Disappointed with 'Churchianity'

Thursday evening movies at Willis Tucker park provided a prime opportunity to preach the Gospel this evening.   I was glad and overjoyed to be privileged to share the Gospel with over 15 teens this evening, before the movie started.   I handed out Seven Dollar Bill Gospel tracts, and I was very encouraged to be able to proclaim the message of everlasting life to the teens.   I was disappointed though, in one serious aspect of these encounters.   Knowing that I was among church-going youths, I handed them a Gospel tract and then tried to elicit the Gospel from them.   No one; not one single young person I spoke with could explain what I needed to do to receive eternal life from God.   Don't get me wrong, these were very nice young people.   During each encounter, when I could see them searching for words to explain the Gospel, and coming up blank, I would ask if I could explain it to them and they all graciously listened to the story of salvation.   I also explained how to be "Born Again", through faith in Jesus Christ and repentance toward God.   And I would finally thank them for listening and move on.

Tonight started even before I headed down to Willis Tucker park though.   I saw a black Ford Explorer parked down by the trail head, so I grabbed tracts and went down there.   I got to share the Law and the Gospel with Colin and Blake.   Colin was very engaged.  Blake said he went to Cedar Park Church, but he couldn't tell me what I need to do to be saved.   Here again, I pleaded with these young men, who were just getting ready to toke some legal non-marijuana stuff, to get right with God.  Colin kept saying something like I respect what you're saying, but I'm not religious.  I told him I wasn't religious either, and I wasn't trying to get him religious.   I was trying to urge him to consider his own mortality and his fate before a holy and righteous, eternal God.

Finally, this evening I saw a car parked down by the trail head, so I grabbed a Gospel tract, and had a nice conversation with Jeff who had spent ten years in Catholic school, but didn't know if there was a God.  He felt he didn't have enough experience in life yet to make that decision.  I encouraged him to believe in the Creator to whom we all have to give an account.  Jeff shook my hand when I left.

So the consistent theme from this evening is that the 'church', is not fulfilling its duty to preach the Gospel and to bring up children in the nurture and admonition of the LORD.

God bless...