Over the last few years, I have had the chance to preach in several churches. In driving around the local area, on those and other activities, I cannot help but notice all the little churches. They are everywhere. As you drive along, you pass lots of little churches, As you pass an intersection, you see two or three or four church signs, pointing to little churches in the area you could see with a short detour. It is not unusual to pass two Baptist churches within a few hundred yards of one another.
These churches amaze me. What is happening in all those little churches? How are they being taught? What do they believe?
If my experience says anything, it is that we can have no confidence in the quality of what is being taught in these churches. The pastors with whom I deal do not encourage a great confidence. The things you see when you preach in such churches do not encourage, either.
Every church has a history and every church you visit or see or hear of has a sense of its own mission, of its own purpose, of its own place in God's plan. Every church is filled with people who think they are serving the truth.
It can be a discouraging thought -- the realization that there are so many churches where the truth is narrow, where cliches rule, and where the goal is obedience rather than understanding. There are so many little churches.
Yet, it can also be encouraging. There are so many little churches. There are so many people who want to hear from God's word and support God's purposes. There are so many good people who love God and who want to do what is right and to know the truth.
All those little churches. All those opportunities for someone, some time, to co