Sanballat's Screed

Sanballat, first introduced to us in Scripture in the book of Nehemiah, was an enemy of the Jewish people who was keen on preventing the rebuilding of the temple. In chapter 2 of Nehemiah, we are told that amongst other things, Sanballat and his friends scorned the Israelites and used mockery in a vain attempt to frustrate their plans. Using this imagery, "Sanballat's Screed" intends to be short “Screwtape”-like letters from the perspective of Sanballat (of Nehemiah), imagining that he’s criticizing Grace Rancho. As you read these fictitious letters, see the ways in which the enemies of the church might use cunning speech and biting criticism to try to foil God's glorious work and take comfort in the fact that God has promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church.

Dear Grace Rancho,

Always remember that the best way to evaluate the health of your church is 1) the rate of growth, and 2) the size.

Let me help out a bit. Your congregation has been growing! Good job. But you could probably grow faster. Right now you average around 300 in attendance. That’s good, but not great. God is big, so he likes big churches best. You could grow much faster if you did the following:

1. Add a worship band

2. Make the service more casual

3. Prayed shorter public prayers

4. Went to two services

5. Cut out the membership process

6. Do giveaways

7. Stop preaching hour-long sermons

Trying to help,

Sanballat