It is interesting that the Gates of Hell cannot prevail against the church, but some homegrown apathy and half-hearted commitment can bring it to a near standstill.
Why?
While there are many factors that have contributed to the decline of the American church and it would be impossibly difficult to really nail down one particular cause, let me suggest a few over the next few days...
Competing Priorities
We live in the busiest culture on the planet. We rush from one commitment to the next. Too many people simply feel overwhelmed and struggle to prioritize what is most important in their lives. As a result, their personal relationship with God and church attendance falls somewhere in between soccer practice and the new season of The Walking Dead.
When Jesus called the disciples, He didn’t ask them to see if they could make some time to fit Him into their busy lives. He called them to truly “follow” Him and make Him the prevailing priority in their lives.
Jesus stated it this way when addressing the crowds…
Then He said to them all: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23 NIV)
Some take this to mean that their entire lives must become centered around religious activity, but I think Jesus is saying that our commitment to Him and God’s word should be the prevailing priority in our lives. From this one commitment, all other priorities will fall in line with God’s will and desires for our lives.
For example, a thirty something who is married with three children who has made following Jesus the prevailing priority in his life would understand that developing his relationship with Christ is his prevailing priority and that from that would follow being the best husband and father he could be. This would be followed by his career, his friends, his hobbies, and more. (This is the same for a wife and mother.)
However, the average thirty something makes his career and providing for his family his prevailing priority. In juggling this pursuit, he tries to make time for his wife and children, his friends and hobbies, and also church and spiritual matters. Invariably, church and spiritual growth get swallowed up by the tyranny of the urgent of work deadlines, soccer practice, etc. Church attendance with his family is sporadic at best as is any Bible study or prayer. When this family does come to church on any given Sunday, they are detached from the body life and have little to no excitement about being there. (Again, same for a wife and mother as well).
As this becomes more of the norm than the exception, it is easy to see how church attendance has suffered and how excitement is at an all-time low in some churches .The church always suffers with competing priorities.
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