In a December 11, 2022 Newsmax article titled “As US Church Attendance Dips, Faith Leaders Improvise,” author Brian Pfail writes, “Christianity in America is suffering from an identity crisis. Attendance is steeply declining, particularly among millennials and Gen Z, who say traditional churches don’t resonate with their personal realities. Religious leaders are scrambling to experiment with alternative ways to offer meaning to peoples’ lives”.
“Churches” thus offer more casual environments with less or no preaching and more conversation. Others offer health-related classes and exercises.
They’re “playing church.”
But there is nothing new under the sun. In a great turning point in Jesus’ ministry, Jesus told many, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled” (John 6:26). As He continued His discourse with them, they grumbled and quarreled among themselves, unable to understand the spiritual truths Jesus was teaching them. Jesus, knowing what was in men, asked them, “Does this offend you?” (John 6:61) The record says that “from that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).
Jesus didn’t “play church.” Jesus let them go.
They did not want spiritual truth; otherwise, they would have remained with Him. For Jesus taught, “ask, and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Can we not learn that the men in John 6, who came to Jesus because of a desire for physical food, did not stick around when there was no food and the spiritual sayings of Jesus became pointed and difficult to accept? Why would it be any different today?
The article’s author wrote that younger generations say that “traditional churches do not resonate with personal realities,” and so religious leaders are trying to “offer meaning to people’s lives.” One of the definitions of resonate is “to produce a positive feeling, emotional response, or opinion.” I’m afraid that describes well what many are seeking – something in the realm of feeling.
Jesus’ teaching of truth did not “resonate” with many of His day. Was His teaching relevant to peoples’ personal lives? It was most relevant. Was He out of touch with men and their problems? No. Was He out of touch with what moves and motivates men? No. But the Master teacher was rejected by most. Nobody has ever related truth to men in his teaching and deed as well as Jesus.
Perhaps someone is heard to say that the worship offered on the first day of the week is too formal and too much the same every week. But the Bible teaches us to be reverent, and no man has the right to add to or take away from what God has directed for worship. Maybe someone says about the sermon, “you don’t make it relevant for me.” Or another says, “just tell me what to do.” How about taking personal responsibility to take the truth presented and make personal application?
While religions in our country flounder with a different gospel – the social gospel – and they keep trying new means to attract people, is there something we can learn from all this?
Let us learn this. Not only must we not use carnal means to attract people, we must not change the message one bit to meet the desires of the people (2 Timothy 4:3). Along that road is trying to “soft-pedal” the message so that it says little and doesn’t hurt when it needs to. That’s not what men of God did in the New Testament. Their teaching of the pure truth pricked hearts. To do otherwise is just “playing church.” People can play church all they want, but it won’t get anyone to heaven. -Larry Jones