fill out applications and take them to social security and handle making appointments for them because they don't have a phone. They need food for their families and good work opportunities, not just the occasional odd job. They need alternative vocational training, literacy training, and to go back to high school and have no way to make that happen.?
In the case of a gentleman like the person in the video they need someone to believe in them and help the achieve their dreams and visions, not judge them. This man wants to get his music to the world and some of it is positive. He wants to do a music festival for kids and he wants to make a difference in peoples lives and that is a worthy calling that we should support. You don't have to be a Christian to do good things and help people and if someone is trying to do things that are good then we should support them in that journey even if they are not ready to submit to Christ or come to church or study the bible. By showing them that we believe in them that develops trust and THEN later you have the authority and right to speak into their life about Christ and call them to repentance in the context of relationship.?
That is what it means to CARRY the lost sheep and until the church understands this and lets go of false assumptions then nothing will change. It is the CHURCH that needs to change their strategy...the CHURCH needs to repent.?
Here are the charges against the church that I have heard from people on the ground
1. Failure to Baptize in a Timely Manner
2. Improper Pastoral Care
3. Improper 5 fold appointments
4. No transparency (especially in finances)
5. No access to elder board or no published elder board
6. Lying (let your yes be yes)
7. Failure to correct and rebuke (specifically men)
8. Bad strategy for over 50 years focusing on women and children
9 Failure to implement proper strategy to reach men over age 30 and intensely disciple them DAILY (not weekly or monthly) and to do the DAILY ministry, outside of the church building
10 Failure to follow up on promises made
11 Failure to give communion properly
12 People with bad character in positions of leadership or leading projects (adulterers, fornicators, lyers, cheaters, thiefs, witchcraft)
13 No Unity across denominations and no National Association that is functional and welcoming to all and no published list of churches and ministries so people can unite.
14 Disrespect of brothers and sisters in Christ and also being a stumbling block to unbelievers and new believers by failing to return phone calls, emails or do proper follow up. Failure to let your yes be yes and your no be no.
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15 Idolatry in regards to church buildings and refusing to minister in the places that Jesus did like seashore, boats, nature, hills etc.
16 Focusing on building church buildings instead of transitional housing for gang members, drug rehab centers, transitional housing for ex prisoners etc and then simply using the dining room for weekly service.
17 Failure to teach people to love their neighbors as themselves.
18 Failure of the church leaders to reach the neighbors in their own neighborhood but doing outreach all over the place.
19 Being more concerned about growth and numbers and money when the focus of each pastor should be to intensely disciple 12 MEN and turn them into priests of their homes.
20 Gluttony, hogging the pulpit and having fat pastors with ample food while their neighbors go hungry, hogging resources and not sharing with other ministries because they are not in your denomination or part of your congregation.
21 Disrespecting women and allowing men to disrespect women.
22 Failure to even keep the church buildings open to the public during the week for things like internet access, job referrals, use of computer to create resumes, counselling, spiritual support, a place to retreat to to rest and pray, food for those in need etc.
23 Failure of the church to even have a sign outside with service times, names of pastor and phone numbers and often having no listing on google or on facebook or inaccurate listing so no way to connect.
24 Judging people and making wrong assumptions about what someone needs or how to help them instead of really listening and becoming their friend (being goal oriented instead of relationship driven)
25 Failure to use social media properly. Dude...no one is watching your sermons and no one cares what you have to say. They want a RELATIONSHIP and no facebook is not for your family and friends. It is the greatest underutilized tool in ministry and outreach today.
26 Not having compassion to really understand the barriers they face to getting their life in order and judging them when they don't have the strength to overcome things such as:
....and the list goes on and on and on.
and the list goes on and on and on.?
So, the question is...is the CHURCH going to repent?
If your church would like training in how to change strategy and go and reach the men and bring back the lost sheep contact
Gretchen Smith
SOZO Belize?
+501-672-0547
Training available nationwide
?
President of the Board and Janitor for Jesus-Belize
2 年In this interview we discuss gang prevention and management in the country of Belize https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdeZ1BkCtnw&list=PLKVhcjPe9a5fIYSU9kfs79G9G8lRj_ltH Sorry for the bad sound. Below is a link for the Gang Prevention and Management Group here on fb. Everyone welcome. We have critical discourse so dissenting opinions are welcome but ad hominem or personal attacks are not allowed https://www.facebook.com/groups/283358431799660