How Are You Treating the Church?

Before I entered the ministry, I worked in Christian bookstores. I started working in them at the age of 16 and even managed three of them once I turned 18. I enjoyed every minute of it and thought that was going to be my career. In general, I love bookstores so much that when Lydia and I were first married, a great date for us was to eat out somewhere, and then she would drop me off at a used bookstore or a regular bookstore, while she shopped somewhere else. Several hours later, she would pick me up, and we would go get ice cream or dessert.
 
I remember working as a bookstore manager and later on shopping as a customer; I always enjoyed helping people find Bibles and Christian resources. In a bookstore, there would be a variety of Bibles available, and I would often hear customers express what they were looking for, but no one was available to help them. So, I would step in as a customer and offer my help. The employees would be surprised, but I just wanted to help. It's nice to be able to touch and see a book before you buy it.
 
However, online shopping has taken over the book industry so much that many brick-and-mortar bookstores have had to close. They simply weren't getting the same level of customer engagement and financial returns as before. Why do consumers prefer online shopping? When shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, customers might find what they're looking for, but they may also find that the prices are too high.
 
For instance, a few weeks ago, I was at a bookstore, and I saw a book that I wanted to buy, but the price was pretty high. So, I looked it up online and found it for half the price with free shipping. What did I do? I purchased it online and walked out of the store.
 
Online shopping has become increasingly popular in the last fifteen years, and it has pushed traditional shopping to the side. However, you just don’t get the same experience when you shop online. For instance, when you go to the mall or a physical store, you can try clothes on and immediately see if something fits or how it looks. Shopping online, you take a risk that something might not fit or look good on you. Often, you have to return the product because it wasn’t quite right.
 
The point is that we can see bookstores and other brick-and-mortar stores struggling to stay afloat. We've all seen it – you just go to a mall and notice certain areas that are empty instead of bustling with activity like they used to be.
 
Even though we have online shopping, people still want to experience what they once had in brick-and-mortar stores. One national online retailer that put many brick-and-mortar businesses out of business has now decided to start up brick-and-mortar bookstores. Why? Because people want to experience the same thing they did before.
 
It was a sad day when I realized that I was part of the problem. I would go to a store, look at a book, and then search for it online to get a better deal. I would also take pictures of items with my phone, intending to purchase them later. If everybody treated bookstores the way I did, then they would inevitably go out of business. But that's capitalism 101, and this is what progress looks like.
 
Relating this to God’s church, here’s a good question we should ask ourselves: If everyone treated the church the way I treat the church, will it survive?
 
The online church is a great option for keeping you connected during times of sickness (even long-term illness) or vacation, but believers should want to physically be in the church. Christians should desire to be back with the people of God. The online church will never replace the experience of gathering together, worshipping together, giving together, serving together and hearing God’s Word and responding together.
 
Nationally, around 4,000 churches across the country close their doors every year, including many that were once thriving. Rather than simply criticizing this trend, we should ask ourselves if we contribute to the church’s demise.
 
I was thinking of this one guy, he called up a pastor and he said, "Pastor, I want to join your church." And the pastor said, "Okay, great. This is exciting." And he said, "However, I want to tell you, Pastor, that even though I'm going to join your church, I don't want you to ask me to give any money. I don't want you to look and see if I'm attending on a regular basis. I don't want to be asked to serve on any committees. I don't want to be asked to go to Sunday school. I don't want to serve. I don't want to teach, but I want to be a member of your church." And the pastor said, "You know what? I don't think our church is the right place for you, but I do have a church that you would like to be a member of."
 
The man was interested, so the pastor said, "Write this address down." He wrote down the address. He said, "Thank you for your time." When the man drove to that location, he found an abandoned church building – no longer in use. The truth is, if everybody treated the church the way that man wanted to treat the church, there would be nothing but abandoned church buildings everywhere.
 
There was a large church that had to sell its property and purchase a smaller building because the attendance was so low.  The online chatter exploded, locally and nationally because of the church’s prominence. People criticized the leadership of that church. "How dare that church sell their beautiful building to go to a smaller location. Now it will be turned into something else. The leaders are making a terrible decision,” The online responses were heartbreaking, because they went something like this:  "That's the church I used to attend. That's the church I used to serve in the Sunday school. That's the church I was baptized at back in the day. That's the church I grew up in and loved." The phrase that was common was "I used to" or something in the past tense. Every generation has to make the decision of how they're going to handle God's church.
 
In 722 BC, the Assyrian armies dispersed the northern tribes of Israel, but the southern tribes, where the house of God still stood, were untouched. The faithful tribes there held on until 586 BC when the Babylonians destroyed everything in Jerusalem, including the temple. The Babylonians took the people into captivity, including Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
 
God's message to His people was that they would return to their homes after 70 years. And just as God had promised, King Cyrus of Persia sent a letter allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem. Fifty thousand Jews led by folks like Zerubbabel and the governor repopulated the area of Jerusalem and began to rebuild the temple. They laid the foundation, but fear of outsiders caused them to pause the work. They were, however, still able to rebuild their own houses during this time. After 15 years of no progress, God sent the prophet Haggai with a message. Haggai 1-2 records four messages from September to December of 520 BC, urging the Jews to resume the work on the temple. The people had become apathetic and were making excuses that it was not the right time to rebuild the temple. However, Haggai reminded them that it was time to rebuild the Lord's house.
 
Haggai 1:1–9 (NKJV)
1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,
2 “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” ’ ”
3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying,
4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?”
5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!
6 “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”
7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!
8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord.
9 “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.
 
In the fourth verse, God is questioning His people’s priorities. In essence, He is saying, “You build luxurious homes for yourselves, but My House lies in ruins.” They justified their apathy, saying it wasn’t yet the right time to rebuild the temple. But Haggai is reporting that God wants them to prioritize His house. The temple was where God’s presence would remain and where the people could offer sacrifices. In verse five and verse seven, God says, “Consider your ways.”
 
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." While it is true that Jesus is responsible for building His church, it is equally true that every generation will decide how they will treat God's house, which today is His church. We must do our part to ensure its survival for future generations. We must faithfully attend, give, serve, love, and support God’s church. We must see the church as an essential part of our spiritual walk.
 
“Dear Lord, thank You for Your church. I pray that You find me faithful in taking care of Your church, so it may be a beacon of hope, love, and truth in my community for future generations. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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