Copyright © 2003 Ron Schwartz And
The Band Played On…
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Ron's Thoughts 2005 Ron
Schwartz A
great ship set forth on its maiden voyage.
It was quite possibly the greatest ship ever built.
The newspaper boasted that it was unsinkable.
Even the name of this ship echoed its greatness, “Titanic.”
A
band had been commissioned to provide a pleasant atmosphere for the passengers.
This they did with the greatest of skill.
And so as the Titanic steamed across the Atlantic the melody of the band
played homage and reverence to the great ship.
But somewhere during the evening hours the greatness of Titanic was
challenged when it hit an iceberg. Things
were no longer the same. The
boilers went out as tons of ocean water poured into this mighty ship. But even so, as the lower decks were flooded the band
remained true to their commission continued to play on.
The
mighty ship eventually found itself dead in the water and slowly began to list
to one side, but still the band played on.
People should have sensed the urgency and fled the ship, but instead, the
bar kept serving brew, the kitchen continued to cook, and the crew continued to
function as if nothing was wrong. Even so something was dreadfully wrong.
But the band continued to play on. It
was clear to the crew that the ship was sinking even though only a few would
accept it. After all, the newspapers had announced that, “not
even God could sink her!” Soon
the ship’s nose began to sink below the waves, and throughout all the chaos
that followed the band played on and on and on.
There
have been many books written and movies made that have made this band into
heroes, but were they really? Were
they heroes, or were they partly responsible for the great tragic loss of life? No
one doubts the fact that the band had the best of intentions.
They hoped and did achieve their goal of calming the passengers with
their soothing music. However, in such a desperate time the passengers did not need
a pleasant atmosphere, they needed to sense the urgency of the situation.
They needed to know there was danger, and their very lives were at risk.
Instead, many of the people were lulled into a false sense of hope and
security. After all, if the
situation were really desperate, why would the band still be playing? No
one really knows why the band continued to play as the ship slipped beneath the
water. This has been a topic of
debate for years. Was it from some
displaced notion of duty? Was it
perhaps that whoever told them to play jumped shipped and there was no one
around to tell them to quit? One
thing is known and that is that many people perished as a result of the soothing
melody of the band. They performing
their duty to the end and in doing so they condemned hundreds of lives to the
cold murky depths of the North Atlantic. This
same tragedy is taking place in many churches today.
Preachers know that their church have been hit by an iceberg of apathy
and is sinking into the ocean of complacency, but rather than sound the alarm
they continue to preach on and on as before.
And as their church is slowly swallowed up by the cold murky depths of
indifference and lethargy they nod their head knowing that they have done what
they were called to do. So they
just continue to preach on and on and on… Ezekiel
33:2-7 KJV, 2
Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring
the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and
set him for their watchman: 3
If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the
people; 4
Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the
sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5
He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon
him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. 6 But if the
watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not
warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away
in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. 7
So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel;
therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. There
are reasons why the church is called the body of Christ.
It is easy to look at a body and see if it is healthy, sickly, or dead.
And it is the duty of the watchmen to know the difference and to take
action when there is danger. A
Body Has Growth A
healthy body has growth. Acts
2:46-47 KJV, 46
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread
from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47
Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the
church daily such as should be saved. A
healthy body grows in a natural way, with all parts of the body developing
proportionally. A healthy body
doesn’t need gimmicks to grow. As
the breath of life in each of us brings continual growth in our body so too does
the Spirit of God in the body of Christ. Healthy
Churches see steady growth without the need to employ gimmicks and public
stunts. Without the power and
anointing of the Holy Spirit the Church must reply on promotions and marketing
campaigns for growth. But this is
nothing more than the placing of a prosthetic device in place of an arm or leg.
It’s fake! The questions that should be asked are: is your particular
body growing? Is it stagnant (dead
in the water)? Is God bringing
about increase to the body without the need of gimmicks? Or worse yet, are more people leaving than coming? A
Body Functions A
body does not lay lethargic but is up and about the work it has to do. 1
Corinthian 12:7-12 KJV, 7
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8
For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of
knowledge by the same Spirit; 9
To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same
Spirit; 10
To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning
of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of
tongues: 11
But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man
severally as he will. 12
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one
body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. One
of the first things that occur when a body becomes sick is the loss of
functionality. It may be difficult
to get up? Perhaps the voice may go
(prophecy or tongues and interpretation)? Or,
perhaps it cannot eat (healing and miracles)?
It is difficult to hide the fact that something is wrong when the body is
sick, so too the body of Christ. When
the body of Christ is sick it looses the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
In other wards the gifts of the spirit are noticeably missing.
Additionally, the fruit of the Spirit begins to wither.
To combat this preachers create committees and impose legalistic rules to
shore up that which has been vacated by the Holy Spirit.
But no amount of ritual or rules can replace the transforming and
translating power of the Holy Spirit in His people.
If the body of Christ is to live it must be from the life giving power of
the Spirit of God vibrantly pulsating through it.
If the Spirit of God is not there then better to let it die then to
replace God’s Spirit with the rules and rituals of men.
Summary The
band was simply fulfilling their duty. It
was everyone else that failed, no? It
wasn’t their fault that people misunderstood their actions.
Could not this be a reasonable conclusion? Perhaps, if the band would have gotten out of the way others
might have realized the boat was sinking and more lives could have been saved.
Perhaps the band should have been responsible enough to see that their
actions were not helping the situation? Perhaps
the band should have pitched their instruments and started helping people into
the boats? The
sad commentary in many churches today is that most preachers are doing exactly
what they were commissioned to do: preach.
But preaching is not what the body of Christ needs today. It is in desperate need of the power of the Holy Spirit.
Look
around at your congregations. Things
have changed. Your church is not
what it was when growth first began. You’ve
hit an iceberg and it’s time for you to pitch your instruments and act.
Perhaps
if preachers simply got out of the way and allow God free course, He could save
the boat? Perhaps if the music
would stop even for just a few minutes someone might realize that the water is
flooding in from all sides? If
preaching isn’t getting the job done perhaps repenting will?
Most churches will never know because the preachers will just continue to
preach on and on and on, because that’s what preachers do?
Then again, perhaps you’re like the newsmen and you boast that your
boat is unsinkable? Time is a vast
ocean of reality as cold and murky as the icy North Atlantic. Are
you a preacher playing the same old song as your congregation slips farther and
farther under the water of apathy? Do
the words you speak every Sunday echo from the empty halls of your cathedral –
empty of God’s manifestation, His blessing and His favor?
Is the Spirit of God slipping away like life from the body?
We will be held accountable? The
simple true is that no amount preaching will change your congregation.
It’s time to try something new. Why
not waiting and prayer? What about
looking to other giftings in others? Don’t
preach on as your boat slips beneath the waves.
Don’t blame it on the designers or the treachery of the ocean. It’s time to stop and realize that our music cannot save
the boat. Don’t be like the band
who simply playing on and on and on… because that’s what bands do. Amen. ron@ronschwartz.net
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band was simply fulfilling their duty. It
was everyone else that failed, no? It
wasn’t their fault that people misunderstood their actions.
Could not this be a reasonable conclusion? Perhaps, if the band would have gotten out of the way others
might have realized the boat was sinking and more lives could have been saved.
Perhaps the band should have been responsible enough to see that their
actions were not helping the situation? Perhaps
the band should have pitched their instruments and started helping people into
the boats? The
sad commentary in many churches today is that most preachers are doing exactly
what they were commissioned to do: preach.
But preaching is not what the body of Christ needs today. It is in desperate need of the power of the Holy Spirit.
Look
around at your congregations. Things
have changed. Your church is not
what it was when growth first began. You’ve
hit an iceberg and it’s time for you to pitch your instruments and act.
Perhaps
if preachers simply got out of the way and allow God free course, He could save
the boat? Perhaps if the music
would stop even for just a few minutes someone might realize that the water is
flooding in from all sides? If
preaching isn’t getting the job done perhaps repenting will?
Most churches will never know because the preachers will just continue to
preach on and on and on, because that’s what preachers do?
Then again, perhaps you’re like the newsmen and you boast that your
boat is unsinkable? Time is a vast
ocean of reality as cold and murky as the icy North Atlantic. Are
you a preacher playing the same old song as your congregation slips farther and
farther under the water of apathy? Do
the words you speak every Sunday echo from the empty halls of your cathedral –
empty of God’s manifestation, His blessing and His favor?
Is the Spirit of God slipping away like life from the body?
We will be held accountable? The
simple true is that no amount preaching will change your congregation.
It’s time to try something new. Why
not waiting and prayer? What about
looking to other giftings in others? Don’t
preach on as your boat slips beneath the waves.
Don’t blame it on the designers or the treachery of the ocean. It’s time to stop and realize that our music cannot save
the boat. Don’t be like the band
who simply playing on and on and on… because that’s what bands do. Amen. ron@ronschwartz.net
(use the same address for MSN Messenger) To
subscribe to these notes:
SUBSCRIBE To
see more of these notes:
Ron's Thoughts ·
You have my
permission to post this article, publish and reprint it, and to forward it to
others and to your groups. This
permission extends to messages that you previously received. ·
More
messages can be found at: http://houghts.htm ·
To
unsubscribe, simply email me with the word ‘UNSUBSCRIBE’ in the subject. ·
To
subscribe, email me with the word ‘SUBSCRIBE’ in the subject.
You may also send me your email list to add to my subscription list. ·
To send a
prayer request please put PRAYER in the subject line.
To send a request for our employment page please place the word
EMPLOYMENT in the subject line. ·
Please pray
for these needs: http://www.ronschwartz.net/Prayer.htm ·
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