Editorial: Church loyalty

Jim Coggins

Some years ago, I'm told, a pastor confided to a colleague, "Church is difficult in this area because of the competition between churches. One-third of my members are absolutely loyal; they are committed to staying with this church no matter what. One-third have no loyalty at all; if a church down the road gets a new worship pastor, they'll be gone tomorrow. The other third are somewhere in the middle."

The percentages probably vary greatly from place to place, but I suspect the categories are universally valid.

From a pastor's point of view, I can see the preferability of having an increased percentage of loyalists. The loyalists are the people who can be counted on to do most of the work in the church. Year in and year out, they are there teaching Sunday school, ushering, running kids' clubs, leading care groups, paying their tithe. They are the people who will not only vote for a new program, but will stick around long enough to pay for it and run it. There is no doubt about it. The loyalists are the ones who have kept most of our churches open over the long run.

The uncommitted third can be a problem. They show up and make demands on the programs, but when the going gets tough, they leave. Some are new Christians, others are new in an area, some are seeking their niche, some are looking for a place they are needed. Yet some are long-term church-hoppers. They never make a true commitment to any local church; they never stay long enough to get involved in ministering to others; they consume church resources without contributing.

I must confess that I fall into the middle category. I do not believe in remaining loyal to a church "no matter what". I consider my marriage a lifetime commitment; I am not sure that my church membership should be. On the other hand, I do not think one should change churches lightly. My track record says that I have usually shown a high degree of loyalty. In 35 years, I have lived in seven municipalities, been a regular attender at nine churches and been a member of seven, and I have no plans to make another change soon. Such changes should be a last resort, after prayer, work and dialogue have all been tried and failed.

The thing is, we have only one lifetime. We should all be part of a church where we can minister and be ministered to. In the long run, church and our spiritual lives and the need to reach out to the lost are far too important for us to content ourselves with mediocrity. If we are in a church where we are not being fed and there is little opportunity to minister (either because our gifts are not needed or because the church is not doing any significant ministry), then it is time for us to pray about leaving. God might tell us to remain and help change a bad situation, but He might also tell us to move on. If people remain too long, it may convince a dead church that it is not dead or that a dull mediocrity is good enough. It seems to me that Jesus also talked about leaving a complacent and lukewarm church (Revelation 3:14-18).

Some church transfers are motivated by a restless and complaining spirit. Others are motivated by a driving hunger for God. We should lament the former, honour the latter and pray for wisdom to discern the difference--in others' lives and our own.

A praying prophet

For several weeks, our care group has been studying the book of Daniel. Daniel is counted one of the prophets, and most studies of the book concentrate on the remarkable prophecies in the second half of the book. Our study, however, has focussed on the first half of the book and the type of person Daniel was.

From his application of the Law of Moses in chapter 1 to his references to the law and the prophets in chapter 9, Daniel shows a remarkable knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures and how to apply them to his situation and times. Such detailed knowledge must have come from serious study rather than from occasional, cursory reading.

As well, Daniel emerges as a man of prayer. His practice of prayer is encapsulated in Daniel 6:10. There it is revealed that Daniel prayed three times a day--and not one-sentence prayers either; he went to his private room, knelt down and prayed at length. That is remarkable dedication for anyone, but even more remarkable for someone who had major responsibility for administering an empire. I might use the excuse that I am too busy to pray, but I doubt that I am busier than he was. The same passage reveals that in spite of the fact that he had lived most of his life in lonely exile and was now faced with being thrown to the lions, Daniel's prayer focussed on thanksgiving. Moreover, we are told that he prayed "just as he had done before"--his prayer life continued the same regardless of circumstances.

At another point in the book, we are told that Daniel fasted and prayed for three weeks (Daniel 10:3). The chief example we have of one of Daniel's prayers is a remarkable prayer of confession, submission, petition and intercession in Daniel 9.

We remember Daniel as the man rescued by God in the lion's den and as the recipient of remarkable prophecies, but I doubt if he would have had these marvellous experiences if he had not first been a man of prayer.

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