Many years ago when I heard God calling me back to the church I remember thinking that there just seemed like there was something wrong with the church. I thought, “Who am I to have such a thought? After all the church has been around for hundreds of years, they must know what they are doing”. At the time, my wife, two children and I belonged to a very small mainline denominational church. We had been attending for a few years but other interests seem to pull us away. Even after we returned, the years clicked by and nothing seemed to happen. No one ever came to the saving grace of God; it was certainly devoid of the miraculous, in fact no one ever seemed to change. The Sunday message was some sort of flowery, biblical sounding digression that was almost absent of any meaningful content. I did not know it at the time but we were attending a church that was in dire need of resuscitation, CPR to be exact, “Christ, Prayer and Repentance”.

          Unfortunately this is a scene that is repeated over and over again in some fashion, or another all across our nation. People wander into churches on Sunday throughout our land, showing up with all their baggage; hurts, hang-ups and addictions. Then after an hour or so they tote all their problems back home and nothing has changed. Christianity has been reduced to doing a duty, namely, showing up at church. It is far from the abundant life promised by Jesus, far from being a lifestyle. So what’s wrong with the church?

          Perhaps the first course correction needed is for God’s people to wake up and realize that they “ARE” the church. The church isn’t the building; it’s a people for God’s own possession, a people who have surrendered their all to Jesus. We are to be led by His spirit, seeking Him in prayer and repenting of all the things that keep us apart from Him, Christ, Prayer and Repentance, CPR for the church. No one but God can breathe life back into the church and we desperately need to seek Him with all our hearts.

          Secondly, God’s people need read the Bible. I have found that many if not most Christians do not regularly (daily) read or study God’s word. How can we possibly have a personal relationship with our Savior if we don’t even study God’s scripture? How can we know of His loving promises if we do not read them for ourselves? When we come to Him in prayer we need to be grounded on His word and we need to be assured of His nature which can only happen through the study of His inspired word. Biblical illiteracy plagues our country and many are suffering because of it.

          If you have ever been apart of a church like the one I described, you cannot help but wonder what damage has been done? Not only in the lives of the congregation but also in the lives of those who came in contact with the church and saw nothing different than the world around them and found no power for life changing transformation. The dead churches of our culture have poisoned so many against the cause of Christ because many have failed to see the abundant life promised by Jesus alive in the members of the church. Real Christianity is caught not taught. The time is right for church to catch a fresh breath of life and to gain a contagious spirit.