Churches have no plan for addressing long term needs
“A sniper’s bullet shattered our windshield and instantly killed my husband as he drove our family along a remote highway in Africa. He and I were missionaries, having served in Africa many years,” the woman’s voice on the other end of my phone quivered as she shared her story about what it is like to be a widow in an American church.
“The sniper walked toward our SUV, forced me and our children out of the vehicle, dragged my dead husband out, dumped his body in a ditch by the side of the road, and then jumped in the SUV and sped off.”
“My husband’s death forced our family to leave our home, friends and associates in Africa and return to our home church in the US. For a while, our church made a Herculean effort at making sure we were okay. They got us situated in an apartment and provided furniture and food. But eventually, that all disappeared. Everyone went their own way. Now I’m just a lonely widow and single mom fending for myself. I feel like a stranger in my own church.”
Stories like this make my blood boil. Sadly, it’s not the exception, but the rule. Churches simply do not have any plan for addressing long term needs in their congregations in any sustainable way.
Churches are great at one-off kind gestures but not at meeting long term needs
One-time kind gestures? Sure. But real solutions that last as long as the need? No. The reason this is so, the Bible tells us, is because we all have the spirit of Cain in us, a spirit of calloused disregard. We’ll meet temporary needs. But long term needs interfere with our personal agendas.
Every church in America has the spirit of Cain in it. And like the widow and single mom I just described, every church in America has a widow or single mom in dire need of help. The question is, are we going to give in to the spirit of Cain among us, or are we going to give in to the Holy Spirit that says in us, “Yes. You are your brother’s keeper”?
It’s time for America’s churches to form long term, effective plans, to meet the long term needs of their widowed and single parents.
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.
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One thought on “The Spirit of Cain is Alive and Well in America’s Churches”
Yes!! Your words are so true. Those with long term needs are often cast aside and forgotten about.