A friend and I were talking the other day about all the empty seats in our churches and reflecting on what this means for our communities and families. Churches were the very first institution organized upon the settlement of America, and often one of the first few community structures to be built. Why was that? To strengthen the community by teaching sound principles and values, helping the poor and needy, and providing a place to worship and socialize. Has this need for churches diminished? Is this why so many seats are empty? Not really. Although we are no longer struggling for survival, all of the other reasons for organizing churches and meeting together often still exist. Each new generation still needs to learn sound principles and values. We still need to learn how to love our neighbor. We still have poor and needy people who need our help. And we still need to be strengthened spiritually by worshiping together and ministering to each other. Without strong churches, we will not have strong families and communities.
Too many today think that churches are nonessential institutions. We experienced this during the Covid pandemic. Too many others think that they can worship just fine from the convenience of their home. But we don’t build churches for individual worship. There is a reason Christ commanded his followers to meet together often, whether in a structure or on a hill side or under a tree. It is not the structure that creates the place of worship. It is the people who congregate there. We meet together often to learn from and strengthen each other. This primary objective cannot be accomplished sitting at home individually reading the Bible nor listening to a preacher on the TV, and it certainly cannot be accomplished doing a myriad of other commercial or leisure activities on Sunday.
In today’s world of commercial and social media, we have an even bigger problem. Far too many are listening to the philosophies of men and losing faith in God. They suppose that man’s wisdom is greater than God’s wisdom. Or they feel that their particular church or religious leader is not progressive enough for our time. Or perhaps they just don’t feel God loves or cares about them as an individual person.
There are various stories in the Bible that talk about boats and stormy seas. Those who stay on the boat and call upon God are preserved. Those who jump out of the boat perish in the storm. One might ask, why would anyone leave the boat in a storm to try swimming ashore on their own? Good question. Similarly, why would anyone leave the Church and try to swim the stormy waves of life alone and without help? Yet we do. So many have left the boat that many sanctuaries are half empty.
When rafting white water, the 1st rule is “stay in the boat.” When sailing the ocean, the 1st rule is “stay in the boat.” When encountering turbulence in a plane, the 1st rule is “stay in your seats.” When riding in a car we wear safety belts to ensure we stay in the car and in our seats should we encounter danger. Consider the Church, the community of believers to which you belong, as a boat. It provides safety from the turbulent storms of life and carries its passengers safely to the shores of Heaven.
The question you have to ask yourself if it applies to you, is why you are not in the boat?
