Turning Country and Church Around

The number is staggering. According to Lifeway Research 150,000[1] are leaving the American church every week. That’s not a mistaken number. The number of zero’s is correct and it is unbelievably tragic for America. Here’s why it hurts us so much. The moral teaching of Judeo/Christian faith found the scripture are the foundation of this country’s cultural greatness. As our moral and religious foundations crack and dissolve so does the fabric of society that has held us together, and provided a compass for ourselves and for our children.

Let me illustrate the positive influence that church attendance has on our children. According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, children and youth who attend religious services weekly exhibit several behaviors and attitudes that most of us would characterize as desirable and helpful. These young people for instance:

------exhibit the fewest behavior problems
------are more likely to have high-quality relationships with their parents
------are more likely to exhibit positive social behavior
------show respect for teachers and neighbors
------get along better with other children
------better understand other people's feelings
------show more effort to resolve conflicts with classmates, family or friends.[2]

If these are the qualities we like to see in our children then it would make sense that we would want to have our children in church each week. Now, let me relate this to that first staggering number of people leaving the church. Reversing that trend makes sense as one factor in turning this country around culturally. Last night my wife while watching the television said, “All the writers for crime dramas need to do is watch our nightly Miami news. They’ll get enough crime drama ideas for any "CSI", or "Law and Order" they’ll ever need.” The pity is she’s probably right.

Night after night we watch the debauchery of our culture played out on the screen in front of us and we shake our heads and cry, “What has gone so wrong?” Perhaps it is as simple as we have forgotten our roots and our God. We teach moral relativism and give in to those without moral guidelines other than their own narcissistic desires. It has become a society of quick easy fixes at everyone else’s expense. We take no personal responsibly and certainly we do not want a God to tell us what to do. Well there is another number that can give us hope. 82 percent.

82%[3] is the number of people who say they would probably come back to church if invited by a friend. The problem is only 2% of regular church attenders invite a friend to church in any given year. This will sound utterly simplistic, but, If we want to reverse the downward trend of our culture then we need to fill our churches. Please, just ask a non-attending friend to come with you to church this week.
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[1] http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/mainpage/0,1701,M%253D200767,00.html
[2] http://www.nschdata.org/Content/otherchildhealthdata.aspx
[3] Ibid