The Last Hymn

Is this how the 'last hymn' (or song) has always been treated? The congregation has gathered to seek the face of God; they have endured the music, passed the plate to the person next to them, and day dreamed their way through the sermon, and then while the song leader instructs the congregation to stand for the invitation (a.k.a. the 'last hymn') rather than asking God to search their hearts the vast majority view this ritual as time to gather all their things, stretch, rub the sleepy out of their eyes, and begin thinking about lunch plans rather than seek the face of Holy God and consider the weightiness of His glory.

          While reading Hudson Taylor's biography by John Pollock over the past few days I'm stuck again at how common the issues are throughout the generations of the church. After giving so much of his life to the people of China, Taylor returned to his home church in Europe to realize how sterile the church had become.

As the full congregation rose to sing the last hymn (i.e. time to get ready to leave) Taylor looked around. Pew upon pew of the prosperous bearded merchants, shopkeepers, and visitors; demure wives in their bonnets, scrubbed children trained to hide their impatience; the atmosphere of smug piety sickened him. He seized his hat and left. "Unable to bear the sight of a congregation of a thousand or more Christian people rejoicing in their own security, while millions are perishing for lack of knowledge, I wandered out on the sands alone in great spiritual agony."

Was Taylor seeing what we see when we look at the congregation when they rise to sing the 'last hymn'? When people leave the gathering of the faithful do they go looking for places to display the glory of God or do they look for the moment to remind the pastor that the toilet has been running the entire time we have been together and that the music leader made them stand for too long? When God's people leave the assembly do they go away thinking about who needs to hear the gospel or do they whisper in the pastor's ear as they shake his hand telling him that if he doesn't go to visit the Thompson's soon they may start looking for another church?

          We must repent of our self-seeking ways. We must seek the face of God. We must pray for an awakening! 

          If Hudson Taylor was sickened by the atmosphere of smug piety, what must it be like for God? I see hope in Christ, but it must be sought with a sober reality that it most likely may mean that the pursuit of the Glory of God will come on a lonely, out of the way, narrow, difficult road, where few will dare travel upon, but it leads to life! Stay the course! Fix your gaze upon Him and run the race!

Quitting Church: Book Review

Book Review by Paul Thompson:

First of all; this was a disturbing book. I'm not much of a fan of books written by research institutes because I fear the fallout of how their data will influence what the church does. Remember when research data came out and said that church members are only giving their church 1 to 2 hours a week? What did churches start doing in response to that kind of data. We believed it and began dropping our meeting times and days, because a research institute told us that's why attendance was down. Then research institutes are prone to promote a programed agenda (published and sold by them) that will solve the exodus from our churches. We are still fighting our way out of the music wars (maybe they've always been around) in our worship services because research told us that lost people don't like our music (are the people in our churches really opposed to a drum set or guitar, a key-board or organ, with music or without music; or are they mostly told that there is a problem and so they begin believing there is a problem?) What happened to abiding by the River. Isn't that where life abounds?

Second of all; this book was not written by a research institute. Julia Duin (Religion Editor, the Washington Times) sites research institutes (Barna, LifeWay, etc.) and then found that much of the trends that are being discovered by the research institutes are accurate, but mostly because churches (and denominations) are moving farther away from their roots (changing) and becoming less church-like and more nonprofit-like (my words, not Julia Duin's) in our organization.

Is it possible that the growing trend in America of 'Quitting Church' is because the church is not being the church? If you get the chance to read this book, I recommend it. I didn't agree with some of Julia Dain's observations but the overall observation, from a non-research-institute, was insightful.

Does the church even know where the river is anymore?