Chapter 3
The Past Is the Hero
Before we begin to see the results of the autopsy, please keep this perspective in mind. There were several points where these churches could have reversed the decline they were experiencing. But the remaining members in the church refused to see reality. They were blinded to the slow erosion that was taking place.
Most of the churches in America that close don’t shut the doors over a single or few cataclysmic events. In most of the cases, indeed all of them I studied, the issue was slow erosion. There would be no autopsy to perform if they had faced reality and, in God’s power, reversed course.
But they didn’t.
And for that reason, we must look at them after their death.
The Autopsy: The Common Thread
The most pervasive and common thread of our autopsies was that the deceased churches lived for a long time with the past as hero. They held on more tightly with each progressive year. They often clung to things of the past with desperation and fear. And when any internal or external force tried to change the past, they responded with anger and resolution: “We will die before we change.”
And they did.
Hear me clearly: these churches were not hanging on to biblical truths. They were not clinging to clear Christian morality. They were not fighting for primary doctrines, or secondary doctrines, or even tertiary doctrines. As a matter of fact, they were not fighting for doctrines at all.
They were fighting for the past. The good old days. The way it used to be. The way we want it today.
For sure, there were some prophets and dissenters in these churches. They warned others that, if the church did not change, it would die. But the stalwarts did not listen. They fiercely resisted. The dissenters left. And death came closer and closer.
Everyone Loves a Hero
“Hero” is usually a good word. It speaks of a man or woman who has done something remarkable, something courageous, something worth noting.
Men and women who fight for our country are heroes. They risk their lives for our freedom and safety.
First responders, like police, firefighters, and other emergency personnel are heroes. They keep our communities safe. They protect us. They do so often at the risk of their wellbeing or even their lives.
I love reading Hebrews 11. Most Bible editors have inserted the subtitle “Heroes of Faith” for this chapter. There is Abel who offered God a better sacrifice. Enoch who was taken away before death. Noah who built an ark. Abraham who went where God said even though he did not know where that was. Sarah who conceived at an impossible old age. Isaac who blessed a future generation. Joseph who remembered the exodus of the Israelites. Moses who left Egypt for a promised land.
And Rahab. Gideon. Barak. Samson. Jephthah. David. Samuel. The prophets.
According to the writer of Hebrews, all of these men and women were heroes of faith because they obeyed God even though they did not know the consequences of that obedience. They saw themselves as foreigners of this land and life, temporary residents of the earth (v. 13).
They sacrificed their comfort, their homes, their ways of life, and their possessions because they knew that this life was only temporary, that a better and eternal life awaited them.
The “good old days” did not exist in their minds. The future held the best days. They understood that this life is not a time to get comfortable.
When the Past Is Hero
I got an e-mail today from someone who was really mad. I guess he was mad at me, but I’m not sure why. He described American churches as they were in the 1970s and 1980s, perhaps earlier. He was mad about music styles. He was mad about church architecture. He was mad about audio speakers and big screens. He was mad about “appropriate” church attire.
Yep, he was really mad. He should have written someone other than me. Ask my sons. I’m neither cool nor contemporary.
For him, the past was his hero. He was clinging, hanging on to things of this world. And because it was slipping away, he was angry, hurt, and probably fearful.
Don’t get me wrong. There is much to revere and remember about the past. I am grateful for those who came before me. I am grateful for events and people of the past that shaped my life.
I remember my parents whose influence will never wane despite their deaths.
I remember a high school football coach who shared the gospel with me.
I remember a friend who went to Vietnam, but did not return. He died for our nation, including me.
I remember the church where I was baptized in Anniston, Alabama. It seems that everything that took place in that church is a part of my “good old days.”
Yes, we respect the past. At times we revere the past. But we can’t live in the past.
Signs of Past Heroes
Do you know the name Harry Truman? Let me be clearer. Do you know the name Harry Randall Truman? No, he was not a former president. He was a homeowner at the foot of Mount St. Helens in Washington state. In 1980, the volcanic mountain was showing signs of a major eruption. Indeed one expert declared that the chance of a major eruption was virtually 100 percent.
Truman’s home was located at the south end of Spirit Lake at the foot of the mountain. He was living in the most likely path of the volcanic flow. He was facing an almost certain death.
Governmental officials implored him to leave. Friends told him that his failure to move was tantamount to suicide. Family members begged him to leave lest he die.
On May 18, 1980, the massive eruption took place. The lava flowed right in the projected path of Truman’s home.
On May 18, 1980, Harry Randall Truman died.
He just could not let go of his home, even if it meant certain death.
So what did the deceased churches cling to? What did they refuse to let go of facing certain death?
Worship styles were certainly on the list. As were fixed orders of worship services. And times of worship services.
Some stubbornly held on to buildings and rooms, particularly if that room or building was a memorial, named for one of the members of the past.
Some would not accept any new pastor except that one pastor who served thirty years ago.
But more than any one item, these dying churches focused on their own needs instead of others. They looked inwardly instead of outwardly. Their highest priorities were the way they’ve always done it, and that which made them the most comfortable.
It was not just the past they revered. It was their personal good old days.
So, unlike the heroes of Hebrews 11 who held onto nothing of this life, these dying churches held onto everything, at least everything that made them comfortable and happy.
Such is the reason we speak of them in the past.
They were warned. They were facing certain death. They saw every sign.
But like Harry Randall Truman, they preferred death to change.
And death is what they got.
Prayerful Commitment 3
God, give me the conviction and the courage to be like the heroes of Hebrews 11. Teach me not to hold onto those things in my church that are my personal preferences and styles. Show me not only how to let go, but where to let go, so that I may heed Your commands more closely.
Questions for Further Thought
1. Are there any areas in your church where you are resisting change simply because of your own preferences?
2. What is the common theme among the heroes of Hebrews 11?
3. Look at Hebrews 11:13–16 and discuss it in light of churches that die holding onto the past.