Which Church Are You?: Are You Real or Just Going Through the Motions?

By Dr. Darrow Perkins Jr. Th.D.

Church today is nothing like it was when I was growing up in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana, during the 70s and 80s; and I understand that as times change, things change. One of the biggest changes that the church has gone through is the lack of commitment to its given mandate and ministries. There are so many distractions today that people tend to work God into their personal schedules, instead of working their schedules around God and His ministry.

This book addresses the challenges and issues of the seven churches of Asia Minor in Revelation Chapters 2 and 3 and speaks how we can strive to be the church that Jesus is coming back to receive unto Himself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524655938

Dr. Darrow Perkins Jr. Th.D.

Dr. Darrow Perkins, Jr. has served as the pastor of the Mesa View Baptist Church in Poway, CA since May 2002. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology (Summa Cum Laude) in April 1998; his Master’s in Theology (also Summa Cum Laude) in October 2000, and his Doctorate Degree in Theology in 2001 all from the Andersonville Theological Seminary in Camilla, GA. He’s currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Leadership, also from Andersonville Theological Seminary. Dr. Perkins is a conference speaker in the area of Christian Stewardship. He’s the Founder and President of Darrow Perkins, Jr. Ministries, a ministry established to equip the body of Christ through conferences on Christian Stewardship and Bible based books. He served his country honorably and retired from the United States Marine Corps as a Chief Warrant Officer-3 (W-3) on September 1, 2003 after 20 years of honest and faithful service. Dr. Perkins and his wife Teresa have been married over 30 years and have three (3) adult children: Stephanie, Tara, and Darrow III.

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© 2017 Dr. Darrow Perkins, Jr., Th.D. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 01/13/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5592-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5591-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5593-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016921125

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Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation

Scripture quotations marked AMP are from The Amplified Bible, Old Testament copyright © 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified Bible, New Testament copyright © 1954, 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Contents

Chapter 1 The Church At Ephesus

Chapter 2 The Church At Smyrna

Chapter 3 The Church At Pergamos

Chapter 4 The Church At Thyatira

Chapter 5 The Church At Sardis

Chapter 6 The Church At Philadelphia

Chapter 7 The Church At Laodicea

Summary

Bibliography

Other Works By Dr. Perkins

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my father, Darrow Perkins, Sr., (1940-2016) whom I loved dearly and in his own way, taught me many things about life, living, and the importance of having a relationship with Jesus Christ.

INTRODUCTION

Church today is nothing like it was when I was growing up in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA during the 70’s and 80’s, and I understand that as times change, things change. One of the biggest changes that the church has gone through is the lack of commitment to its given mandate and ministries. There are so many distractions today that people tend to work God into their personal schedules, instead of working their schedules around God and His ministry.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that the church, although it has changed over time, is very similar to the churches in which Jesus was addressing in the Book of Revelation, Chapters 2 & 3. Having had the opportunity to travel across the United States and internationally, I have found that the various churches I’ve visited and attended fall into one of the seven churches of Asia Minor that Jesus was dealing with. The Lord, knowing how He wants His church to function and look like, was in the best position possible to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Once we come to grips with the reality that we’re not perfect and we have room for improvement, we can then begin to take the steps necessary to be the best church possible for the Lord and His kingdom. But I’ve found out that it’s not the church organization that needs improvement, it’s what I call the individual church. It’s the individual member that makes up the church, and the Lord was identifying some of the traits, characteristics, and imperfections of the church…meaning within the members!

I have learned that the first step to solving a problem is to identify it, and the goal of this book is to share what was identified as wrong, so the individual church can make the adjustments to be right before the Lord. It is my sincere prayer that these few words of insight will be a benefit to you and your Christian journey! Blessings…

Serving the Lord and His People,

Dr. Darrow Perkins, Jr.

Chapter 1

The Church at Ephesus

One of the things many people do each Sunday is go to church. This has been something that has taken place for over 2000 years, once the shift was made to go to church or attend worship on Sundays as a result of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul makes the statement about giving in the church and says that we should do so "upon the first day of the week" which is actually Sunday.

I believe the body of Christ is due for a paradigm shift in its thinking