To the Church at Laodicea
by
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The church was growing. Membership increased nearly every week, new programs emerged every month, and magnificent, mult-million dollar buildings rose up nearly every year. Matt was amazed at the progress. In only a few short years, the quaint little church on a hillside out west had become a bustling metropolis of 25,000 people.
Many of those people, like him, had wealth and influence in the city, so there was no let-up in sight. The money would keep coming in wads, and the people would keep coming in droves. Matt practiced as a well-known lawyer in the city. The mere smile of his handsome young face on television drew clients from across the state to his palace of a law firm. His pockets were full, and his connections were endless. He took pride in knowing he was amongst those members hand-picked by the head pastor himself, Brother Jeff.
This Sunday, Matt arrived at the church in usual fashion. He never got there early, and he always made a bee-line for the back seats of the vast auditorium of a sanctuary. Beaming, he recalled once again how Jeff had so meticulously wooed him in becoming a member.
“We don’t get many lawyers around here,” he said in a sort of political voice, as his beady eyes beamed at Matt through his high-dollar glasses. With his clean shaven appearance and graceful charm, he could have passed for the next senator on Capitol Hill. “We could really use you for our land acquisitions and title deed transfers and all that good stuff. You know about that more than I do. But the biggest thing, Matt, is not what you do, it’s who you know and what you have. You are invaluable. Most lawyers never grace the doors of a church building, and yet you’re here talking to me today. And you’re not just any lawyer. I can’t get off to work without seeing your ad on TV at least twice in the morning. If folks in town see that you’re coming here, well—let’s just say that it’ll benefit the both of us. And not just that, Matt—you’ve got money, and lots of it. We own about 75 acres out here, and I’m no big fan of greenspace, know what I mean? We want to build sanctuaries, gyms, social halls, stadiums, golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools, and all that stuff. And let’s be honest, it goes with your profession—money talks. Well, we’re not looking to whisper out here. We want to shout. And your money doesn’t whisper.”
“Well, that’s an interesting proposition there, preacher, but I want to know exactly what direction you’re heading,” Matt replied. “Preachers tend to shy away from lawyers unless they’re really needed, you know? So what’s your game plan?”
“You don’t beat around the bush, do you? I like that,” the preacher smiled wryly. “OK, yes, you are highly needed. I don’t ordinarily tell someone who’s not a church member—yet—about the specifics. But you’re special. So here goes. We aren’t just building a mega-church. We are building a mega-town. We want to raise up a self-supporting town in these parts. We aim to buy out a lot of land owners around here and start building—and I mean building. The churches a
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About the Book
To the Church at Laodicea serves to warn Christians and non-Christians alike against lukewarm worship that has become rampant in mega-churches throughout the nation. The mega-church mentality has significantly infiltrated society's view of a relationship with Jesus Christ and has turned the relationship into a man-centered religion. Complete with material wealth, programs, retreats, and activities, the mega-church has developed a customer-friendly, watered-down gospel that emphasizes comfort at the expense of a living sacrifice. This wrongful approach to Christianity has provided many an unbeliever with a false security of his salvation. They have gladly accepted the errant implication that Jesus will save them to live however they please. The mere size of the population and budgets of the mega-churches have accommodated this implication by eliminating any accountability for holiness and church participation. Bearing the cross for Jesus amidst suffering, persecution, and pain has been severely limited if not altogether eradicated by the mega-church tendency. For that matter, true believers in Christ have been rendered more and more ineffective as soldiers of the cross because they have been subjected to less and less spiritual warefare while under the comfort of mega-church worship. This book allegorizes these all too important concepts, reminding the reader of the reality of spiritual warfare and the deceptions that the devil is so eager to spread on the unsuspecting masses caught up in lukewarm worship. It attempts to caution people everywhere about the dire necessity to assess who is truly head of their churches.
About the Author
Wesley Sherrod is a pastor from Brooklet, Georgia. He is a 28 year-old Georgia Tech alumnus and is happily married to his beautiful wife, Jennifer, who is expecting. He has preached at his church, Eldora Baptist, for five years. Eldora Baptist Church is a small church of under fifty members that had its beginnings as a mission some ten years ago. Wesley has seen first-hand the struggles in spiritual warfare and the burdens and inconveniences that very often must be handled. Throughout his ministry, Wesley has become passionate about warning against the perils of lukewarm worship often prevalant in mega-church settings. He believes the significant gap in church members his age has been at least in part caused by an enormous cultural shift that embraces these larger churches. It is his desire to admonish people everywhere to take up their crosses and follow the Lord Jesus Christ, even and especially when the cost is high.