I started this series on the book of 1 Corinthians because the book shows so many of the pit falls the body of Christ can gets into when building local churches and how to resolve these problems. Each church building, in each town, is different even though they may claim to be Christ centered or have a cross on the building or have the name of Christ in it’s sign, but the true mark of whether the building houses Christ followers is whether or not Jesus is at the core of everything it does and whether it is what Jesus said he would build.

The church has learned all the tricks of the trade as far as marketing and fund raising, but few take the time or energy to help believers sort out their faith from a scriptural perspective. Doing that takes more time, patience and grit than just paying some people to make a slick Sunday presentation. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for theater lights, nice buildings and facilities, but those things don’t make mature believers.

In article one, I shared how many believers never seem to get past the infancy stage in their Christian walk because they have not been taught to live a surrendered life to Christ and the kingdom of God. They agree with the principles Jesus taught about seeking the kingdom of God but, for them, that mainly means not engaging in a sinful lifestyle. Most of their personal study in the scriptures revolves around discovering God’s promises on how to get their personal needs and desire fulfilled rather than embracing God’s promises to fulfill God’s purpose for them.  The idea of living for a higher calling, one of divine purpose, seems to always be challenged by their focus on themselves and thus they can’t hear God’s voice on much else.