In his book, Fresh Power, Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York City, compared church to a basketball game. He wrote, “But just as there are people who watch from the bleachers and never know the challenge of competing on the court, we have millions of churchgoers who sit in pews every week without ever entering the game. They sacrifice nothing, strain toward not ministry goals, never agonize in prayer for one soul, but pass judgment on how well the contest of faith is being played. Often they act as if ‘they know’. It looks easy from where they’re sitting, but then again, they have never really attempted much for God.
“The Christian who is willing to risk body and soul in the struggle against evil is of a different mind. He knows there will be difficult moments and all kinds of pressure. He knows he will need to summon all his strength as well as God’s in order to prevail. He is a champion for God, and he dares to plunge into the contest.”
Rev. Cymbala’s analogy is a good one. However, he left out another group in our churches. This is the group that never makes it to the game. In many churches, this is the largest group of all.This is why most churches are ecstatic if they are able to get 40 per cent of their membership involved in regular worship and Bible Study. If more than that came on a given Sunday morning, many churches would not have room to seat them.
Research shows that interest in spiritual things is on the rise in America but that attendance at church services is on the decline. This research shows that this is true across the board and it is not reserved for any one denomination or demographic group. A multitude of reasons are given for this decline but the simple truth is that church attendance is not a top priority for most people. This is not a totally new phenomenon. The writer of Hebrews addressed the issue in his day. He wrote, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 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.” (Hebrews 10:23-25 NASB)
If you read these words carefully, you will find why church is important. It is in the fellowship of believers that we should find stimulation to love one another and to do good deeds. It is in the fellowship of believers that we should find the encouragement that enables us to confront a hostile world day to day. Someone once said that a Christian outside the fellowship of believers was like a coal removed from the fire and placed on the hearth. Both will soon go out. My guess is if you have been lying on the hearth for a while, you realize the truth of this statement.
I leave you with a question. Taking Rev. Cymbala’s analogy of a basketball game, which of the characters do you think finds the most excitement, joy and energy in the game? Is it the watchers or is it those who throw themselves into the fray, who get their hands dirty, who give fully of themselves to accomplish a goal bigger than they are? The obvious answer is reason enough for you to come into the arena, get out of the bleachers, get off the bench and throw yourself into the battle. There lies the reward. Get back into the game marvel at what God can do with someone who is willing to be used.
