LONGING FOR MORE

I'm growing weary of announcements, four songs, a prayer and a message.  

Surely we've lost something in the American Church!  

We've had it, but we seem to have lost it - maybe not everywhere, but in most of our churches.

The years of my life have been marked by rich times of worship that imprinted deeply on my mind and heart.  

Ask yourself: Do you really look forward to Sunday?  Are you excited about worshipping God?  Do you sense a thrill as you walk into the worship center?  Do you head for the best seats, or crowd into the back seats?  

Most of all, do you experience God's presence as you worship?  

Do you occasionally have a sense that He's dealing with you?  ...calling you?  ...loving you?

It seems possible that we've programmed the Spirit out of our services by our pre-planning and printed orders of worship.  

The performance mode of worship that has inundated the church for the past thirty years has sedated the congregant.  Is it possible that we fail to see ourselves as participants today - we're observers of the performers.  We applaud at the appropriate times and sit quietly in the dark as watchers.  

Is this what we want?  Did I miss the vote on this?  

Now, I must confess that I've seen the extremes.  I've seen chaos and it doesn't glorify God!  I visited a church where many brought tamborines to church - most had no idea of how to use them.  It was NOT edifying.  I've been in worship where people danced down front.  I found myself wondering if they were doing it for God's glory or their own.  

Pentecostal churches may have life, but it often seems chaotic and generated.  That's not what I yearn for.  

I'm quite certain that we all differ in our expectations and desires.  But, at the same time, I think we all know when God really shows up!  Call it holy awe or a divine presence; but whatever you call it, He makes Himself known!  

That's why so many of these moments - not all, but many - are actually marked by silence and deep reverence. 

Who are we actually worshipping?  

Sensitive worship leaders observe and 'read' the worshippers.  She/he adapts and responds.  This is an acquired practice that emerges from experience and a close walk with God!  

Bottom Line:

We don't come to church to sing.  We don't come because of a good preacher.  We don't come out of obligation or habit.  We don't come to see our friends.  

We come to deliver our worship!  He is worthy!  He is ALWAYS worthy!  I have things to thank Him for.  I just want to be in His presence!  I want to worship!  I may want to call on Him!  I want to experience His presence!

But I don't always get the opportunity to do these things because everything is pre-planned and arranged so fully.  

What would it take to move in this direction?  A courageous pastor?  A sensitive worship leader?  A team that is willing to adapt mid-stream?  A greater sensitivity to the movements of the Spirit?  Why is this so hard?  

How far does the American church have to fall before it realizes that it's missing the mark?  

LONGING FOR SPONTANEITY

The last week of Jesus' life is a revelation of how much He loved the Pharisees and wanted to see them change their hearts toward Him.  

Throughout His three years of ministry, He:

• tried to be kind to them,
• tried to reason with them,
• ate in their homes,
• answered their questions,
• prayed for them [even in the midst of the Palm Sunday parade]

But, when He came to the last week of His life, He went directly after them!  He exposed them and confronted the hardness of their hearts.  He revealed their pride and arrogance.  He addressed their exclusivity.  He named their sins and indicted their prejudices. 

All of this because He yearned for them to become soft toward God!  When we read or view this scene, we are seeing the passionate heart of a compassionate Lord!

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I often wonder how - in America - we can read these passages and NOT see the American Church as the modern-day Pharisees.  

When I was actively leading churches, the number of Free Methodists in the U.S. was around 100,000 members.  Fifteen years later, that number is down to around 68,000 members!  Yet the number of global Free Methodists in expanding exponentially!

Is it any wonder that George Barna reports: 

"More than three quarters of adults in attendance do not experience the presence of God during worship.  In fact, half of all churchgoers admit that they have not felt connected to God or in His presence at any time in the past year, in spite of regular attendance at church."  

We'll not take time here to repeat the tragic numbers of church closings in recent years!  

During my years in China, I noticed something that perplexed me.  [NOTE: 2012-2015 was a period where the church in China was experiencing a good measure of freedom to grow and expand!]  

With some regularity, representatives of the American Church were brought in to hold special meetings in Chinese churches to teach them how to do evangelism and how to grow their churches.  Chinese Christians would flock to these meetings to hear these American 'experts'!  

I challenged those that I knew well and tried to explain that the presence of the Americans could do nothing but harm the Chinese Church.  But my attempts were rebuffed repeatedly.  The Chinese were convinced that the Americans could help them.  

Still, I persisted!  "The American Church has been in decline for at least seven decades!  The number of churches being started [in America] is eclipsed by the number of churches being closed!  If anything, the American Church should be sitting at the feet of the Chinese to find out how to grow the Kingdom of God!"

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But lets be careful!  I am NOT saying that ALL churches are disconnected, ineffective and declining.  There ARE exceptions - thanks be to God!  That speaks to HOPE!  

However, the bigger picture is discouraging on many fronts!  Current church leadership appears to be as mismatched to the task of regenerating life in the Church as our government leaders are at unifying and restoring confidence in our country!  

Yet - as stated earlier - we don't see Jesus' admonitions to the Pharisees as being relevant to us!  We don't meaningfully reflect on what Barna is identifying!  We don't care about the decline of the American Church!  We watch as empty seats outnumber filled seats.  We endure worship that fails to engage us with songs we don't know and performers who we enjoy watching.  The bulletin and order of worship is identical week after week, while few can remember the last baptism or name the most recent convert!  

Again - thank God for the exceptions!  But where is the hope for renewal and a reversal of this half-century trend?  

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A personal word:

I remember the joy of worship experienced in several of the churches that I participated in leading.  

• The 'Praise & Worship' movement of the 1980's sparked new life and jubilant worship during our years at the Oakland Church [East Liverpool, OH].
• The contagious, joyful worship at Cornerstone Church [Akron, OH] ignited new life in a constantly growing body of believers!
• After a few years of foundation-laying, our worship at Free Methodist Community Church [New Middletown, OH] became gratifying as our people reported experiencing the presence of God regularly in worship!
• The worship of the International Church we met with in Changchun [PRC] regularly brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart as we met weekly with believers from as many as ten to fifteen nations!

I long for vibrant worship!  Worship that draws people to the front of the sanctuary instead of driving them to the back seats!  Worship that ignites passion and engages spirits!  Worship that refreshes, restores, enthralls, raises expectations for Sunday mornings!  

Today, my most meaningful worship takes place in my car as I weep and laugh joyfully before the Lord while listening to Robin Mark's music.  However, though it meets my need for vertical worship, it leaves me void of horizontal worship.  I still long to experience that again!  

A NEW GENERATION OF CHURCH LEADERS

I came across this convicting excerpt that Senate Chaplain Richard C. Halverson, prayed in the Senate, December 2,1981:

"Forgive the churches, O God, for demanding that Congress legislate a morality that the churches fail to produce among their members."

This forty-three-year-old statement is even more penetrating today!

It's difficult to talk about the American Church as one body.  There are distinctions when it comes to:

• the fractured denominationalism in the U.S.  
• the waning influence of liberal mainline denominations
• the existence of very large, multi-site churches with diverse programs to appeal to a broad audience and small, country churches with less impressive numbers but dedicated cores

One thing is certain:  COVID-19 was the great leveler!  The AP broke a story about many houses of worship in the U.S. that were shuttered forever due to the pandemic.  So many churches closed their doors, unable to survive financially with the severe decline in attendance and tithes.

According to data collected in April/May 2020 by Barna Group, one-in-three practicing Christians dropped out of church completely during COVID-19. What’s worse, church membership in the U.S. dropped below 50% for the first time in 2020, according to Gallup data dating back to 1940. 

Many churches that remain are struggling to continue to exist.  A minority have managed to survive by taking advantage of the tech revolution that enables people to stay at home, yet view worship.  No statistics are available to indicate the financial support given by these 'viewers'.  

Recent decades have produced hurdles to recruiting workers - especially for children's and youth ministries.  Intensive background checks are essential - even for pastors - which is, of course, necessary in today's culture!

Continuing moral failures by high-recognition pastors diminishes people's confidence in their spiritual leaders.  

Halverson's comment was made at a time when the church still played a dominant role in influencing people's lives and the political scene!  Not so today!  

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The problem described above is more an indictment of cultural demise than of the decline of the local church!  Perhaps some blame lies with the church for failing to adapt and change to match the massive shifts in the culture.  The church has never been known to be a fast adaptor.  

Another factor is the aging out of a large quadrant of baby-boomer pastors!  Largely called during the 1960's and 70's, properly educated at theological schools, and deployed across the church, these leader's influence carried the church into the technological age and then retired.  

Those who followed may or may not be properly educated.  The newer generation of church leaders do not seem to be interested in caring for people.  Rather, they tend to view themselves as CEO's who desire to lead the church from their office!  

In one situation I know of, a young leader asked her new pastor if he would make a few visits to older members with her and show her how to handle that ministry.  His response: "I don't do visiting."  

This generation seems determined to grow great churches using high-tech methods to pack the house without having to really care about the people.

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I led churches from 1976 - 2016.  After a break, I am now leading a church again as an interim.  One of the methods I employed throughout the years was by writing lots of notes to people in the churches.  I sent thank-you notes to teachers, team members, ushers and greeters, board members, and anyone who I saw doing kind and caring things in the church.  Most Mondays, I would drop thirty to forty home-made cards in the mail.  

Of course, I resumed doing this in my new interim role.  Several people have responded by saying, "I've never received a note from a pastor before!"  

Sad as it may be, it appears that caring for people is not the motivation of many current leaders.  Instead it may be how quickly they can grow a big church and be recognized for their leadership.  

This does not bode well for a recovery of authentic ministry.  

THE MESSAGE DOESN'T DIMINISH OR WEAKEN OVER TIME!

Colossians 1:6-8

As Paul continues his opening lines to the Colossian people, he reminds them of how they initially heard the gospel.  It was through the efforts of a friend of Paul’s named Epaphras.  He is simply described as being a faithful servant of Christ and a close associate of the Apostle Paul. 

Let’s take note of this!  Epaphras had seen Paul at work and apparently caught his enthusiasm for spreading the gospel.  Being especially drawn to the people of Colosse, he went there to share what he had learned from Paul.  It caught on and a church was established for the glory of God! 

Paul writes this to the Colossians and uses it as an example of what is always going on regarding the gospel:

“The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn’t diminish or weaken over time. It’s the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you’ve been hungry for more. It’s as vigorous in you now as when you learned it…” [v.6 TM]

 In case you don’t trust The Message for accuracy, here it is from the New American Standard Bible:

 

“…the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth…” [v.6]

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Let’s observe some truths from this passage:

·         The Message doesn’t diminish or weaken over time!

·         The gospel is constantly bearing fruit and increasing.

·         After the Colossians heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, they were hungry for more!

QUESTIONS

1.      Is the gospel constantly bearing fruit and increasing in your life?  In your church?

2.      Since recognizing the truth of what God is doing, are you hungry for more?

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Obviously, I believe these scriptures are true!  I believe the gospel is bearing fruit and getting stronger all over the world today – just not in the United States!  Here, we see almost universal decline in the church.  Here, we seem to have been seriously distracted and divided.  Perhaps like the church at Ephesus [Revelation 2:4], we’ve left our first love? 

Early in every year – as a pastor – I had to fill out a detailed ‘annual report.  It was one of my least favorite things to do!  Especially when it came to the line recording new converts!  There were more years than I care to acknowledge that I had to put a goose-egg on that line. 

We’d functioned fully as a church. Held worship services fifty-two Sundays of the year.  Sponsored revival meetings.  Prayed. Talked about evangelism. All with no results!  It was discouraging as a leader.  Then I realized that if we kept doing the same thing in the same way, we would continue to get the same results! 

I began to change the way I led the churches that I served.  I realized that that zero also meant that I had not led anyone to Christ!  I knew things had to change!  I began to let go of non-essentials.  I started questioning why we did certain things and why we did them the way we did.  I gathered up courage and began leading in new directions.  If others wanted to continue to support dead branches, I let them.  But I did not! 

Guess what.  Things began to change.  Convert growth began to take place.  One new convert can create a lot of enthusiasm.  When I was leading the McClellandtown FMC, I was able to lead the girlfriend of one of my parishoners to Christ.  Not knowing any better, she began attending the Wednesday night ‘prayer meeting’.  This was a group of my older members (less than twenty) who were propping up a formality that had been going on for decades.  Not being bashful, she began asking questions about how she should handle situations she was facing as a new believer.  She started praying out in the simplicity of someone who had just found something revolutionary and life-changing!  This one new believer transformed the dead prayer meeting into something exciting and life-forming!

However, many churches today [in America] haven’t seen a new convert in years!  There may have been a growth in numbers, but it’s because of transfer growth – not conversion growth!  Sad!

When I was leading the Oakland FMC (East Liverpool), we began to see very significant growth through new converts!  It was exciting!  WRITE THIS DOWN: New converts signal that something unique is going on here.  Transfer growth always follows convert growth! 

When – as a fairly young pastor – I first saw this happening, I didn’t like it.  I didn’t want transfer growth!  Consequently, I ignored people who visited when I knew they were members of another church.  I didn’t follow up on them.  I was deliberately rude to them [I know – hard to believe, huh?].  Ultimately, one of the families saw what was happening and asked to see me in my office.  They confronted me about my rudeness.  They explained that they heard about the growth at Oakland and wanted to be a part of it.  They wanted their kids to experience a church with vibrant faith and dramatic worship!  And I immediately realized that I had to rethink my position! 

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LESSONS FOR US TO LEARN

A.      Pray for the American Church to rediscover its purpose and cut away all the unnecessary distractions and activities.

B.      Pray for your church to cease the rituals and routines that have become a replacement for genuine faith!  I Chronicles 28:9 reads:  “If you seek Him, He will let you find Him” [NASB].

C.      “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” [Matthew 6:33 NASB].

Having experienced this kind of spiritual awakening in several churches, I can tell you that it is exciting and life-changing! 

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Father God,

Help the American Church to rediscover a hunger for You that will drive them to seek You, serve You, love You and spread Your Word to all who will listen!

Amen.