MondayMorningInsight - Leadership & Encouragement for Church Leaders

Get a Bible, For Crying Out Loud…

Posted by: Todd
Posted on: Mon, December 17, 2007
Viewed 369
(36) comments so far

David then shares some quotes on this subject from Steven Furtick, Perry Noble, and Ben Arment on this subject:

Steven Furtick says: “Churches are filled with those who have known Christ for decades, and still need a bib, a high chair, and want Daddy to do ‘open wide, here comes the airplane’ tricks with the fork before shoving it into their mouths.
I try to serve up the Word, hot and fresh every single Sunday. But if you refuse to apply it, study your Bible and pray some during the week, join a small group and dig deeper with others…if you refuse to bring it back to your mouth, I can’t help you.

Get your own fork, and learn to feed yourself. Stop burying your hand in the dish and spitting out every thing that doesn’t give you a spiritual sugar high. Eat some vegetables. Serve. Pray. Practically apply the Bible to your life.” Read more here.

Perry Noble says: “I’ve heard it…you have too…’Christians’ saying, ‘I just want to be fed!’ It blows my mind! This would be equal to you and I going to an all you can eat restaurant and crying because no one would bring us any food. Food is all around in this environment…but if the person is lazy and self centered, wanting to be waited on hand and foot, then they could possibly starve to death when food is merely a few feet away.

“Today as Christians we have WAY more information than we could ever apply. However, I think many people use ‘going deep’ as an excuse as to not actually apply any of the knowledge they claim to be soaking up. I believe it breaks the heart of God when arrogant people claim intellectual superiority out of pride and stupidity rather than just seeking Jesus and trying to honor Him on a daily basis.

“In reading through the Scriptures I have found that Jesus’ strongest words of rebuke were for the ‘deep,’ the professional religious people of the day. If ‘deep’ is being a part of the group that knows tons about the Bible but missed Jesus–then I don’t want to be affiliated with them. Give me Jesus Christ, crucified, risen and who will one day return…not another Bible study on the weight of the Ark of the Covenant.” Read more here.

Ben Arment says: “I’ve always felt troubled by phrases such as ‘I need to be fed’ or ‘I need meat’ when referring to spiritual growth. And not just because they’re usually meant to be critical of a pastor’s content… but I could never see this thinking in Scripture. Paul uses ‘feed’ and ‘meat’ in terms of where he expects Christians to be in their maturity, but it’s never used by people to demand something.” Read more here.

You can read David’s entire post here...

David is starting a new series specifically about how members of his church can do this.

How have you combatted the “I’m not being fed” cry at your church?

Pastor David Trotter says that in ten years of ministry at three different churches, he has heard hundreds of people say that they aren't being 'fed' enough -- they they are getting too much milk and not enough meat. But he makes the point that several other prominent pastors and bloggers have made recently: As followers of Jesus, we are called to feed ourselves and feed others who are new in the faith...

Comments

if you want a Globally Recognized Avatar (the images next to your profile) get them here. Once you sign up, they will displayed on any website that supports them.

sarah on Tue, May 13, 2008

Sorry for all the mistakes in my last comment. I hope you can understand it anyway and think about what I said. People need their pastors. Christ was always teaching His followers and did so till his death…be like Christ.
laura on Wed, May 14, 2008

To say that mature Christians know and understand everything about the bible that they need to know implies that they have somehow graduated and don’t actually need to go to church anymore to hear the word.

I think the “cry” that needs to be “combated” is not that we want it all done for us. We just don’t want it dumbed down for the sake of the lost that we might reach, or that if we make the service any deeper, we’ll “scare people away.”

It’s like school. Would a proper teacher spend classroom time showing TV shows and tell the students they’re responsible for reading the textbooks on their own time, only ever briefly touching on the material?

Church has become a place where I am not welcome anymore, where I’m shoved to the side (or even shown the door) for the sake of the “unchurched.”
Jud on Wed, May 14, 2008

The problem I have with this discussion is the judgemental attitude towards people who are simply wanting more. A pastor’s #1 job is to equip people for evangelism. I believe the fastest growing churches in America are being led by evangelists (not Pastors) and people ARE NOT being equipped.

These men are so extremely critical of “the Church” that they had to go out and start their own (instead of being SENT !!!) then don’t have the thickness of skin to take a rebuke from older, mature Christians who get the fact that Jesus said “If You Love me then FEED my sheep”.
rsmith on Mon, October 06, 2008

We just had this exact criticism from someone in our church last week. They wrote a letter to our senior pastor saying there was no meat, and that the people needed to be fed and taken deeper.

His response as he met with the letter writer was that as pastor he needs to shepherd the flock. There are two kinds of sheep that need to be fed: young ones and sick ones. For the rest, his job is to lead them to pastures where they can feed themselves.
Don on Mon, October 06, 2008

Wow—this little deal is still being commented on? There is a very large issue at the core of this— the pulpit being the “watering hole” or the “feed dish” My contention is this: It should not be period.

That ultimately turns the place for growth to the Pastor to do the work for people—while there is A place and time for solid teaching and preaching—it is simply one place—the people of God need to get back to the words of God Himself—that said (paraphrased) I hold this against you—you dig your own cisterns (wells) when I am the lving water—get your thirst quenched from me—and when feeding and the quenching of thirst has been placed on pastors we have years of re-training and breaking this bad habit we have taught people—that we in ministry have the ability to do what only God can do—through His Word, through His Living Word, and through the Spirit….

Still willing to say it!
Mona on Mon, July 06, 2009

Good evening. So little time and so little to do. Help me! Could you help me find sites on the: Credit card number. I found only this - cashback credit cards. Credit card debt what you must know to eliminate debt! By jared mcdermottwhen you have a lot of credit card debt you are usually stressed out about it, living on pinched pennies and borrowed money, and ready to get rid of it. Credit card cheques are to be banned by the government as part of a new consumer protection scheme. Thanks :confused:. Mona from Senegal.