There’s one in every church building. Really in most buildings there’s many more. Empty pews. But you know, those pews weren’t always empty. Once they were full of bodies. Those pews were full of life, vitality, and praise. And because the pews were full of life and vitality and praise that church was full of life and vitality and praise. They were growing, they had a heritage of faith, they were strong, and through their efforts the gospel took the community by storm. Everything that was happening indicated that the future was bright, they would continue to grow, continue to succeed, and continue to thrive.
And you know what? That church developed a reputation for success. They were known far and wide for their faith and for their works and that only added to the opportunities they had to minister to the community around them. But somewhere along the way they got satisfied. They got satisfied with their size. They got satisfied with the amount of work they had done. They got satisfied with their reputation. After all they were the mighty ______________________ congregation. They were at the pinnacle of their existence and nothing could possibly set them back.
And then it eventually started happening over time. Where there was no growth there was instead decline. Where there was no more effort there was no more meaningful work being done. Where there was no concern for their perception in the community there was a decrease of respect. So eventually bodies that once filled those pews died. Or they left for any other number of possible reasons. Then because no meaningful work was being done, there was no concern for growth, because the church’s impact in the community was the farthest thing from their mind those empty pews were never refilled. There were no children to grow up and take their place. There were no new converts to fill them in. In fact, any given Sunday you can walk into that church building and those pews remain unused, vacant, empty. They represent a church that is but a ghost of what it once was.
This isn’t a problem that many churches will face on the horizon. This is a problem that many churches face today. And even if a church doesn’t face this problem today the potential is always present. There is no church in existence that does not live with the risk of one day staring down the barrel of a bunch of empty pews. But what can we do to remedy or avoid it?
Simply put we need to be Christians. We need to be Christians who work to maintain the unique distinction and peculiarity of New Testament Christianity (Romans 16:17; Jude 3), but at the same time be Christians who reflect the love of God out into the world by working to minister to their needs (Matthew 5:14-16, 43-48; Acts 4:34-35; Galatians 6:10). We need to step outside of our comfort zones for the sheer opportunity to share the gospel with the least to the greatest. We need to be open, ready, and willing to do anything for anyone within the boundaries of God’s instructions to reach folks with the saving message of redemption. It is then and only then that we can avoid falling prey to the parable of the empty pew.
-Andy
amen