Lots of people have stopped going to church, but some of churches are growing.
As a result of his conversion with Jesus, he went away sad. Jesus was interested in true discipleship. It is sad when the church measures itself by worldly standards. The disciples may have thought that the rich man was discipleship material.
What did Jesus do?
1. Jesus taught. He made the man think more deeply. He pointed back to the Commandments
2. Jesus loved. Everything that Jesus said and did was motivated by love.
3. Jesus challenged. He picked up the one thing that was holding him back. The key point is that Jesus is more concerned about the issues of discipleship than church growth. There comes a moment when we have to choose. How is Jesus calling us? Constable's picture The Cornfield (http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=constable+cornfield&view=detailv2&qpvt=constable+cornfield&id=39D2C1C680F739404E199049A3D4BE11EF4B8F0D&selectedIndex=0&ccid=3nnIFHjP&simid=608055971289107760&thid=OIP.Mde79c81478cfe6caee3d8c2337433cafH0&ajaxhist=0) which Bob put on the overhead projector shows that we need to be concerned for the harvest - in the background is a church, but in the front the cornfield.