Category Archives: Religion

This article was published by The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor on Friday, January 18, 2019:  

I love my church. My wife and I have been attending there for nearly 50 years. It is our spiritual home until He comes or takes us Home. We sing in the choir. We deliver plants to the homebound and call on those in assisted living. We tithe. We believe the Gospel – the Good News – that Jesus Christ died for our sins and nailed our account books to His cross.

But lately we’ve noticed a distinct change. Our church is trying to become more “relevant” in order to “reach young people.” The problem is demographic: half of the church’s members are 65 or older. The church’s membership is half what it was when we joined. Giving, in real terms, has declined as well.

What to do? The church changed its logo and its mission statement. The former logo showed His cross emblazoned on a field of blue. Now it’s a silly combination of the church’s name, using its first two letters. It was designed by a local PR firm which was chosen because – ready? – it was secular and “tuned in” to the local culture.

It’s mission statement? It sounds like an ad for our local utility company, which gives life and light to the city.

For years, LifeWay Resources has been tracking the decline in membership and the walking away from the church of teenagers upon graduation for decades. Its current survey, released earlier this week, confirms the national trend. LifeWay, a creation of the Southern Baptist Convention, asked 2,000 young adults between the ages of 23 and 30 (who had a history of regular church attendance while teenagers) 55 questions about their faith. Said LifeWay:

“Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

Let us today go down to Bethlehem, and in company with wondering shepherds and adoring Magi, let us see him who was born King of the Jews, for we by faith can claim an interest in him, and can sing, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Jesus is Jehovah incarnate, our Lord and our God, and yet our brother and friend; let us adore and admire. Let us notice at the very first glance his miraculous conception. It was a thing unheard of before, and unparalleled since, that a virgin should conceive and bear a Son.

The first promise ran thus, “The seed of the woman,” not the offspring of the man. Since venturous woman led the way in the sin which brought forth Paradise lost, she, and she alone, ushers in the Regainer of Paradise. Our Saviour, although truly man, was as to his human nature the Holy One of God. Let us reverently bow before the holy Child whose innocence restores to manhood its ancient glory; and let us pray that he may be formed in us, the hope of glory. Fail not to note his humble parentage. His mother has been described simply as “a virgin,” not a princess, or prophetess, nor a matron of large estate. True the blood of kings ran in her veins; nor was her mind a weak and untaught one, for she could sing most sweetly a song of praise; but yet how humble her position, how poor the man to whom she stood affianced, and how miserable the accommodation afforded to the new-born King!

Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendor.