September 4
DebDay 174: Short on Hope
I participated in a call yesterday (one of several, actually) where the conversation between pastors revolved around: What do we do as leaders going forward?
Of course, to envision the future, we have to acknowledge the present. So we mined that question, and tried to get to the bottom of the mine. We may have hit pay dirt.
Hope. Our society is short on hope. Even while many would put their failing hope in political outcomes, or the lifting of virus restrictions, our society is short on hope.
My friend Kyle Mercer said it like this: "Our souls were not created for so much bad news."
How do we know this? The Center for Disease Control says that 25% of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 considered suicide in the month of June. How do they know that? How can they know that?
Call in centers. A suicide hotline in Everett, WA says that call in's have increased by 65% in the past two months. The increase in call in's, they believe, is directly related to the proportionate decrease in economic stability.
But thoughts of suicide are not the only indicator that our society is short on hope.
Two unrelated polling companies have determined that 1/3 of church goers have now stopped even watching church services online. Worse still, the number of online viewers has been grossly inflated.
A 3 second livestream or YouTube hit does not equate to full participation in an online worship service. Current tracking mechanisms cannot tell the difference.
For those given the option to attend church services in person in their jurisdiction, the vast majority of those who decline are not staying away because they cannot. It is instead because they choose not.
What happens if 1/3 of our people are departing from gospel hope, content to settle into the accomplishment of their full secularization?
We need to emphasize hope as our outreach strategy. Who is out there who has no where else to turn?
In times past, God has used tragedy, cultural upheaval and even plagues to bring many to Himself. The contention and chaos of the 1960's resulted in the greatest evangelistic response from baby boomers (1969-1974.)
For those boomers, hope was finally and ultimately found in Jesus, when it could not be found or manufactured anywhere else.
Considering all this, I am taking a second look at the content and emphasis of my sermons in the next weeks.
Because, God is giving us a rare opportunity to proclaim hope to people around us who are short on hope.
-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church | Juneau
