Could this be part of the problem?

Recently I was in another city and needed a ride to the airport. After locating a church on one of the internet directories, I went to their website and called one of the elders. I didn’t really know anyone in this town, so I had to pick someone at random. As it happened, we made a connection (someone we both knew) within about 5 minutes and he was going to work on finding someone to give me a ride.

A couple of weeks later I actually needed the ride and the night before, I called to find out who would give me a ride—name, phone #, etc. Another of the elders had agreed to take me, but like so many of us, he had forgotten a prior engagement, so couldn’t. The two conferred and could not think of anyone in the congregation who might be available to taxi me. To their credit, they did offer to reimburse me for my taxi fare. Again, I don’t know how large the church there is, but 4 elders would generally indicate a larger church.

Brethren, are we tooooo busy? If no one has time to help a preacher, will we make the time to become friends with the lost? Will we take the time to serve a brother or sister in need? Do we have the time to evangelize, or are we too busy?

Could this have anything to do with the fact that most churches of Christ in the States are not growing? True, brethren are always shifting from one congregation to another—whether they have moved to a new location, they got upset with another congregation, etc. But how many churches are really growing by baptisms, whether their own children or “outsiders”? Conversion takes a lot of work, which takes time—are you willing to make the time it takes?

Tol