Symptoms and cause
In the human body where there is a wound, gash or ‘gap’ so
that blood flows out of the body – the body has many different stages to help
the blood stop flow out, and then to bring about healing. The first stage is that platelets in the
blood stream will group together around the wound and help plug the hole, then
there is a series of chemical reactions that occur when the body is alerted to
the loss of blood. There are thirteen clotting factors which will work together
resulting the blood clotting and forming a “scab” and beginning the healing
process. There may be a scar, where the scab was, other than this, skin is
formed and everything goes back to normal.
In a parable story of haemorrhaging in the church, you could compare it
to many things, but for the purposes of this parable I will compare it to
members leaving the church, faster than new members are coming in.
Some churches I have known have been vibrant and growing
with every generation being represented from new-borns, to the mature elderly
folk, all living and worshipping together making for a well-balanced welcoming
church where no one feels left out or alone.
Then a while later, sometimes years later, sometimes a matter of months,
I have visited the church – the same service time, the same pattern of worship,
but the once filled, vibrant church has just a smattering of people –
frequently just the older generation have remained, and the younger ones have
left – young parents with their children are hardly represented at all. What happened? Sometimes there are clear reasons why – the
church is in a small town or village, and as the children grow up and move away
for university or work, they don’t return, and there are no new people to take
their place. Others have had
disagreements and splits and as a result a group of people left en-masse. In some situations the church building was
too small, so it was decided to plant a daughter church – allowing anyone who
felt that they wanted to join in the church plant to do so. After a while, “the remnant” felt bereft, as
the loyal members or leaders who stayed
behind were unable to carry the church forward, having lost the main “movers
and shakers” which resulted in more people leaving to join the church plant, or
leaving for another local church.
Another reason for people leaving the church is that when they first
became Christians and joined the church all was well, but rather like the
parable of the sower, when worries or problems came along, or temptations of
numerous kinds, the new Christians find being a Christian or meeting together
with others, was not all that they hoped for, and they will begin to drift,
frequently not seeking out another church but joining the ranks of nominal,
backslidden or Christian “has beens” – feeling that somehow Christianity didn’t
come up to their expectations, and just stop going to church altogether with
the exception of the special occasion or event.
Statistics will tell you that the number of people attending church has
declined, but the number of people calling themselves Christians is still
high. In the UK census of 2011 it was
reported that the number of people calling themselves Christians was about 33.2 million people, or 59.3%down[1]
In the USA it is thought to be 73%[2].
Another possibility for dwindling church attendance is that
many people have jobs and professions which forces them to work on Sundays, in
the past it was usually, doctors, nurses, police and the emergency services
that were unable to have every Sunday off, now almost every profession can be
affected – so it’s not necessarily that they are throwing their faith aside,
but that they are trying to juggle jobs/family and church. Others find that their work is so stressful
and they have been exhausted by the week that has passed, and are preparing for
a hectic week ahead, Saturday is used to catch up on all the jobs around the
house that didn’t get done during the week, the washing, cleaning, shopping,
paying bills, visiting family, and on Sunday they just want to “crash out” and
relax and church attendance doesn’t meet
the criteria of relaxation.
Another sign of the times is that many churches offer just
one service on a Sunday and an occasional evening service, or event – in that
it is not a traditional service, but a celebration, a special speaker, a prayer
meeting or something completely different from the normal diet of a Sunday
morning. As a child,
I and my family went to church three times on a Sunday – morning and
evening worship, and then the afternoon Sunday school. Our world has changed, but often the
traditional churches have not changed, what they offer today is what was
offered 30, 50 or 70 yrs ago. I am not
talking about the proclamation of the message which is 2000 years old and still
vital for the life of the Christian, I am talking here about the vehicle
through which the message is declared.
The causes therefore for the haemorrhaging members from the
church are numerous – changed lifestyles, life and circumstances, changed
priorities, lack of commitment, lack of understanding on the part of church
leadership with regard to the lives of church members, rendering church
irrelevant to their fast paced lives.
For many the church no longer meets the need for fellowship, friendship,
family support, challenge or training in godliness. The Christian message and life is being
challenged by the secular, atheistic world and teaches, or has gradually
introduced, yet again, the age old temptation to address individual needs,
priorities or aspirations above God’s laws, rules and recommendations as to how
to live the Christian life and know the abundant life, and “joy that is full”
promised by Jesus himself.
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