The Day The Church Shut Down

DL Whittaker, Washington

 

I was looking out my office window at a nearby church, when I saw a truck pull up along side, and a group of people began to load various items into it. As I watched this activity taking place, my mind began to wander and I asked myself, could this church be shutting down?  How sad that this might happen.  I tried to visualize what it would be like if this were really happening, but I couldn't fathom such an event.  We have had the local church for a lifetime, so why expend the energy thinking about horrible thoughts like this.  At any rate, I did think very seriously about it, and in doing so, I wrote the following article.

 

Everyday, a church somewhere closes its doors.  It might be to move to a new location, and that's alright, providing the move doesn't hinder someone from being able to attend when they have been going for many  years, considering it a major part of their existence.  It may be that they are tearing the old structure down in order that they might erect a new building, and that might be acceptable; so long as the good old values are not torn down also. And it might be acceptable to have a new structure, except, that in my lifetime, nearly every new structure that has gone up, has lost something of value in the process.  Why? Because people get their eyes on the new building, the beauty, the price, the grandeur, and how many more people they can seat during the services.  They get so busy trying to fill the building, that they lose the vision of why they are even in existence, and we all know "Where there is no vision, the people perish."  Big buildings are standing half empty because something happened in the zeal of building that can't be corrected.

 

It could have happened in the arguments that ensued during the planning, it could have happened in the loss of the plain and simple folks that couldn't feel at home anymore because all was too modern and beautiful. It was cold.  It could even have happened when the mood of the service began to take a turn for the worse – instead of a building full of love and warmth, bursting forth with the praises of its congregation, a people who would rather take a beating than to give up the joy of their salvation.

 

Now churches are dead, in a new world of Dance Studios, Bingo Halls and Rummage Sales, etc. These are places where more enthusiasm is gained than the average church service has been.  Hard, but fact!  Why has the church died and closed its doors?  The answer is relatively simple.  In early days, the picture of the church was quite different.  People looked forward to going to church, their lives were so full of the mundane work and things of the world that this was the only place they could get revitalized – and could face another week of the same old grind.  This was the only chance they had to visit with the neighbor down the road, and since they could not drive nice cars, they went planning to stay the whole day, taking their meals with them.

 

When people sang, they raised the rafters. They got blessed, and as the blessings came, they shouted.  They were not afraid to weep before the Lord, and they were not afraid to pray at the altar, even if it was to mean praying all night.  When someone had a need, and they couldn't handle the burden alone. People banned together and rallied around them until the need was met, and they didn't take that need as an opportunity to spread gossip around like wildfire, hurting someone needlessly.

 

Now days, most people would rather not be bothered with needs of others, and could care less about confidences.  Also, in the early days of the church, the hymns were special, for they spoke of the blood, and told of the comforter that was sent for all mankind. They spoke of power and of love. Now, we want to keep the blood out of our hymns, for that represents pain. No power, because you only believe in a power structure that you can visibly see.  Now music is contemporary to fit the times.  The church closed its doors, because it died, and people killed it. 

 

Can you imagine picking up your newspaper tonight and reading the following article in the obituary column?

 

                  

Many will think this is terribly funny, but it really isn't. What would happen if suddenly there were no more churches to worship in, no sermons to hear, no songs to sing, and no testimonies of praise?

 

What if suddenly there were no Bibles or study materials, and we were left with only the memory of what once was?  It could happen in a flash. I am speaking of all the things that we take for granted, and only lightly consider important.

 

I am talking of the one day a week, or holiday Christian – that attend church, because "my neighbors expect it of me." I am talking about having the Bible at home because it looks good, but gathers dust, because no one picks it up to read.  I haven't been talking about putting a bunch of boards together to build a church; I am talking about you and me folks.  We are made alive by the breath of God and the Holy Spirit. We are the redeemed.

 

We are the church that must be strong enough to say, "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."  If the church is to die, let it not be the one Christ died for, but let it be the one Christ knew not, nor had a part in creating.

 

Are You A Live Church?

 

In His love,

Dave