J. Michael Shannon is Academic Dean and Professor of Preaching at Cincinnati Bible Seminary of Cincinnati Christian University in Cincinnati, Ohio.
AGE
There is a birthday card making the rounds that says, “You know what they say about age — it’s all in your mind.” Inside the card it adds, “and your legs, your arms, your neck, your arches, your back, your shoulders, etc.” Well, the body may grow old, but the mind and the spirit can be ever young.
CHURCH
There need be no debate about whether or not God uses large churches or small churches. Both have their place and can even bless each other. We remember that Spurgeon regularly preached to over 6,000 per Sunday. That is a truly remarkable number for his time. But, that is not how it began. Spurgeon was converted at the age of fifteen in a small church where only a handful worshipped, on a snowy Sunday when the crowd was even smaller than usual.
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In our own time, Bob Russell, recently retired from Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, helped lead his congregation to the place where they ran over 18,000 in attendance. When Russell was a young man, he grew up in and was nurtured by a church which at the time was running less than 100 in attendance.
All churches can contribute to the work of the kingdom regardless of size. Let us give praise to churches that are faithful wherever they are and however many sit in the auditorium.
CHRISTIANITY, CHURCH
Recently the Gallup organization released results of a survey that said that 82% of Americans identified themselves with a Christian religion. 51% said they were Protestant, 5% said "other Christian," 23% said they were Roman Catholic, and 3% named some other Christian faith. Gallup reports that this is down a bit.
Interestingly, actual church membership has declined from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s where 73-75% said they were church members. Since 2002; the number has dipped to 63%. What about actual church attendance? 45% in recent years say they attended church in the pervious seven days.
Belief in God and at least a nominal commitment to Jesus remains strong, but a deep commitment to Christ and his church is still a goal we all labor for.
CROSS
In some ways, people have distanced themselves from the cross. But, they cannot avoid it. The cross of Christ has so affected the nations of the world, that many national flags still display it. A partial list would include: Jamaica, Burundi, Denmark, Finland, Iceland Sweden, the UK, Switzerland, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tuval, Tonga Slovakia and Malta. You can’t escape the influence of the cross.
CROSS
We have so beautified the cross that we often forget that it was really a hideous instrument of cruel torture. In the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Germany, the man who plays the part of Christ carries a cross weighing eighty pounds and hangs on it for twenty minutes. We do not know how much the cross of Christ weighed, but He hung on it for six long hours of agony until death came.