Thought for Today

Deuteronomy 15:7  If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor.  

Psalm 74:2  Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago, which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.  

Acts 6:5  What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.  

Ephesians 6:23  Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  

“What keeps us away from community these days?” (These Days, September 6, 2024)

Most Christian denominations in the U.S.A. reached their peak attendance in the 1970s. Since then, membership throughout Christendom in the U.S.A. has generally declined. What is keeping us away from community these days? Since the majority of those reading this do regularly attend worship services, what is keeping everyone else away from community? Why are there so many empty pews across the U.S.A.?

There are several words in both the Hebrew and Greek that can convey the idea of community. In the Deuteronomy passage above, the Greek word is τῶν ἀδελφῶν, literally ‘the brothers.’ My computer word processor tells me that a community is “a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.” In koine Greek, the word συναγωγὴ conveys much the same meaning and is the root for our English synagogue. My lexicon defines that word as “strictly assembling or bringing together, hence as a formal assembly for worship.”

What is keeping so many away from our worshiping communities these days? When the trend first began, a number of solutions were put forth. One of the first I remember was that every congregation needed a ‘contemporary service.’ That seemed to imply a less formal, structured worship. Instead of a minister or priest in a formal robe or somber attire, there would be a ‘worship leader’ in blue jeans and probably with a beard. Instead of organs there would be guitars or banjos. Many congregations tried that. Few achieved their goals. Another early suggestion was to emulate the Catholic Church and offer Saturday evening services. Same results. The question remains.

In my youth, the only crowded parking lots on Sunday morning were at churches. Even on Saturday mornings, the parking lots at synagogues and Christian churches that regularly worshiped on Saturday were full. The parking lots at baseball fields (there were very few soccer fields then) were empty. Now the situation is reversed. Has Sunday morning youth soccer replaced worship as ‘community’?

Currently, as churches merge and parishes are combined, one of the most often heard suggestions is that congregations find new ways to worship, ways not requiring brick and mortar buildings. It is suggested that we sell our property or convert it to some other use and use our financial and physical resources to help others. Certainly, helping others is an important and integral part of worship and of being a Christian. That passage above from Acts is part of the creation of the first deacons. The name deacon derives from the Greek διάκονος which my lexicon defines as “a person who renders helpful service.” Jesus told us “Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

“What keeps us away from community these days?” (These Days, September 6, 2024) Is there even a ‘one size fits all’ solution to our empty pews? Maybe not! Maybe each congregation needs to evaluate its own situation within its own greater community and within its own denomination. Maybe we all need to recall “Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Stay safe, make disciples, trust God,

Pastor Ray