In an article for Newsweek,
Claudia Kalb examined several of the studies
that show the physical benefits of faith. She
rated the claims on a scale from very weak to
persuasive. Three of the claims garnered a “very
weak” evaluation from her, but she rated one—the
claim that Church service attendance promotes
longer life—as “persuasive.” According to her
sources, the life expectancy increases from 75
years (of someone who never attends) to 83 years
(of someone who attends more than weekly.)
—Newsweek, Nov 10, 2003, p.
47 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson
Hebrews
10:25 (NASB) not forsaking our own
assembling together, as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another; and all the more,
as you see the day drawing near.
CHURCH ATTENDANCE
In an article for On Mission
Magazine, Dianne Butts, gave the top ten reasons
she's heard why people skip church. Here's what
she wrote,
10. I've been thinking I'd
like to go to church. But I don't know anyone.
And I don't know what to do, where to go, what
to expect when I get there.
9. I don't believe in God.
Christians are dangerous fanatics, politically
unpopular and always trying to shove their
beliefs on others.
8. There are so many
denominations… even Christians can't agree among
themselves what the Bible means.
7. There are so many
churches… I don't know which one to go to. Why
should I come to yours.
6. Church is for "good"
people who haven't messed up. You don't know
where I've been or what I've done.
5. Church is not important.
4. I don't need to go to
church. I can worship God, even when I'm
fishing.
3. I don't have nice clothes
to wear to church.
2. I don't have time. Sunday
morning is the only day I can sleep late.
1. People in churches are
hypocrites.
—ON Mission, July/Aug 2001,
p. 46-48 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson
Hebrews
10:25 KJV "Not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together, as the manner of some is;
but exhorting one another: and so much the more,
as ye see the day approaching."
CHURCH ATTENDANCE
Several studies have linked
religious activities with better health, but a
recent study shows that Church goers live
longer. Certainly some of the longevity is
explained by healthy habits promoted by the
church, like not smoking and drinking, but even
after adjusting for those things, researchers
are still saying that Church attendance promotes
longer life. Doug Oman, the leading author of
the study said, "We wonder if there's something
else going on-like inner peace."
So will doctors be advising
their patients to start attending church as a
habit of a health lifestyle? Orman doesn't think
so, "There seems to be a widespread feeling that
this would be inappropriate." Orman said.
—Monterey Herald, March 28,
2002, b4 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson
Personally, I'm not qualified
to analyze the research or have an opinion why
those who attend church live longer, but I am
confident that following the teachings of the
Bible will improve a person's life on earth, but
more importantly, it will point a person to a
path that will lead to eternal life.
Hebrews
10:25 NIV "Let us not give up meeting
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but
let us encourage one another—and all the more as
you see the Day approaching."
CHURCH ATTENDANCE
Squirrels had overrun three
churches in town. After much prayer, the elders
of the first church determined that the animals
were predestined to be there. Who were they to
interfere with God's will? they reasoned. Soon,
the squirrels multiplied.
The elders of the second
church, deciding that they could not harm any of
God's creatures, humanely trapped the squirrels
and set them free outside of town. Three days
later, the squirrels were back.
The deacons in the Baptist
church baptized the squirrels and registered
them as members of the church. Now they only see
them on Christmas and Easter.
http://www.rd.com/content/openContent.do?contentId=16366.
Illustration
by Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.
Hebrews
10:25 (NASB) "not forsaking our own
assembling together, as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another; and all the more as
you see the day drawing near."
CHURCH ATTENDANCE
According to Rob Parsons, the
author of Bringing Home the Prodigals, more
people leave churches because of small issues
than important ones. He said: "It is not big
doctrinal issues. Typical arguments take place
over types of buildings, styles of worship,
youth work. If not that, then they argue over
the flower rota."
A survey of 500 people
conducted by Spring Harvest and Care for the
Family show that "74 per cent of respondents
thought that people had left the church because
of disagreements with other church members."
—http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,173-1749387,00.html
Illustration
by Jim L. Wilson
Philippians
4:2 (NASB) "I urge Euodia and I urge
Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord."
CHURCH ATTENDANCE
A recent poll by the Pew
Forum on Religion and Public Life finds that a
large percentage of church attendees do not
exclusively go to one church. “Of the 72% of
Americans who attend religious services at least
once a year (excluding holidays, weddings, and
funerals), 35% say they attend in multiple
places, often hop-scotching across
denominations.”
According to Alan Cooperman
of the Pew, “Mixing and matching practices and
beliefs is as much the norm as it is the
exception. Are they grazing, sampling, just
curious? We really don’t know.”
--USA Today, December 10,
2009 p. A1 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and
Rodger Russell
The real question is why? Why
are people not settling in at a church home? Why
do they find it necessary to hop-scotch around?
Researcher Greg Smith has a possible reason that
we ought to consider seriously. “These findings
all point toward a spiritual and religious
openness—not necessarily a lack of
seriousness.”
If that is true, our response
might be to increase our efforts to reach them
with the pure and unadulterated gospel of Jesus
Christ.
John 4:35 (NASB) "Do
you not say, 'There are yet four months, and
then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you,
lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that
they are white for harvest.
CHURCH ATTENDANCE
One stormy Texas afternoon rodeo
clown Casey Wagner was riding the storm out
under a tree. Lightning struck the tree and
gave Casey quite a shock. Supposedly lightning
doesn’t strike twice in the same place so
Casey stayed where he was thinking he’d be
safe. Sure enough, lightning struck a second
time. When asked about it he replied, “I can
tell you one thing, I’m going to start going
to church more.” Crisis often sparks (excuse
the pun) interest in going to Church. —Jim L.
Wilson and Rodger Russell.
The Week, November 8, 2013 p. 6
Hebrews 10:25 (CSB)
not
neglecting to gather together, as some are in
the habit of doing, but encouraging each other,
and all the more as you see the day approaching.
CHURCH
ATTENDANCE
Time Magazine
recently devoted much of a weekly issue to the
discussion of living longer. One of the key
articles was about the effect of church
attendance on life expectancy. Several studies
have shown a definite relationship between
attending religious services and living a long
time.
One
comprehensive study published in the Journal
of the American Medical Association discovered
that frequent attenders of worship were 55%
less likely to die during the 18-year follow
up study than those who did not frequent a
temple, a church, or a mosque.
Several
different reasons may account for these
benefits including; a network of social
support, an optimistic attitude, better
self-control, and a sense of purpose in life.
It may just be that our creator programmed us
to spend one day of seven dedicated to Him.
–Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell
Time, February
26, 2018 p. 73
Exodus 20:8–11 (CSB)
Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: You are to
labor six days and do all your work, but the
seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord
your God. You must not do any work—you, your son
or daughter, your male or female servant, your
livestock, or the resident alien who is within
your city gates. For the Lord
made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and
everything in them in six days; then he rested
on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.
CHURCH
Ali
Demirkaya is a very devoted soccer fan.
Perhaps the Turkish man was even a little too
devoted. He was banned from the soccer field
for excessive enthusiasm. With an important
game coming up he hired a crane to lift him
high enough he could watch the game over the
stadium wall. By way of explanation he said,
“That match was very important for our team.”
The Week, May
18, 2018, p. 6
Every week we
meet with the creator of the universe to
participate in a very important time of
worship. I wish I was committed enough to have
the same desire not to miss that important
meeting. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.
Hebrews 10:25 (CSB)
“not
neglecting to gather together, as some are in
the habit of doing, but encouraging each other,
and all the more as you see the day
approaching.”
CHURCH
Visitors to Rochester Cathedral
in southern England may not hear the gospel,
but they can get a in a round of golf.
Officials at the 1,300-year-old cathedral
installed a nine-hole miniature golf course in
the nave in a bid to attract families. Rachel
Phillips, one of the cathedral canons said the
mini-golf course has boosted the number of
visitors to Rochester Cathedral by 80 percent.
World Magazine, September 14,
2019 p. 16
What kind of amusements are we
willing to focus on to get people to church?
We hold the greatest story ever told; shall we
trade it for amusements? —Jim L. Wilson and
Rodger Russell.
Psalm 84:10 (CSB)
Better a day
in your courts
than
a thousand anywhere else.
I
would rather stand at the threshold of the house
of my God
than
live in the tents of wicked people.
CHURCH
According new
research by the Barna Group, 44% of American
Christians told researchers that attending
church is not an essential part of their faith.
World Magazine,
December 28, 2019, p. 13
Interestingly,
whatever these respondents told the researchers,
it doesn’t square with the plain teaching
regarding the New Testament Church. Christ loved
the church and gave himself up for it.
(Ephesians 5:25) How do they account for the
exhortation in scripture to come together in the
meeting? —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.
Hebrews 10:25 (CSB)
not
neglecting to gather together, as some are in
the habit of doing, but encouraging each other,
and all the more as you see the day approaching.
CHURCH
Erica Komisar is a
therapist who deals with the depression and
anxiety common among children and adolescents.
She states that one of the most important
explanations is the declining interest in
religion. A 2018 study in the American Journal
of Epidemiology examined how being raised in a
family with religious or spiritual beliefs
affects mental health. Children or teens who
reported attending a religious service at least
once per week scored higher on psychological
well-being measurements and had lower risks of
mental illness. Weekly attendance was associated
with higher rates of volunteering, a sense of
mission, forgiveness, and lower probabilities of
drug use and early sexual initiation.
Atheism is so
bankrupt parents without a belief in God are
encouraged, at least by this therapist, to lie
to their children. I’m not convinced lying to
children is the right thing to do, but raising
them in the family of faith is. —Jim L. Wilson
and Rodger Russell.
Deuteronomy
11:18–19 (CSB)
“Imprint these words
of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a
sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on
your foreheads. Teach them to your children,
talking about them when you sit in your house
and when you walk along the road, when you lie
down and when you get up.
CHURCH
ATTENDANCE
The
veterinarian assured Emma Smith that her
dachshund, Rolo would be fine. He diagnosed
the 7-year-old dog with a sprained tail “from
excessively wagging it” out of joy that his
owners were self-isolating at home instead of
leaving for work. Rolo “is currently on pain
relief, and the vet said he should be healed
within a week.”
The Week,
April 3, 2020 p. 6.
I may not get
a sprained tail from excessive wagging, but
I’m fairly sure I’ll be as happy as Rolo when
we are able to meet at the church again for
worship.
Hebrews 10:25
(CSB)
not neglecting
to gather together, as some are in the habit
of doing, but encouraging each other, and all
the more as you see the day approaching.
CHURCH ATTENDANCE
In his book, Bezonomics: How
Amazon Is Changing Our Lives and What the
World's Best Companies Are Learning from It,
Brian Dumaine writes, “Whether Democrat or
Republican, those surveyed respected Amazon more
than the FBI, universities, Congress, the press,
the courts, and religion. That perhaps helps
explain that while 51 percent of American
households attend church, 52 percent have Amazon
Prime memberships.”
--Bezonomics, pg. 15.
Hebrews 10:25 (CSB)
not neglecting to gather
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but
encouraging each other, and all the more as you
see the day approaching.
CHURCH
ATTENDANCE
A recent
AP-NORC poll found that “About
three-quarters of Americans who attended
religious services in person at least
monthly before the pandemic say they are
likely to do so again in the next few
weeks, poll. But 7% said they definitely won’t
be attending.”
