This is the first of three articles in which I hope to acknowledge and challenge three main chains hindering the Christian church today. I will not talk about churches that turn from the Gospel of Christ or preach only the gospel of prosperity, for it is already widely known that these acts will stray the church from its heavenly purpose. No, the three focal points I wish to make may surprise you, they may challenge you (I know they challenged me), and they might even offend you. I ask that you hear me out, read carefully, and above all, search your soul in the presence of Christ to see if any of this rings true. Are you ready? The first is attendance.
Every person reading this (and those that won’t read this) has an image in their heads of what the church should look like. They have an image in their mind of what the optimal church resembles and how things should be conducted. Maybe this image is one of traditional worship with hymns, robes, and stained-glass windows. Maybe it is a modern and contemporary setting with multipurpose spaces and current-sounding music. Or maybe your vision of church is in a small intimate space with the sound of voices singing, and fiery preaching. This list could go on and on about people’s personal preferences of the parish. But we all have some idea of what we want our church to be, and that is the first problem.
Most of us can remember the “good old days” of church. When the pews were packed full of persons, families abounded, money rolled in, and all you had to do was create a fun-filled program and the people would just show up! Well, those days have long since passed us by my friends. Sunday morning is now competing with all sorts of forms of entertainment. Church competes with shopping, sports, and sleep! The masses that once filled our pews and participated in our programs are now dispersed among us in a variety of different activities. What happened? Did we fail? Well, yes and no.
Humanity is a self-serving lot. Most of the time we only participate in things if we deem some sort of benefit behind it. Case in point, if the only reason you are going to church is so that you can go to heaven or be saved from hell, you’re going for the wrong reason (but we will come back to that). There was a brief time in our nation’s history (from the 40s to the 60s) in which church was deemed a social requirement. It almost seemed un-American if you didn’t involve yourself with some type of religious organization. This meant that churches, civic organizations, and all other sorts of charitable organizations thrived. But starting in 1968 (this is based on national polls) church attendance began to decline. More distractions became available as mass media came into play and the social fabric of society began to see required church attendance as less and less necessary. There were of course spikes to this trend, including the contemporary worship revival of the 80’s and 90’s. But we have still seen a downward trend in religious involvement since the late 60’s. So, where did the church go wrong? We went wrong when we determined that the program was more important than the Gospel. We figured that the glory days would last forever and that the people would always come into our doors in masses. But here is the truth, if we were so great at being the church during those times of abundance, why are we now seeing such a decline? I believe it is because we began to determine the vitality of the church based on attendance and not on the spiritual growth of the congregation. We made it all about “butts in the seats” (pardon my French) than lives being changed through the Gospel message. We preached self-improvement, not salvation and sanctification. And thus, the message was not able to stand the test of time or societal shifts.
The church should never be measured by numbers but by discipleship. I have seen churches of 30 persons in the Brazos Valley accomplish more than some megachurches in Dallas. This is because a group of 30 faithful persons can move mountains and change their communities with the truth of Christ. As Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians, “Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” We, my friends, are the church, a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
We should model the success of our churches by what it is those who come into our walls (or we bring outside our walls) meet or encounter. One should not join a church or become a Christian so that one can merely gain something in return. They should join or follow because they have encountered their savior and Lord Jesus Christ, and thus the only other option is to follow Him! This is not a numbers game my friends, it is a life game. If we become obsessed with the idea of the masses, we can miss the individual who comes searching for Jesus. It is time we leave the 99 and search for the one lost sheep.
By the way, there is no such thing as the “glory days” because those days are still to come. When Christ returns in the final victory over sin and death, THOSE will be the glory days! A church of 20 can have the same vitality as a church of 20,000, what counts is their willingness to heed the call of Christ. I am quite certain that God is not done with our churches yet, but I do believe a great refining is occurring for the revival to come. We must be willing to make the changes and alter the focus on what this refining means. We must center our efforts on lives being changed through the Gospel, than merely attendance one day out of the week.
Let Christ Refine us with the Fire of the Holy Spirit!
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Pastor Mike McVey
Minister – First United Methodist Church, Fairfield TX
ACS Chaplain – United States Coast Guard, Station Galveston TX
Chaplain – Texas Game Wardens – Freestone County
