Tag Archives: church

The Healthy Church Vs. The Unhealthy Church: Children, Youth, Women & Men’s Ministries

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The Lord and I have talked about this at length, and while I might frame this as if it were my own opinion, it has been formed with talking with the Lord and hearing His heart on this matter.

For several years, I was a women’s minister in a Church of God church plant. Prior to that assignment from God, I had no idea the many hurts that women endure. Yes, I had experienced my own pains but perhaps I thought that other women had not gone through those same things. I was wrong. I would guess that about 1-in-3 women have endured some form of sexual abuse in childhood or in young adulthood.

Women confided in me. And I watched as those same women would shrink from any encounter with male pastors. Not that the pastors had abused them, but all of those women had been abused by men. It is hard for a sexually abused woman to learn from a man when there is a deep emotional wound that can forsake trusting men. Don’t hate on me for bringing this to light. Women need strong female teachers and counselors. The Bible even specifically calls for the older women to teach the younger women. There is no place in the Scriptures that says for men to teach women (unless it is their own illiterate wives). So, yes, I absolutely believe that churches should have women ministers that teach and counsel Biblically. But, please, please, please ASK GOD!

I jumped right into talking about women’s ministry because that is the category that I’m personally in. I do believe that we must have well-trained and effective Youth Ministers. We must help the younger generations know how to walk with the Spirit of God before they make monumental life decisions as young adults that could be disastrous for their futures. This is not something that should be played with. Turning youth ministry into a playground instead of an important call from God, is going to lead to a rebellion that God will not fail to judge. You can make it interesting without making it fruitless. Youth must be made aware of the spiritual war.

I believe that Children’s ministry is very important. But it should not be solely about filling time with coloring papers. Children need to learn that their place in listening to God’s voice is very important. Listen, the devil can speak to them whether you bother to teach them about the spiritual forces of evil or not. Certainly, they should be aware that God has a voice that they need to learn to recognize. I homeschooled my children for several years during their elementary education. My children received a good foundation for their Christian walk. Some of it was magnified through the church and through Christian homeschool co-ops. But for the children in public schools, they likely aren’t getting as much solid foundation. Please churches, have dedicated children’s ministers that take seriously God’s assignment in teaching children to know Him versus just knowing about Him.

Men’s ministry is also sorely needed. Men have different needs than women. It would not be appropriate to put a woman in charge of men’s ministry any more than it would be to put a man in charge of women’s ministry. Listen, men please teach men to have their own relationship with God and to also expect that women should have their own relationship with God. The foolishness of teaching that men are the only ones to have relationship with God, while insisting that women submit to the men instead of to God is rebellion against God. I promise you, He will punish you and your family line for that stupidity. Again, don’t believe me. Ask God yourself.

It is my opinion that it is reckless to refuse to have good ministers in each of the areas mentioned. They should not be just a placeholder agent. Each minister should be in their own relationship with God and hearing His voice. You cannot minister effectively without that. Also, these positions should be paid positions, if even part-time pay. I go back to talking about the Christmas shoe boxes. If your church has the money to send worthless trinkets over to other nations, then you better being paying your ministers first. If you have $60,000 to repave your parking lot, but you don’t have a Youth Minister, what the heck are you thinking?

Have you missed the point of the church? It’s not a country club for your entertainment. The church is about making disciples that follow God wholeheartedly. Are you determined for God to see you as a healthy church that seeks His heart and follows Him?

Train a Child …

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All these years later, I can’t imagine not hearing the Lord’s voice first thing every morning and last thing every night. I would be lost and devastated.

But for the first 40 years of my life, I didn’t hear the Lord speak to me. I grew up in the church. I was trained to read the Bible and serve. I memorized Scriptures. I’m sure that I did everything expected of me to be a good citizen of the church. I prayed like nobody else. I gave God so much advice because that was all that was ever modeled. But I did not hear God or walk with Him (and neither did any of the other churchgoers to my knowledge).

At 40 years old, a friend told me to give God five minutes and listen to Him in prayer. That’s when everything changed.

Oh wow how it changed! The God that I had learned about and had a one-sided relationship with was actually real. I couldn’t get enough of hearing Him. Every chance I got I wanted to hear His voice. Hearing Him changed me into a completely different person and maybe too quickly for those around me who didn’t similarly hear Him.

But I want you to hear this from my heart. I was so completely grieved that for the first 40 years of my life, though spent growing up in the church, nobody ever said the simple words “go give God five minutes and listen to Him”. Why? And yes, I read the Bible so I should have known that God speaks. But I trusted the church leaders to train me in the most important parts of knowing God. But they didn’t. Their unspoken words were a catalyst to assuming wrong theology.

Now, nearly 23 years after hearing God speak that first time, I walk with the Spirit of God every day. So much so, that He talked to me about this subject first thing as I was waking this morning. He reminded me of why it is so important to keep telling others about hearing His voice. I’ve written workbooks, newsletters, magazines and thousands of posts about hearing God. I’ve made teaching videos. I really have spent all these years fighting for the hearts and minds of those God has entrusted me to speak a word to.

During my conversation with God this morning, I asked God (probably with His invisible prompting) what is the right age to start teaching a child to hear God’s voice. His answer was that they should always be aware that God speaks. I questioned God about the maturity needed to recognize God’s voice against the voice of the enemy. God said to trust Him with that. I reasoned that they could hear the devil at any age why not teach them to hear God and discern His voice from the beginning. Our young children belong to God if we belong to God. They are under a protective covering while they are being raised to know God. Once they are mature, they have their own responsibility to know the heart of God and to obey Him.

Though I was raised in the church, there wasn’t much mention of God in my home growing up. I was a Sunday-go-to-church Christian. Most of the time, I went to church on the church bus without my parents or siblings. God was always calling me to Himself even when I didn’t knowingly hear Him. He drew me in. He entrusted the churches to teach me. And though they didn’t do the best job at educating me on walking with the Spirit, they planted seeds and provided community. I want so much more than that for the next generation. I hope you do too.

Women Or Not?

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How can you know your church’s doctrine about women in ministry? Most denominations have a position either for or against women in leadership. There are a few questions that you can ask to determine where your church or denomination stands on the subject.

Does my church allow for a women’s ministry leader?

Does my church allow for women ministers to teach adult men?

Does my church ever have a woman teaching from the pulpit if men are present? (Not the same thing as a woman giving announcements or reading a Scripture. However, some denominations refuse for a woman to do those things or to lead prayer if a man is present in the audience.)

Does my church expect that men are superior and head the household rather than Jesus as the head of the household?

Does my church allow for women pastors and elders?

You might be surprised at how many churches locally do not allow for women to be equal to men in ministry. God sees everything. He will withhold His supernatural anointing on men in those churches and pour them out the women who honor Him. It’s no wonder that those pastors don’t hear God and why God has to send a woman prophet to point out their false teaching. I’m just saying that those men need to get their head out of their own butt long enough to realize that God is not playing games with this. Seek God and know His will.

I will put a link below as an example of how to google search certain denominations and their doctrinal stance. Check and see if your church sees you as a less-than because you are a woman. Who would want to be part of that? Why would you give money in the offering to a church that teaches falsely?

(I typed into Google search “Does Calvary Chapel allow women pastors?” and the AI response was: “No, the official position of the Calvary Chapel Association and CGN is that they do not permit women in the senior leadership offices of pastor or elder, as they interpret scripture to reserve these roles for qualified men. While women can hold other leadership positions, evangelize, and disciple others, they are not allowed to serve as the public, doctrine-setting, governing authority over a mixed-gender congregation.”) The link is on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tammie.edwards.100

Smoke & Mirrors 1/8/25

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If God were robed in a flesh-and-blood frame today and He walked into your church, how would He be greeted? Would you be embarrassed to be part of the theatrical mess that most churches have become? Would He welcome the cameras or refuse them? Would He give the look to the false teachers that makes them know that their days are numbered? Would He perform miraculous signs or leave you in your unbelief?

Just because you can’t see God with your physical eyes, does not mean that God is unable to see everything that’s going on in your church. He’s allowed to be disappointed with what the church has become. He’s allowed to have an opinion about everything, even the things that you personally hold dear.

Why doesn’t the church seek God? Listen, I’ve visited nearly every church in this town. There isn’t one that God is wholeheartedly pleased with. He points out the pastors who have a heart for Him, but He also points out the areas that they are failing in. Why have they wandered away from God’s heart? Why have they resorted to smoke and mirrors rather than sincerely inviting God in to inspect their doctrines and correct them? Is it because the church is largely a business more than it is a house of God?

The pastors can’t be expected to tell on themselves when they realize that they have been or are teaching incorrectly because they would lose their denominational pulpit. For example, Steve Yuke stood in the pulpit at Park Avenue Baptist Church nearly every week for years knowing in his heart that the doctrine about women in leadership was false. He even went as far as saying that he was not a Baptist because of that false doctrine. Let me say, that takes courage to do. I’m surprised that he got away with it for so long. But, did he have the power to change the false doctrine? If so, God expected him to do it … more than he did.

Some reasons that there is not a move of the Spirit of God in the churches today are:

1) God will not put His signature of authority on churches where there is false teaching. The book of Revelation records that God will remove the lampstand from the churches who don’t wholeheartedly want His will.

“Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Revelation 2:5 NIV)

2) Why would God want to compete with all the theatrics? He sees every motive? He sees the fundraising techniques employed while very little is being done to accurately teach truth. For some churches there is more emphasis on honoring law enforcement, harvest festivals, community marketplace, exercise classes, car shows and car-care ministries, etc. than is put on actual teaching of the Bible. It’s funny, too, that for all those other things the congregants are expected to make the effort to show up rather than having it livestreamed into their living room. For some reason, they can show up for the festivals but not for the teaching. Why do you think that is? Maybe it’s because they don’t have to. And guess what? God doesn’t have to either.

3) Another reason that God doesn’t move more visibly in the church today is that every move of God is suspect. You might ask, what do you mean by that? At some churches, the miraculous gifts of the Spirit are not welcome. Their “what we believe” statements deny that God is allowed to work supernaturally any more. What bogus crap is that? Just because they haven’t been entrusted with anointing from God doesn’t mean that God is powerless to anoint. God refuses to anoint those who are not in unbroken covenant with Him or are not spiritually mature enough to handle the gifts. I can say with all certainty that every one of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit are real today and entrusted to God’s anointed messengers. But for those who have never experienced the gift of speaking in tongues, they don’t believe it’s real. For those who have never laid hands on someone and delivered God’s healing touch, they will deny it. For those who have never brought a word of prophecy from God, they will persecute the messenger every time rather than receive it.

I’m just saying that God is not impressed with the smoke and mirrors. If there is a sincere, honest pastor who wants to reform the church to what God intends then open yourself up for inspection and let God make the changes that He desires. You will have to take risks if you have a denominational benefactor who is lobbying for other than God’s choices. But if you truly want a move of God in the church today, then you are going to need to do things His way.

Church Assessment 1/7/25

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Hidden Motives!

Prayer cannot be disguised to fool God. Fasting doesn’t add to the level of deceit. Either you are seeking God or you’re not. So, Crossroads Community Church, you have been delivered a message about the areas that God wants you to seek Him. Stop pretending that God isn’t allowed to send prophets.

This is a list of what God has asked you to seek Him about:

1) The Lost Sanctuary: Your need to livestream everything is ruining the intimacy of the church family. Evidently, you didn’t get the message earlier because you are planning to livestream the discipleship Bible studies making it impossible for students to ask questions without being recorded. Big mistake. But don’t believe me … ask God yourself. (God knows if you’re asking Him about this, and to date, you have not.)

2) Clearly defined staff roles: It doesn’t seem that you have made any progress in this area. God says that the pastor has difficulty delegating authority partly because he doesn’t trust others to carry God’s anointing and partly because he doesn’t like to share the recognition when a job is done well. Right now, the only two clearly defined roles are as senior pastor, and youth pastor. No women’s minister, no worship leader, no men’s minister, no facilities’ manager, no sound/visual leaders, just bookkeeping roles as far as I can see. If an anointed Christian came to your church, they wouldn’t know where to plug in at because there are no clearly defined roles. Again, don’t believe me … ask God yourself. You still haven’t bothered to seek God on this subject. Quit telling God your plans, and start asking Him for His. (*Leadership roles from website attached.)

3) Fasting/Prayer: It seems that you have set yourselves up as mini-gods hoping to convince God that your ways are better than His own plans. Perhaps God wants you to make changes in your church before He can entrust you with the 21 souls that you are demanding that He send you. It seems that you are not ready. But don’t believe me … ask God yourself.

4) Women’s Ministry: For whatever reason, the church seems determined that they don’t want a designated functioning women’s ministry. Well, that’s the very thing that God is going to hold out for. He’s not going to send His daughters to your church if you won’t provide a vital set apart women’s ministry for them. So, do all your religious practices, find all the workarounds you can think of, but in the end God can be much more stubborn than you can. But don’t believe me … ask God yourself. (Note: the women’s minister can NOT be a man.)

*Screenshot of the Crossroads Community Church staff from the website attached.

Church Assessments 1/3/25

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Women in Ministry (Part 3 of 7)

This series of church assessments began right where God wanted it to with reviewing a local church, Crossroads Community Church of God. When I first attended the church at the beginning of November last year (two months ago), I had hoped that God was finally bringing me to a church home …

I have missed having a church family. But what God was wanting was for me to evaluate it from a perspective of would I invite others there. I am mature in my faith walk. I have grown to know when there is false doctrine or impure intent. But not everyone has had the benefit of God’s specific direction, shared spiritual experiences and years of study on doctrinal issues as I have. Yes, some can spot a used car salesman better than others just by their tone and insincere gestures, but not many understand how clever manipulators can twist the Scriptures with subtle nuances to fool many. The moment that I’m no longer simply a guest at a church and considering making it my home, it’s going to get a deeper dive of inspection into every aspect, especially if I’m going to invite others into that home church. God wanted me invested.

However, when I asked the church for information via email (in writing so that I was not vague), I was ignored. That makes everything suspect. If you cannot confirm your doctrinal stance, then maybe it’s not clear for a reason. I honestly, at this point, don’t know what the reason is. I don’t have clarity because I can’t get answers or feedback. Unless I see changes to the website or other social media avenues, I’m going to wonder why the coverup.

So, I’m clearly stating. Crossroads Community Church of God, please make your doctrinal stance clear on women in leadership and women in ministry. I can’t be the only one who cares. You have only about 30 regular (adult) attenders at your church and half of them are in the band, working sound and visual, or up on the platform in some way.

Can you not see that your church is dying because you don’t have a strong women’s ministry? If you have good doctrine, you should be standing firm on it. Please also make it clear who is overseeing women’s ministry. Is there a contact person? Is there a regular meeting to invite ladies to? Is there anything at all for a woman to grow in the Kingdom? If not, please just say so. And darling, if you were putting as much energy into this area of your church as you are for community events like chili cookoffs, money-changing marketplaces, and exercise boot camps, you wouldn’t be provoking God to bring a message from me. Just sayin … I’m getting tired of it. He’s not letting me sleep because this is His push to open your eyes. So wake up! I can’t honestly see myself being friendly about this much longer. You may think, well it’s only been two months. So I ask how long do you need? Do you need me to write out your doctrinal stance and post it on your website or Facebook page? Do you not know what it is?

If you can’t be bothered to email me some form of response (TammieEdwards@therogueprophet.com), or post something on your public social media on this matter, then I’m going to assume that you have some big secret to hide. God knows that you have read every single one of these posts. You’re not fooling God.

For Kingdom ladies, here are two study pages that you can discuss with God. I hope more than anything that you will find shelter with Him. (Source: The Rogue Prophet Magazine, “Spiritual Crimes Against Women in Ministry”, August 2023)

Church Assessments 12/31/24

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Women’s Ministry (Part 1 of 7)
Crossroads Community Church of God

Women need training, mentoring, and counseling just like men do. Many women have been sexually abused or traumatized by men. Have you seen the statistics? When there is not a women’s minister, and women are uncomfortable privately meeting with a male minister, the church loses its value as a place of refuge for hurting women. As far as I can tell, Crossroads Community Church of God is in need of a Women’s Ministry Director. There are no scheduled Bible studies on the calendar/website. There is no designated women’s minister listed as staff. A spiritually healthy church should have a vibrant women’s ministry.

Male ministers don’t seem to be allowed to privately message or respond to an email from women. As a female prophet trying to deliver a word from God, all that I can have are one-sided communications with men in leadership. I evidently don’t deserve a written response or an appointment for face-to-face discussion. God said that they’re intimated by me. Can’t say that I blame them. I’m so very scary! So, it seems that all women are equally ignored whether they are strong or weak.

The Lord wanted me to include this brief story. Many years ago, a pastor at a local church that I was newly attending referred to me as just some “hottie” in the church before he proceeded to livestream himself attempting to cast out a Jezebel* spirit from me. In his mind all strong or cute women must be demonically controlled. That pastor was unsuccessful at evicting the Holy Spirit from me. But Pastor Marcus lost his church shortly after, and he is dead. God doesn’t mess around with that stuff. “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.” (Psalms 105:15 NIV)

*Note: Jezebel was a Baal worshipper. She was not at any time a prophet of God, or ever claimed to be a prophet of God … in fact, she killed the prophets of God. She called herself a prophetess of Baal. There is nothing Biblical to support that she was attractive or seductive. The only mention of beauty related to Jezebel was that she “painted” her face just before she was thrown to her death to be eaten by dogs. Certainly, wearing cosmetics does not imply that a woman is possessed by an evil spirit, but persecuting prophets of God would indicate a problem. So, you go girl, and be as cute as you want!

The various denominations of the Christian religion have different doctrinal stances regarding women in leadership. The Church of God corporately promotes a good doctrine about women in leadership. In their doctrine, women are equally (to men) anointed by God in the church. In the Church of God denomination, women can be ordained and are able to teach both genders and preach.

However, in other Christian denominations, women are not seen as equals in leadership roles especially if men are present. When I led women’s Bible studies at one local church, I was not even allowed to lead a prayer if a man were present. The protocol was that I was supposed to defer to any man to speak any corporate prayers even if he didn’t know God. In another church (A Church of God denomination), an egotistic male associate minister, Scooter, thought that he had the right to be at every women’s ministry gathering and Bible study to oversee our activities. Obviously, I resigned from that church staff when he insisted on being my supervisor. He didn’t like that I wanted to teach women that God is not mute. If God couldn’t speak to His daughters, then the minister got to be the authority on all matters. Scooter quickly fractured that church, that had grown from 25 to 300 members in about a year’s time, and destroyed a beautiful women’s ministry that so many worked to create. All that destruction because he needed to lord himself over women in ministry. Too often, little men are easily emasculated by the presence of strong women. But listen, Kingdom women, don’t reduce yourself and God’s power through you to satisfy useless idiots. God wants us strong and on the battlefield against the enemy just as He leads.

I have led, hosted, or facilitated women’s Bible studies and simulcast events at the Library, YMCA, work conference rooms, and at three different churches. I’ve seen the women hungry for connection with God. I’ve seen them starved for spiritual growth in the church. I’ve seen women hurting and in need of spiritual counsel that they can’t get in the secular marketplace. I’ve seen women in need of deliverance ministry because they have not been taught the importance of covenant relationship with God. I have actively participated for more than 20 years in daily conversations with God, listening to His counsel about the doctrines in the church. God has equipped me and entrusted me with this voice of truth. I will not waste it! So, if I step on some toes along the way, well … should I say sorry in advance? Because it’s probably going to happen if you are immersed in false teaching or if you are a man/woman who has too big an ego and too little courage to seek God.

So, in summary. The Church of God has good doctrine about women in ministry and leadership. Does your church? Crossroads, you might do well to publish your specific doctrinal stance about women in ministry and leadership (under your “what we believe” section) as an example to other churches. Maybe, a reader here is a woman’s minister at a church where there is false doctrine about women’s giftedness from God (for example the Baptist Church). If you are, I encourage you to seek God about removing yourself from that church and going to a church where the doctrine is worthy of your talents and anointing. Staying where the false teaching is ignored will not end well for you or anyone you love because you are effectively complicit with false teaching. But always, seek God yourself.

Tomorrow, in Part 2 of 7, we will look at specific doctrines. I will include study pages too. I’d like to recommend one book: “10 Lies The Church Tells Women” by J. Lee Grady. It’s an easy read with much Scriptural foundation but without being overly technical. I have another book to recommend, but it reads like it was written by an attorney. So, we’ll save that one for later.

Church Assessments 12/27/24

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Crossroads Community Church of God


“Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, ‘I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.’” (Jeremiah 1:9-10 NIV)


The Lord may have chosen Crossroads Community Church as the first church for assessment largely because the problem areas are mostly surface issues rather than core doctrinal areas of concern. The senior minister, Pastor JC Weeks, has charisma and anointing from God. Every sermon that I listened to from him was on the mark for communicating a word from the Lord. Aside from a few churchy phrases that could be misinterpreted, he consistently displayed good doctrinal stance. I can’t say that about very many pastors locally.

Today, God wanted me to talk about two areas for improvement that are good for all churches to assess. I can’t stress enough the importance of talking these over with God. Please, if I don’t get any other message across, please hear me in this. God wants to talk with each member, minister, and staff about His church. The responsibility is not solely on the senior minister. God expects all of us to bring our gifts, talents, and voice to improving the church. None of us should sit back and be entertained. God is watching.

The first area to seek God about is 1) THE SANCTITY OF THE SANCTUARY. Most churches are livestreaming services or recording worship. Having cameras in the sanctuary interferes with heart intimacy and cheapens the whole experience. Please talk with God about this. Ask Him if He wants cameras recording worshipers or if He would prefer a more intimate environment. This is a huge deal for God. Please don’t dismiss the subject because it doesn’t suit your own goals.  

The second area to discuss today is 2) CLEARLY DEFINED ROLES/STAFF. When visiting the church, I want to readily know who the women’s minister is. Who is the youth minister? Who is the children’s minister? For me, I want to connect with those people to know about the individual ministries. At Crossroads Community Church there were no scheduled new membership classes to discuss the church doctrines, and there were not clearly defined ministry roles. If you visit Park Avenue Baptist Church’s website, (@ https://www.parkavenue.org/staff) you will see clearly defined staff roles for every ministry. I would use their site as a roadmap for how to represent staff roles. (I’m not saying that Park Avenue Baptist Church has everything right, because they absolutely don’t have good doctrine about women in ministry, but they do have this area presented well.)  

Again, please pray with God about these areas for your own church. Study what I’m saying. Put yourself in the shoes of a new guest. Would you be willing to invest yourself in a church where you have limited vision of their doctrinal stance or ministry offerings?  

We will continue to look at Crossroads Community Church strengths and weaknesses in the days ahead. We will look at several important doctrines too. Please seek God on how you can invest in the Kingdom agenda.

Church Assessments

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And so it begins …

The Lord is wasting no time in getting right to it. God has been waking me up in the early morning hours for many days recently to discuss reviewing the churches locally. I had thought that He would wait until the new year to begin the process of communicating this information. But it seems that today is the day to embark on this journey with you.

In the early chapters of the book of Revelation, we can read the seven letters to the churches penned by John. Those words were from Jesus, even using first person language as “Here I am, I stand at the door and knock …”. As a prophet of God, who has been hearing His voice in prayer for over 20 years, I am tasked with bringing a similar message from the Lord to the churches. (Please believe me, I can come up with 1,000 different things to do with my time rather than provoke the churches against me. I’m well aware of how the prophets were persecuted in Biblical times.)

These assessments of the churches will include reviewing their strengths and weaknesses to help them grow. The primary critique though must be in solving doctrinal issues. I’m inviting all of you to join in on helping the churches in their needs AND in asking God how you can step out of your comfort zone to be used by Him. Many churches are dying and need to be revived. Some of the smaller churches that I visited have just a handful of older people hanging on and doing their best to help. I can understand why this is important to God.

So, while we will look at doctrinal problem areas in each of the churches, we will also look at their men/women’s, children/youth, and music/worship ministries. We will also assess their facilities and outreach strengths and weaknesses. Several local churches are in need of roof repairs as a result of hurricane damages this year. They are struggling to have the money to make those repairs. Drawing attention to it is an opportunity for some readers to help in discreet ways.

Several churches are looking for worship leaders and youth ministers. All of us are a little too invested in our smart phones and not enough invested in building up the body of Christ. Maybe that is something that can change for us in the new year. Please talk with God about it.

The first church that we will be looking at in the local community is Crossroads Community, Church of God, on Knox McRae Road. I have visited the church on several occasions, watched online sermons, reviewed their website and Facebook pages, and discussed with God what He wants brought forward for review. None of this is about criticizing anyone. It is for the purpose of making things better. To do that we must look at ways to build up and ways to tear down. If you’re going to be actively involved in improving the churches, then you must seek God and listen to His voice in prayer.

The Road of Least Resistance?

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It’s been 15-20 years ago since I led women’s ministry at two churches. The one church was mostly wealthy older women who didn’t seem to have a hunger to know God, and the other church was full of younger women who had so many hurts and were starving for a touch from God. The contrast was amazing and taught me something valuable.

If we are comfortable in our lives we can play what I call country-club religion. We can pray before meals in public and participate in group Bible studies to feel like we have given God His due. But when we are needy, whether it be through illness, financial hardships, abuse or loss, suddenly we are willing to put more effort into knowing God and His will for our lives.

We should thank God when He puts a great need before us if it leads us to intimacy with Him. But if that need only leads to more country-club religion rather than a true hunger to know Him, it has no value but to reduce us. Listen, God can reduce us to nothing. What use are we to Him if we are too busy enjoying the gifts and not the gift-giver.

While I believe that we should be thankful to God for the loved ones that He brings into our lives, like spouses, children, grandchildren, and dear friends, we cannot ignore God and expect that He doesn’t see.

All these years later, after walking away from women’s ministry into deliverance and prophetic ministry, the contrast of a willingness to know God intimately is so very obvious. Yes, there are times when I miss the fellowship with the ladies who I adored, but I wouldn’t trade my time with God. No regrets here with my determination to set myself apart to know God. I will walk intentionally on the path that He has for me. Will you?