Rebrand - Refocusing the Mission and Purpose of the Church

Introductory Thoughts

RSI

heb 10 22-25

Hebrews 10:22–25 ESV

let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

The State of the Church in Our Culture

The church is taking a beating. On the outside the picture looks bright. Its affluence is at an all-time high. The church is taking in more money and spending out more money than ever before in all of her glorious history. Just take for example the Southern Baptist Convention. Last year 40,000 Southern Baptist churches took in $6 billion, and now owns property valued at $30 billion. The same could be said for practically every major denomination in America.

But a closer look reveals a darker picture. First of all, the influence of the church is going down. During the 1977energy crisis, the Common-wealth of Virginia ordered all non-essential buildings closed. What was number one on the list? The church.1

More and more the church is being perceived as just another building; a place one goes for weddings or funerals, or to drop in when you think it's necessary. It is no surprise that 81% of the American people say they can arrive at their own religious views without regard to a body of believers.2

A1994 Time's mirror survey asked respondents which institution they felt most decided what was important to them? An astonishing 43% listed the media, 22%listed Washington, and 10% listed Hollywood. Only 7% named religion.3

Confidence in the church is also going down. Listen to these sobering facts concerning the church:

Fact: Since 1980 there has been no growth in the proportion of the adult population that can be classified as "born again" Christians.

Fact: Since 1970 there has been no appreciable change in the proportion of adults who attend church services at any time during the week.

Fact: The average Protestant congregation in this country has only 50 to 60 adults who regularly attend Sunday morning worship services.

Fact: The fastest growing churches in America are not Christian. Among those that are expanding most rapidly are Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and various cults.

Fact: Attitudinal studies have shown that despite a growing public interest in religion, people's confidence in the church, as an institution, is declining. Only a minority of adults in this nation consider the Christian Church to be “relevant for today."4

Finally, attendance at the church is going down. When you drove to church today, two out of every three of your neighbors did not. On an average Sunday two-thirds of all Americans will do something other than go to church.

According to a 1994 Lewis Harris poll, regular churchgoers could be headed for the endangered species list if trends continue. The number of adults who say they attend church, synagogue, or other houses of worship, at least weekly, dropped from 51% in 1986 to 43% in 1994. Those attending less than monthly increased from 14 to 19% in the same period, and 23% of respondents said they never attend church up from 21%.5

Well, I, for one, still believe the church is both viable as an institution, and vital to the health of our nation. It is vital to our faith, it is vital to our future, and it is vital to our family. Now this is more than just the opinion of a preacher. The fact that the church is vital to our health is now being touted as a scientific empirical fact.

Two new work crews were putting in telephone poles. At the end of the day the foreman asked the first crew how many poles they had done. They said, "Twelve."

The foreman replied, "That's not bad for a first day." He then asked the second crew how many poles they had put in. They said, "Two."

The foreman shouted, "Two! The others did twelve, how did you only do two?"

The leader of the second group said, "I know they did twelve, but you should see how much they left sticking out of the ground."

Well, you’re going to drive your family right into the ground if you don't take your family to church. I want to give you three things the church does for an individual, and for a family, and ultimately for a nation.