Catt: 'We are in a battle for the soul of our convention'
Arkansas Baptist News | Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 11:41AM SHERWOOD - “We are in a battle for the soul of our convention,” said Michael Catt, pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church, Albany, Ga., during the Jan. 23 session of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention Evangelism and Church Growth Conference. “It’s not over inerrancy. We get caught up with non-essentials.”
CattCatt said until Southern Baptists have a “great Christ-centered” time of repentance and revival, “we will never have a Great Commission Resurgence because carnal people don’t care about lost people.”
The church needs to repent of not caring for lost people, he said.
Speaking from 1 Thessalonians, where Paul writes to Christians in Thessalonica, Catt said Paul wanted to make sure the church was healthy.
He said the truths found in the 1 Thessalonians should serve to “temper” Christians today.
First he said, it’s important to note that there is more to life than “this” life. “Every chapter ends with a resounding word about the second coming,” he explained.
Catt said churches today are often guilty of making Jesus boring when the gospel is “the most exciting and lively message that’s ever been.”
In addition, he said the passage speaks of faith that implies faithfulness. Paul finishes what he starts. “We need to not just show up but grow up,” said Catt.
Third, Catt said faithfulness is revealed in maturity. He challenged pastors to keep on, even when they want to quit. He said sometimes pastors feel “led to move because we are afraid of battles – because pastors are eaten up with the fear of man.”
Catt asked pastors to consider if the gospel was worth getting fired over. “Is it worth losing your reputation for,” he continued.
“The only person I have to answer to for my ministry is God,” he said, noting “the fear of man is a snare.”
He said God permits the battle because he’s trying to “knock the you out of you, so you will be like him.”
Catt cited several incentives for staying in the battle. He said others are praying for, depending on, and examining the legitimacy of the confessions of those in the battle.
“Your faith impacts other people,” he said. “If you are thinking about retiring from service … you give them permission to quit the battle when you quit.”
He said the reason Christians are losing the battle is because they aren’t praying as they should and churches do not have a good report in their communities.
“How in the world will we reach the world when our reputation is so bad in the world,” he asked.
Catt said the reason America is going to hell is because Christians have “put things in the Bible that are not there. We have added to the sufficiency of the gospel and called it efficiency.”
Christians are arguing about things that don’t matter, said Catt.
“This Book calls us to prayer,” he said, imploring, “We don’t have any more time to waste.”
Reader Comments (1)
Amen! Good coverage by the Arkansas Baptist News. Catt has challenged us to a reformation that will be difficult but worth it.