The Church, the Body of Christ, or the Bride of Christ ... regardless what you call her, the Church is supposed to be a people of faith [Habakkuk 2:4; Ephesians 2:8].
Faith, the Bible states is the assurance of what is hoped for and evidence of the supernatural [Hebrews 11:1]; without it, we are told, "it is impossible to please God" [v.6]. So where does faith come from, how do we get it? Paul tells us that "faith comes from hearing and hearing comes from the Word concerning Christ" [Romans 10:17].
And therein lies the cause of the problem in a News Brief by Agape Press ... a survey of thousands of British residents says fewer Brits are attending church because there is no difference between what they hear there and what the world is telling them.
The year-long study of 14,000 people in the United Kingdom by the Ecumenical Research Committee reports that the emptying of the churches there has been caused by preaching and pastoral care that has been emptied of moral or doctrinal Christian content.
According to a report by LifeSiteNews.com, more than nine of ten responses to the survey followed that theme. The report adds that thousands of other respondents cited a "lack of emphasis on the holiness of God and the need for personal moral conversion," as well as churches' teaching of "easy forgiveness" and that "there is no need to attend church or live a morally demanding Christian life."
I suspect the same is true on this side of the pond ... if the people lack a vision they (read: the church) will perish. It was the Apostle Paul who told Timothy, the classical type of the modern preacher, to "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction." [2 Timothy 4:1-2]
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