Dying churches

I came acrosss this this morning, thought it was both telling and convicting:

Dr A J Gordon was a fiery preacher from England in a dead, dull and formal church in Boston, Mass.  Even though his church was dead he preached Jesus to them with passion, his church was shocked and were ready to fire him after his first month.  One Sunday Dr Gordon preached a sermon called 'The Funeral of the Church', here is what he said:  "Ecclesiastical corpses lie all around us.  The caskets in which they respose are lined with satin and are decorated with solid silver handles and abundant flowers.  Like all caskets they are just large enough for their occupants with no room for converts.  these churches have died from the disease of formalism and have been embalmed in complacency.  If by the grace of God this church has any life in her, I warn you that those that buried thy sister churches will be at thy door to carry thee out, because I hear the death rattle."  Six men then came through the back door of the church carrying a casket which they put at the front of the church and opened.  Dr Gordon then asked everyone to walk by and see their dead church.  In the casket was a mirror and as they looked in they saw themselves.