Light in the Church

Several centuries ago in a mountain village in Europe, a wealthy nobleman wondered what legacy he should leave to his townspeople. He made a good decision. He decided to build them a church. No one was permitted to see the plans or the inside of the church until it was finished. At its grand opening, the people gathered and marveled at the beauty of the new church. Everything had been thought of and included.

It was a masterpiece. But then someone said, “Wait a minute! Where are the lamps? It is really dark in here. How will the church be lighted?” The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls and then he gave each family a lamp, which they were to bring with them each time they came to worship. “Each time you are here,” the nobleman said, “the place where you are seated will be lighted. Each time you are not here, that place will be dark. This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church some part of God’s house will be dark.”

That’s a poignant story, isn’t it? And it makes a very significant point about the importance of our commitment and loyalty to the church. The poet Edward Everett Hale put it like this:

I am only one,

But still I am one.

I cannot do everything,

But still I can do something.

And because I cannot do everything

I will not refuse to do the something I can do.

What if every member of your church supported the church just as you do? What kind of church would you have? What if every single member served the church, attended the church, loved the church, shared the church, and gave to the church exactly as you do? What kind of church would you be? Think about it! Pray about it! Do something about it.

Do I Still Believe?

With all of the craziness – craziness at least to this old preacher (about to reach age 75), that has grown up believing that worship should be pure and emanate from a heart that is pure and directed in absolute humility to Creator God, I openly confess that my belief system has been severely attacked and seriously questioned.

As I sat in a church service (not that long ago) with a lot of the contemporary kind of so-called worship blaring in my ears, I asked myself the question, “Do I still believe?” I took the church bulletin and on the back scribbled my response to the question. I am driven to share my response with you. By the way, from my attendance in a number of churches since retiring from full-time pastoring, Mrs. Jones and I have come to believe that senior citizens really don’t matter to church leadership very much anymore. Our worship preferences really don’t matter, or so it seems. It is no wonder that so many just drop out of church and go to church from their couch in front of the television set. Here is what I wrote down as I sat in that service with the keyboard and drums blaring and the praise leader with her microphone driving her shrill voice through my head like sharp arrows.

In spite of the “whoop and holler” – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the slamming and jamming – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the noise and lack of poise – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the casual attire, coffee drinking in the sanctuary, and general slouch in God’s house – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the absence of the hymns, replaced with 7/11 music…seven words

sung eleven times – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the monotonous and repetitive music – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the dance and drama – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the tobacco using, social drinking, movie going, one hour a week in church people that make up most congregations today – I STILL BELIEVE!

What do I believe? I believe that GOD is still on the throne and that HE will ultimately have a people that understands what true worship is. I must remain true to my old-fashioned belief in this God.

What do I believe? I believe that there is a famine in the land, not of food and drink, but of the Word of God. I must continue to keep my faith resolute in the promises of His Word for it will not return void.

What do I believe? I believe that my old-fashioned convictions are all that will work for me and if I have to seek GOD alone and in a lonely place in order to maintain my “up close” relationship with HIM, that is what I will do.

What do I believe? I believe that it is not the whistle that pulls the train, but rather the power in the locomotive that pulls the train down the tracks, up the mountains and around the curves. Noise is not the answer! Singing louder and longer is not the answer! Wriggling and dancing, strutting and prancing, are not the signs of a penitent heart. A meek and quiet spirit God will not despise. I believe – and I know – that this is what will work for this preacher. These are some of the reasons why I STILL BELIEVE.

When will this craziness end? I do not know, but I do know that I have settled the question in my heart – I STILL BELIEVE, and I will forever believe that GOD is in control – grieved, I believe – but still in control and HE will have the final say on Judgment Day.

What do I believe? I not only believe, but I know, that most will criticize me for holding to this unwavering position, but this is quite all right. I WILL FOREVER BELIEVE IN THE GOD THAT DECLARES, “I AM THE LORD…I CHANGE NOT!” I must stay the course! I must always hold to “what thus saith the Lord” – to me personally! Yes, after more than 56 years of preaching, my faith was, is, and I believe, will continue to be attacked. I must not allow the contemporary so-called style of worship to destroy my faith. I have come too far and eternity is too long for me to lost. For myself and Mrs. Jones, we feel so out of place and rather lost as we try to find traditional music and “rock solid,” “revelation preaching” – messages direct from the heart of God, Spirit-revealed and Spirit-anointed. It hurts! But, I have settled the matter for me personally – I STILL BELIEVE! I WILL FOREVER BELIEVE! Though my faith be tested and I battle with my frustration over the carnival atmosphere in today’s praise and worship format – I WILL KEEP ON BELIEVING! Maybe, just maybe, things will turn around. Maybe we can once again find the “old paths wherein is the good way” (Jeremiah 6:16) and “the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).