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[Note<\/strong>:\u00a0 <\/strong>This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 3<\/strong>\u00a0 page.]<\/span><\/p>\n Three times in Paul’s great passage on the Christian \u201csoldier\u201d (Eph. 6:10\u201317) he tells us the source of all spiritual strength. We are to be “strong in the Lord <\/strong>and in the strength of his <\/strong>might” and it is twice stated that all of our spiritual armor is “of God<\/strong>” (vv. 10\u201311, 13, emph. DM).<\/span><\/p>\n It is saddening that hundreds of congregations over the past three decades or so have sought to press the fight with carnal weapons they have borrowed from the enemy. The “Ministry System” concept (almost an obsession to some) came not from\u00a0<\/span>the Lord, but from men. This approach affixes the words minister <\/em>and ministry <\/em>to everything imaginable. We read of such silliness as a “parking lot minister\/ministry,” “maintenance and custodial minister\/ministry,” and “baby bootie minister\/ministry.” Some congregations have a “minister” and a “ministry” for almost everything but warts and hangnails.<\/span><\/p>\n Some churches confuse strength with a well-rounded recreation-entertainment- sports program in their own gymnasiums. One congregation for a time placed a coupon in the newspaper offering the cost of a catered meal for .50 to increase Wednesday night attendance (Wendy’s beware!). Such circus and entertainment ploys are unauthorized by Scripture, and those who employ them must ever find more exciting and alluring tactics to keep the ones they have attracted.<\/span><\/p>\n Another stratagem borrowed from the enemy is the short, sugary psychological pep talk that masquerades as a Gospel sermon, but which is little of either\u2014Gospel or sermon. Congregations may achieve numerical or financial strength by such humanly devised tactics, but spiritual strength? That’s another matter entirely. Such \u201cgrowth\u201d is superficial and sensual, and there is no spiritual strength involved in it.<\/span><\/p>\n [Note:<\/strong> I wrote this article for and it was published in The Lighthouse, <\/em>weekly bulletin of Northpoint Church of Christ, Denton, TX, May 11, 2014, of which I was editor.]<\/span><\/p>\n Attribution:<\/strong> From thescripturecache.com<\/em>; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Views: 0[Note:\u00a0 This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 3\u00a0 page.] Three times in Paul’s great passage on the Christian \u201csoldier\u201d (Eph. 6:10\u201317) he tells us the source of all spiritual strength. We are to be “strong in the Lord and…<\/p>\n\n