Bad Rap
- Deborah
- Apr 18
- 3 min read
Spring/Easter on Good Friday
Hebrews 2:1-4 ESV
I’m not sure what happened culturally from 1950 until the turn of the century but something drastically changed.
I remember when almost everyone in my neighborhood got up on Sunday morning and prepared to go to church. The question was not, “do you go to church?” it was “where do you go to church?”
It was a given. It wasn’t even a difficult given. We wanted to go to church to see our friends. They were our people and it was a gathering of the fellowship of people who were of like minds.
We paid attention to the needs of others and we cared about one another. Mt dad taught adult Sunday School and it was a large class. He studied throughout the week at least 1-2 hours a night for his next lesson.
Hebrews 2:1-4 says, “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
Fifty years later when I speak to people about what they believe today they confess they believe but they don’t go to church. When I gently ask why they reluctantly tell me they don’t like church because it feels like a show.
A few people I know have said no one at church ever spoke to them. By that I would take it to mean they didn’t feel included in the fellowship.
Others told me they didn’t feel changed when they went to church. While there are exceptions of congregations that are inclusive, they are few and far between. The churches that have succeed to reach out to others and make them feel like they belong. They seem to have embraced a completely new model (which is a good thing). Many of those congregations embrace signs and wonders and talk about the gifts of the Spirit.
So I wonder why it seems like congregations are struggling? There is evidence of a change in the numbers. A popular faith podcast host tells us, “The American church is in crisis. After numerous scandals, distrust of the church is at an all-time high. Young people raised in the church are leaving at an alarming rate. And, in a society where loneliness and spiritual hunger are rampant, people are turning elsewhere for help.In this edition of The Roys Report, host Julie Roys welcomes Skye Jethani for a wide-ranging discussion on the crisis in the American church. Skye, a former editor at Christianity Today and former pastor, has for years co-hosted The Holy Post, a popular podcast. Recently, Skye wrote the provocatively titled book, What If Jesus Was Serious About the Church? In it, he looks at what the Bible really says about the church, then compares that with some of the prevailing beliefs and values popular in the church today.For example, the church is commonly referred to in Scripture as a family—but in modern America, it’s become a corporation.”
In that corporation a few make decisions and the “others” are often there for the show.
When I looked for evidence of the state of the church the problem wasn’t secluded to one denomination. It is widespread from evangelical churches to charismatic churches and beyond.
Honestly when I had a sense it was happening and I did the research that confirmed the decline, I was saddened.
So for the next “bit” we’re going to look now and then at scripture and the people of God. I don’t know if we’ll find all the answers but maybe at least we can identify a few of the problems.
In Jesus, Deborah/acrazyjourney.com
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