Easter Sunday

WHEN YOU WONDER IF IT IS WORTH IT

Coming up in another week is "Easter Sunday". Easter is day when many folks
who never darken the door of a church during the year will come and worship
with other Christians. As I talk with various minister friends of mine,
inevitably the discussion drifts towards the current challenges facing our
congregations. Of course one of the challenges never seems to change, that
is the challenge of filling folks with the desire to be with the church when
it meets. This is not a new problem or likely to be one that is ever solved
completely, but should it be considered a problem at all?

We worry a lot about numbers now days, perhaps more than we should. Now, I
know that we have to have enough interest and attendance in our churches to
pay the bills if we want to keep the doors of our meeting places open. But
let's not become so focused on that aspect that we forget what we really
need to be doing, which is to be an example of Christ as well as a light to
the world.

One of our members recently shared a story from Guideposts with me. It seems
that a church couldn't get a teacher for the teen class. The attendance in
this class had dropped to pretty much zero most of the time, but one person
volunteered to step in and at least be a "warm body" in case anyone
attended.

Several weeks went by and no students showed up for class, then one Sunday
three young people came to class. The volunteer teacher discussed a subject
that touched a cord with these visitors and gave them hope for a difficult
life. Another morning, one lone young woman showed up and they had a one on
one discussion of Jesus and his nature.

Some weeks no one showed up, but when they did, this volunteer teacher touch
lives, sometimes, one at a time. Helping them see God as being real, not
just a story in a book.

I can't help thinking back to Abraham dickering with God for the cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah. God was going to destroy them, but Abraham got God to
agree to spare them if there were just 10 righteous souls to be found in the
cities. (Genesis 18:32) What is the value of ten souls or even one soul?
When do we stop counting people and start seeing souls? Maybe you need to
show up for the church meetings or worship assemblies, "Just in Case," God
gives you an opportunity touch someone's life. Maybe it's worth it after
all! What do you think?

Russ Lawson