It was a trial like none other. The coffin of the deceased church was front and center of the courtroom. One by one, the prosecuting attorney called the witnesses to the stand: the pastor, choir director, chairman of the deacons, missions coordinator, head of Christian education, even the average member. Under grueling questioning, coupled with some hysterical courtroom outbursts, the jury had zero difficulty reaching a unanimous verdict: Guilty. Every single one of them.

Who Killed the Church? A play put on by the women behind the fences at the Hilltop Unit. Directed and produced by an inmate choir director. Academy award-winning performances by two girls from our Faith Based Dorm. A praise dance by a precious black woman who has been in prison a very long time. Costumes and stage set designed by a gifted inmate with a single roll of brown paper and a black marker.

I wish you could’ve seen it with me and the other StorySisters. We laughed until we nearly cried! It was priceless! We had 168 women turn out for the service, and they heard the message loud and clear.

Who killed the church? I’m not talking about the one at Hilltop or the one I attend every Sunday. I’m not talking about any building labeled “church” anywhere in this world. I’m talking about you and me. The church. The body of Christ. The believers.

Who kills the church?
Not the media. Not unbelievers. Not critics.
Not preaching. Not song selection. Not Bible study materials. Not programs.

If the church is dead { or in our case, dying }, the members are among the guilty.
You and me.
We are the church.
We are responsible for the life of the church.
We don’t need to point fingers or pass blame.

We just need to do two things:
1. Know God. We can’t be the church if we don’t know God. We can’t be the church if we’re not in relationship with God.
2. Make Him known. The church has one responsibility and that is to make Him known. We don’t just do that through preaching and singing. We don’t just do that through Sunday school classes and Bible study. We don’t just do that through mission trips and church programs. We do that one interaction at a time. One kind word. One genuine act of caring. One gift of time. One choice. One priority. One purpose.

May we know Him and make Him known!