"But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons" 1 Tim 4:1

I have grown to really despise these little quotes that churches put on their marquee's outside, as if that is proclaiming the truth of Scripture.  I find myself searching for them now so that they can get my blood boiling (probably not a good thing).   Here are a few examples of what I mean, most of which I saw the others from a quick yahoo search….

"If your life plan is not working out, give Jesus a try"
"Man built the Titanic, God built the Ark" 
"Believe me, Hell is not hotter then this -  God"
"Download your worries: Get Online with God"
"God answers knee mail"
"The end for your search of a traditional church stops here"
"Our church is like fudge, sweet with a few nuts"
"A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who is not"

While some of these tag lines may be funny and even have some truth in them, they are exactly what is wrong with the evangelical church in America today.  We try to spoon feed sound bites in the ears of men, thinking that is the only way in which we can reach them.  We don't want to do the hard work exposing them to the complete depth and breadth of the Word of God.  We say times are different, people can't focus like they used to.  Hog wash.  If my rambunctious 4 year old can sit in a church pew for almost 2 hours (most of which is devoted to preaching) with his little Bible opened asking me to turn the pages for him and then come home and my 4 year old ask my 7 year old questions about Hell, Christ, Sin and the Cross and my 7 year old answer the questions - then that excuse is an offense to God.

Which leads me to the one tag line that has been bothering me the past 4 weeks I have driven by it everyday onto work. 

"There is no right way to do the wrong thing"

Yes there is no right way to do the wrong thing, but there are lots of wrong ways to do the right thing - and the church is doing most of them the wrong way.

Evangelism:  Is not done by tag lines, man made systems or trickery
Repentance: Is not done by signing a card, raising a hand or repeating a prayer
Church:  Is not a social club, not a baby sitter and not a place to re-energize
Prayer:  Is not the Prayer of Jabez, name it and claim it or talking with your best friend
Study:  Is not done by reading the Bible for Dummies, listening to the Bible Experience, or done only by pastors/teachers Preaching: Is not a job, it’s a calling
Sheep: Are not pew-warmers, critics, or in charge
Spiritual Gifts: Are not necessarily talents and not determined by taking a skills test
Christian Life: Should not look like the world and is not as easy as many people claim
Worship songs: Are not 7 words repeated 11 times, do not have to be written in the past 10 years, do not have to be sung with instruments 

Maybe I will create my own sign:

"The church is beginning the great falling away"