Lack of courage.

Where has the courage gone in the local church? There is no courage or risk left in the local, small town church. All we have left are mirrored images of what was courage and strength. This mirrored image is shallow and it reflects a time that courage was needed for a certain culture. But, that culture has washed away and we are in a new time. A new place that needs a new, fresh, deep courage. This old mirrored courage is lost in the fifties, sixties, even the seventies, but it has no place for today. It has no place in a world where those past issues are past issues. So many people get lost in the issues.

They get lost in their dark passions in the streets and in the alley ways of caution. They would rather keep the individual happy rather than enhance community development. They would rather stink up the local church with despair and stagnancy than jump in the cleansing waters of risk.

These men don’t proclaim the courage they so long for. They do not capture the holiness that could be. They instead let time pass by with the sensitivity of a street whore. They grab you by the collar and tell you secrets, things that will change you if you give of yourself. Then you follow them into the sacred of places and you find cheap, quick, instant gratification. But, nothing that lasts. Nothing worth writing home about. Nothing really worth remembering. And after the short meaningless exchange you find yourself wandering about and wondering what else could be fulfilling, because what you just had was short and silly. You seek longevity. You seek something honorable and pure. Something that is worthy of your time. You seek a wedding night that is holy and worthwhile, unlike the sloppiness you find on the streets.

The church needs to stop losing itself on the streets of the world. The men need to stop throwing such grandiose words around about change and wonder, if all they do is talk. There is no courage in these men, there is no risk. They are short winded, sad tales of men who are mirrored images of what once was. And, when there time passes they will be giving the next generation a lesson of what once was. So, that the courage in these small towns will only be seen by the people who refuse to commit to this half hearted misery.