CHURCH – HORROR OR HOLY?
The first Christian church in Berwick, Pennsylvania, was established along Cemetery Street in 1906. It had become a landmark in Columbia County and had deep meaning for a lot of people years ago.
Somewhere along the way, the church quit doing what it was established to do. It has moved from being a holy place to a horror place today.
This old historic church has been transformed into “Halloween Central” year-round. It has all sorts of creepy creations, false spider webs, and huge outdoor inflatable characters. It’s a place of horror. When the church got out of the business of being a church, a man named Mikey decided to try and transform it into something else. Mikey is a globe-trotting hairstylist who has a following online of more than 250,000 followers on TikTok and more than 87,000 on Instagram. He is considered a very innovative person in the world of cosmetology.
So sad that a place of holiness has been downgraded to a place of horror. Could that be a picture of a way that a lot of churches in the world are going today?
Whenever the church quits doing what Jesus called it to do, it no longer has a reason to exist. Jesus said, “I came to save the lost.” (Matthew 18:11) Paul said, “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, and I was the greatest of them all.” (I Timothy 1:15) In his last teaching, Jesus made it clear that, “You are to go into the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)
A good question to ask in each of our churches – are we doing that today? I read about a tourist group in Europe visiting some of the great tourist-attracting cathedrals. They are magnificent structures, but they have little or no people coming to participate in worship or outreach.
A little lady was listening to a guide describe the innate architecture and symbolism within the church building. She then asked a great question, “Sir, has anybody been saved here lately?” That’s a question for the church today. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing!
Some wildlife officials recently found a baby elephant in India. It was by itself. Rather than trying to rescue it, they knew if they left it alone and observed, the elephant herd would come back to get its lost child. Sure enough, the elephant herd came back and saved the baby elephant.
There are a lot of children, youth, and adults lost out in the world. Culture is not going to come back and get them. The churches must come back today and rescue, reclaim, and restore them to the abundant life that Jesus came to bring them. That’s why the church exists today!
I know you think it’s a horrible thing to see a church turn into a year-round Halloween place. The most important question we should ask – “Is my church moving toward the coming day revival center that’s bringing people into God’s kingdom, or a horror place where folks feed on their fear and try to enjoy some kind of dysfunctional reality?”
Your church–trending toward horror or holy?
