SORRY, PETER ________________________________________________ Excerpts Taken from The Christian Standard, 11/23/97

"I am sorry to be writing this letter to you. You have been a faithful servant of Christ and we have supported your mission to the people of Jerusalem for many years. But we feel that it is time to shift our mission support to the work of the Apostle Paul. As you know, we sent three members of our mission committee to Jerusalem two months ago to see if your work was worthy of our continued support. They returned with grave misgivings about your work there. For one thing, they noted that the church in Jerusalem is no longer growing at the rate that characterized it in the beginning. Your effectiveness as a preacher on the Day of Pentecost is well known throughout the brotherhood. Three thousand souls accepted Christ on that wonderful day. But, Peter, you have not continued to be as successful as you were at the beginning. Your numbers have fallen off dramatically. Where are your big revival meetings now? You are just not bringing people to Christ as you once did. We are not sure just why this is true. Are there some major sin in your life that we do not know about? We know of some preachers who have recently been exposed as frauds and charlatans. These have made us watchful. Could it be that you are relying on your past reputation and are no longer that servant of Christ that you once were? We know, of course, that numbers are not everything . . . but they are very important just the same. We note that church membership in Jerusalem has fallen off consistently over the past few years. Do you think that perhaps it is time for you to return to your nets and the Sea of Galilee? It is the opinion of the mission committee that new leadership is needed in Jerusalem. You argue that there are logical reasons for the diminishing numbers. After all, you say, many of your members have been 'scattered abroad.' That just furthers our contention that we ought to send our money elsewhere. The work there is obviously not as important as it once was. Jerusalem was a strategic location at the outset of the Christian faith, but it no longer seems to us to be important. After all, Rome is where we should be focusing our attention now. The mission work there seems to be much more cost-effective than your waning work in Jerusalem. Our missions representatives noted that you have not been as prolific a writer as the apostle Paul;. He has written many letters to the churches. He has recruited many to the ministry and mentored people like Timothy and Titus. But where are your results since Pentecost? . . . To put it frankly, we think Paul's mission is the one we should now support. He has traveled many more miles than you have. He has endured many hardships. He has spoken to important people. He has written extensively and has been very diligent with his newsletters. He is getting results. . . . Maybe it is time you moved to Rome where you can return with dignity. In the meantime, we are redirecting our support to those fields that are ripe and where the mission of Christ is being done effectively.

Peace, The Derbe Mission Committee ************************************************************** ____________________________________________________ An excellent representation of the flaw of much current- day religious thinking. Such evaluations take place today. They are just as tragic as this masterful piece of sacrcasm. -- MONDAY: HE DWELT AMONG US --