Bullying the Needy, the Poor, and the Disable

This basically summarizes all that is wrong with our political system. Our politicians, whether Republicans or Democrats or Tea Party affiliates, are all the same for they cut from those who have no voice and vote. Politicians tell us that the cut is necessary because of budgetary short fall but when banks and the super-rich need tax-break or bail-out or tax-cut 'to save' the 'market' we lend them a hand because, as the argument goes, it is good for everyone to save the rich -- strangely, the middle class has been losing their income power where the super-rich income has seen gains of up to 260% in the past two decades.

When more Americans are truly facing hardship, particularly during our economic woes, politicians are merely concerned with the appeasement of the business communities and their rich-contributors. Since the poor and disable aren't a great political threat to any political parties, services and programs that serve our most vulnerable population are either severely cut down or exterminated. Perhaps, the worse form of dehumanization is to classify programs serving our most vulnerable as 'entitlements' programs. It is not 'entitlements' but it is the responsibility of us to protect and serve our most vulnerable, i.e., our elders, our children, our widows, our orphans, our disables, our poor, and all of those whose humanity is under threat (cf., Ex. 22:21-24; Lev. 19:34; 25:35; Dt. 10:18; 14:28-29; 15:7-11; 27:19; Isa. 1:17; Jer. 7:6-7; 49:11; James 1:27)

A great example will be Texas as a proposal to cut all class-special programs (e.g., Music Therapy, Aquatic Therapy, Special Therapy, and etc.) comes to vote this Wednesday (March 2, 2011). This complete termination will save the state 14 million dollars but the overall budgetary short fall is around 27 BILLION dollars. The overall budget that helps disable children and adults is less than 0.0005% of the overall budget. Strangely, the Conservative-Right-Christian questions the authenticity of Mr. Obama’s birth certificate, which has been certified by the State of Hawaii, but at the same time the Right-Conservative-Christian does not question the authenticity of these self-professed Christian politicians whose policies are a clear violation of human rights and also a violation of God's law. It is interesting to see and to note that God's judgment against a nation has never been against private immorality but public injustice against the weak, poor, widows, orphans, and the needy. God will hear their cries. God will see their suffering. God will condemn all injustices done against the least of these, our brothers and sisters. And when God asks you: what have you done to the least of these? Did you fight against oppressive statutes? Did you fight for justice and not rob the poor and weak of their right? Did you fight against predatory business that prey on the poor, the widows, and the orphans? Did you stand against policies that strip society of its responsibilities to care and love as Christ has loved all of us? Have you?

Ha!, you who make iniquitous decrees,

who write oppressive statutes,

to turn aside the needy from justice

and to rob the poor of my people of their right.

that widows may be your spoil,

and that you may make the orphans your prey!

What will you do on the day of punishment

in the calamity that will come from far away?

To whom will you flee for help,

and where will you leave your wealth? (Isaiah 10:1-3)

Rest assure, the cross of Jesus Christ does not save us against our inactions to fight against injustice. The cross accentuates the injustice and demands justice. There will be nowhere to hide. The cross is not salvation as a free pass card. A faith in the cross does not save us from our participation in the systematic injustice present in our world, instead it demands us to fight against the power-that-be of this world. We will be judged on how we have cared and loved the least of these:

“The Son of Man will put the sheep (good people) on his right and the goats (bad people) on his left. "Then the king will say to those good people on his right, 'Come. My Father has given you great blessings. Come and get the kingdom God promised you. That kingdom has been prepared for you since the world was made. You can have this kingdom, because I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your home. I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me.' "Then the good people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you alone and away from home and invite you into our home? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?' "Then the king will answer, 'I tell you the truth. Anything you did for any of my people here, you also did for me.' "Then the king will say to those bad people on his left, 'Go away from me. God has already decided that you will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever. That fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. You must go away, because I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you did not invite me into your home. I was without clothes, and you gave me nothing to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you did not care for me.' "Then those people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we see you alone and away from home? Or when did we see you without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see these things and not help you?' "Then the king will answer, 'I tell you the truth. Anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you refused to do for me.'"Then those bad people will go away. They will have punishment forever. But the good people will go and have life forever” (Matthew 25:33-46).

The Decline Membership

Because of my job, I get to travel to different parts of our country, which also means that I get to visit different Lutheran churches - that is if I have to stay over the weekend. In my very brief time spent in these different Lutheran churches in the ELCA, I hear a common grunt of displeasure and uneasiness. The displeasure arises from the recent vote of the ELCA to openly accept homosexuals and lesbians in the office of Word and Sacraments; the uneasiness arises from the fact that a good number of churches are leaving the ELCA. Nothing alarming but at the same time the numbers aren't to be taken lightly either. Now those grunts of displeasure and uneasiness could be understandable if our current decline in membership could be directly attributed to our current stance on human sexuality. Those grunts of dissatisfaction could also be understandable if our current decline in membership could be directly attributed to the so-called "liberal" agenda.

Now it is true that the ELCA lost members because of our more "open" and "welcoming" stance on human sexuality, but to say that our current stance is the sole reason for our decline in membership is an inaccurate portrait of the ELCA - and to attribute our decline solely on the so-called "left" agenda is really to vilify those on the left. Those in the left are no more righteous than those in the right; and those in the right are no more biblical than those in the left. As the ELCA reported since 1987, the ELCA has only two years of growth, and even those two years are debatable if we look at the data much more closely. The ELCA has been loosing members long before the take over from the so-called "liberal" agenda. The real reason in our decline is much more to do with our birth rate, particularly white birth rate in this country. There is no longer a high numbers of Germans and Northern Europeans immigrants coming to this country - and even those who are coming aren't Lutherans. Also, in light of our demographic make up, the ELCA is close to 97 percent white - in the early 70s, the Lutheran tradition was close to 99 percent white - which means that our current white birth rate in the ELCA can't support any numerical growth if we are solely to depend on birth rate and immigration as we have been depending on for a very long time.

God has nothing to do with our decline, it is solely mathematics. If the number of birth given by white people decrease, the number of membership in a 97 percent white denomination also decrease. This is elementary math. There aren't enough white people to go around for the ELCA to grow. Thus, we can either demand our members to birth more white children, as some white-racist fearmongering do, or we can truly be a church that has been baptized into one body, one faith, one Spirit, one Lord, and one God. To do this, the ELCA must shed our "gringo" preference in theology and in leadership. Too many of our leaders look like me, white, we need more diverse leaders in our churches and Synods. Too few people of colors are serving in the office of Word and Sacrament. And, honestly, how can one of the largest congregation in the ELCA not have one person of color as a pastor? Okay, I am not sure if Mount Olive Lutheran Church is in the ELCA, but if they are still part of the ELCA, then we must seriously wonder how can this church not have any minority in their pastoral staff? Are you seriously telling me that there is no minority where this church is located? This is a common issue throughout many of our largest churches in the ELCA, yes, there are few expectations but those expectations aren't enough to make any difference in our current trend.

We are making some progress in our Hispanic outreach missions. But, we are also ignoring many people of colors already in our system awaiting first call in the office of Word and Sacraments. I know of three who have been waiting for a very long time for their first call. I also know two minorities, who aren't Hispanic, that left the ELCA because there were no churches for them to minister after three years. Both of them have gone to the UMC and they are currently serving churches (they waited less than a year). If the ELCA is serious about making the ELCA much more diverse, the ELCA must seriously address the current lack of diversity in its leadership office. We must stop complaining and mourning the loss of members in the ELCA for the days of growth through birth and immigration is no longer viable, and thank goodness for that, the ELCA must reach out beyond its "gringo" preference and go to the borderlines, where Jesus himself spent most of his time ministering. The face of our leaders must also reflect the diversity we find in our country. Too many of our leaders in our churches and the bishops in our Synods look like me, a white-male. The leaders of our churches, the bishops of our Synods, and our current Bishop need to do more to challenge the silent racism plaguing our community. The decline in membership will most likely continue, even if we are more diverse, but keep in mind that the Gospel is much more offensive than many churchgoers assume to be and also we must keep in mind that the-power-that-be crucified Jesus for his political message of God's Kingdom breaking in? The offensive nature of the Gospel has been replace to the simple conviction of personal sin in need of salvation to escape eternal damnation. There is nothing offensive, nothing challenging the-power-that-be, because it is all about personal-private reality that has no demands to change public-reality as Jesus did with his ministry of words and deeds. It doesn't shake the-power-that-be because it doesn't confront the systematic evil in our political-economical system. The Gospel does confront and that message is very treating to the-power-that-be because the Gospel has a truly and completely radical political-economical system that would upset both the Right, the Left, and the Centrist.

Addressing the lack of diversity in our denomination does not mean that the ELCA will grow numerically. But numerical growth is not the reason to address the issue of race and sex. We are to tackle these issues because they are human issues and we are human beings. The ELCA can't keep on tiptoeing around critical human issues. Thus, we must do something about our lack of diversity in our churches.

Having Nothing but Giving All

This is a great story of discovering true faith in the most unexpected of places. Faith isn't about personal salvation -- i.e., faith is not about faith in a Savior so as to get out of hell or to escape eternal damnation. Quite contrary, faith is about the meaning of existence. It is about the reason to be and the meaning of being human beings. Faith is discovering the meaning of what it means to be human in the fullest sense of the word. And for us, Christian, it means to be human in the fullest of sense of being created in God's image.

"I just hope that people who are in really rough situations will realize that God didn't forget about them. God is just trying to prepare them for something even bigger, even greater and even more blessed than they can even imagine." That is a honorable thought.

A Lot of Talk About the Tea Party Racial Make-up

This entry has nothing to do with the Tea Party. The only relation with the Tea Party is with the apparent racial make-up that some in the news medias have pointed out about those in the Tea Party rallies. Most of the news medias tell us that the Tea Party is made up mainly of white right-winger Christian Republicans. This particular group makes up about 85% of the Tea Party. So many in the news medias have pointed out the racial issue in the Tea Party - whether there is a sublime racial issue. Now, this should be a wakeup call for many in the ELCA. If the Tea Party is 85% white, which are numbers that the ELCA can only hope for, particularly with their 97% white presence. The ELCA is more white than the Republican party and more white than the Tea Party. In all honesty, the ELCA is more white than most town in this country. The only real whitopia one can find in this country.

Lutherans you're on notice!

Top 10 Endangered Exports

As climate issue keeps on mounting, the world may soon come to realize that certain well loved joys will soon be no longer available. Time magazine has a list of top 10 most endangered exports. The list covers a broad area from Italian pasta all the way to Colorado Ski Resorts. If our current way of impacting our environment does not drastically change for the better, the next great war will be to secure our very limited resource of fresh water. This will have great geopolitical outcomes. The very countries we know will no longer be one nation but perhaps multiple fragmented states united under a common rare resource of fresh water. One such nation could be located in the Great Lakes area in this country. Other possible geopolitical change of wealth could be shifting further away from the Equator as the temperature rises. Greenland could become the greatest beneficiary of the rise temperature as more land in Greenland actually becomes more green. This could greatly influence migration patterns in the world. The Equator could soon become the wasteland - "I will show you fear in a handful of dust" (T. S. Eliot). Humanity seems to have arrived at a cross road. Where shall we go?

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1945317,00.html

Top 10 Endangered Exports

1. Italian Pasta - http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1945317_1945308_1945293,00.html
2. French Wine - http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1945317_1945308_1945294,00.html
3. Argentine Honey - http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1945317_1945308_1945297,00.html
4. German Beer - http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1945317_1945308_1945298,00.html
5. Vietnamese Rice - http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1945317_1945308_1945299,00.html
6. Spanish Fruit and Vegetables - http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1945317_1945308_1945301,00.html
7. Maldivian Tourism - http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1945317_1945308_1945302,00.html
8. Northern European Vodka - hhttp://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1945317_1945308_1945304,00.html
9. Colorado Ski Resorts - http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1945317_1945308_1945305,00.html
10. Malian Cotton - http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1945317_1945308_1945306,00.html

Atheism Militant Declares Jihad

I do hope Dawkins accomplish what he set out to do.

The Decline of the ELCA

There is a magic number in the air. The number is ten percent, which the goal of the ELCA. This is the target number for the ELCA to change its image as not so very much white church. As many are well aware, this lack of minority presence is not merely a problem of the ELCA. All of the mainline churches have issues with minority presence. Nevertheless, out of the largest mainline churches, the ELCA has the worse minority representation particularly if one is to consider the number of membership - some 4.5 million members. These will be a difficult task particularly as the ELCA also face decline membership. The ELCA will not be saved by reaching out to minorities because the root of its decline is not merely lack of reaching out to minorities. What the ELCA needs to do is to address the real issue of their decline; and to do this they must find the issue for their decline.

Abusing Our Call

As many thoughts from our past have well stated that human beings are the measurement all of things. We are the greatest achievement of nature because we are a conscientious thinking machine. At such, we have been bestowed with gifts that place us at the top of hierarchical chain of all other beings, perhaps, with the only exception being God, that is, if God exist. Thus, at the top, we are in control of all other beings in this world of ours where all other living creatures are known to us as beast. These creatures, these beasts, are under our dominion since human beings are the only creature that possesses a reasoning-thinking brain. Hence, we find most normal to dictate our wills onto this so-call beast. So, we amuse ourselves through abusing the world because we incorrectly understood dominion as domination of other which really wasn’t its intentional meaning. Instead, we are in dominion, that is, we are in charge of taking care of or providing for all that it is in this world. We are to be care-giver or care-provider for this world. Thus, the above picture reflects how far we are from our true call of care-giver and provider for God's creation.

Good To Know That Stupidity Knows No Degree

One hopes that science is the one disciple not influence by racial superiority principle, i.e., certain racial groups are superior than another. However, this is a wishful thinking since many extermination of ethnical group has been done in name of science. The most prevalent is the idea of IQ difference among racial groups. Many people still believe that certain racial groups are intellectually more advance than another. The good thing is that most of these racial discrimination has been condemned both by the scientific and religious community. However, one racial discrimination which has not really been given lots of coverage is concerning beauty. And, this is quite evident that some racial minority groups accept that “white” is standard of beauty. The below publication supports such believe that to be beautiful one must be more closely alike in “white” physiology.

http://archfaci.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/6/4/244.pdf

Confessions of a former Christian

SPLC Sues Mississippi County to Stop 'Shocking' Abuse of Children at Detention Center

The Southern Poverty Law Center today filed a federal class action suit to stop the "shockingly inhumane" treatment of children at a juvenile detention center and to force officials to provide sanitary facilities and mental health treatment to young people confined there.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on behalf of a 17-year-old boy who, despite attempting suicide while in the facility, has received no mental health treatment. He has been subjected to physical abuse and filthy conditions, and has been forced to sleep on the floor in an overcrowded, insect-infested cell.

The Harrison County Juvenile Detention Center in Biloxi, Miss., has been operated by a private corporation, the Mississippi Security Police, for more than nine years at an annual cost of $1.6 million.

"It is a travesty that the county has chosen to let a private company profit by neglecting and abusing our children," said Vanessa Carroll, a staff attorney for the SPLC's Mississippi Youth Justice Project and counsel for the children.

Most of the children confined at the facility have not been adjudicated guilty of any crime and are awaiting court hearings. Many are there for minor offenses and so-called "status offenses" like truancy.

The lawsuit describes how the county has failed to provide the most basic, constitutionally required services to the plaintiff, known in the suit as D.W.

"Toilets and walls are covered with mold, rust and excrement," the lawsuit says. "Insects have infested the facility, and the smell of human excrement permeates the entire building. Children frequently have to sleep on thin mats that smell of urine and mold. Defendants do not provide children with adequate personal hygiene items."

Children who have been confined there describe assaults by guards, being locked in their cells for 23 hours every day, inadequate medical and mental health care, and widespread infections caused by the filthy conditions.

Marlon, 17, said children are treated like animals at the facility. "I've seen the guards slam kids, mace them and do things they wouldn't even do to their own dog, let alone a human."

D.W. said he was abused even while on suicide watch after he had tried to hang himself with a bed sheet. "A guard choked me from behind and slammed me on the floor," he said. "While that guard held me down, another guard dropped his knee in my neck, slammed my face to the floor and then pushed my face into the concrete. I couldn't breathe."

Mississippi Protection and Advocacy Inc., a congressionally authorized nonprofit organization that enforces the civil rights of people with disabilities, is also a plaintiff in the suit. It is demanding access to the facility, to which it is entitled under federal law.

"This lawsuit demands that Harrison County ensure the safety of children in its custody," said co-counsel Sheila Bedi, SPLC's regional juvenile justice attorney. "But this lawsuit also gives the county a chance to reconsider investing $1.6 million a year in a private, for-profit prison company at the expense of our children. Perhaps now the county will recognize that investing in communities and families is a wiser use of taxpayer dollars."

The lawsuit seeks class action status to protect all children who are currently confined at the detention center as well as those who will be confined there in the future.

Please add your voice. We will send your message to the officials in Harrison County.

Contact us:

If you, your child or anyone you know has information about the Harrison County Juvenile Detention Center, please contact the SPLC's Mississippi Youth Justice Project at 601-594-0848 or toll free at 800-597-9583, or send an email .

Why 10% is a lofty goal for the ELCA?

Beside the fact that I’m leaving the ELCA, okay, I’m just joking about my importance, well, partial joking since I’m planning to leave the ELCA by the end of this calendar year. Okay, I’m not naive, at least not enough, to assume that another mainline denomination has no issue concerning race, gender and sexuality. They all have problems. However, the ELCA makes any major mainline denomination look diverse. Honestly, even the PCUSA looks multi-ethnical because of the ELCA. Yes, they are lots of good people in the ELCA and lots of wonderful minority ministers trying to make the ELCA more diverse. However, as long as the ELCA is a staunch defender of the gringo/a gospel, the ELCA will be gringo/a in its core. Bishop Hanson, if you ever come across this blog, I want you to know that condemning racism is wonderful, but such condemnation is hardly of any great value when the ELCA is still, after more than two decades, hovering just below the three percent mark in minority membership. It took the ELCA about two decades to move more 1.6 percent to 2.7 percent in minority membership. Bravo! Perhaps, in another two decades, the ELCA can be around 4 percent. Well, in total honesty, it will take more than learning a few cute phrases in Spanish or another foreign language to reach out. Granted that it would be a good idea for us, who don’t speak English, to learn it. I’m guilty of it. Perhaps, that would help in the area of communication, which is a good thing since forward movement begins with good communication. However, it is important to remember that having good communication means merely that there is talking going on. But, as most of us are well aware of that old saying: “Talk is cheap!” Yes, it is cheap to talk. So, please begin by really forcing the issue to the front burner. Force large and wealth congregations to see their own discrimination against minority ordained ministers as senior pastors. Honestly, I do hope the ELCA stops its own self inflicted bleeding and begins to live its own motto: “Semper Reformanda!” I do hope this is soon.

Keep It Real!

No human being is perfect, beside myself, at least that is what I tell myself once in awhile. In total sincerity, we all have moments, which we would like to keep hidden inside our closet forever. Knowing this little truth, we could easily assume that dispensing moral advise to and criticism of others should be avoided at all times. At the same time, we are also well aware that moral advise and criticism are necessary part for the well-being of any truly “civilized” society. That is, for any true society to be just and fair there must always be people who truly speak out against evil that threatens the well-being of any civilized society. Does this mean we all have right to be pretentiously self-righteous when we dispense our moral advise and criticism? No, but if we are to take this particular path, then we must also be aware that what goes around comes around. Make sure to hide those pictures, videos, and every inappropriate moments because it will surface again someday. To speak for moral good is stand against evil that attempts to tear communities apart from oneself and one-another. Also, to speak for moral good is to speak in the realm of ideals to live by. That is, when we speak for moral good, we speak in the ideal that good must always practiced and upheld regardless of the cost to oneself. We speak in this manner because some moral goods are ideals which only makes sense to particular social tradition that upheld certain moral goods to be necessary part of communal relationship. For example, no one would disagree that murder is wrong. At the same time, different society classifies murder differently from another. But in this case there is a universal agreement that murder is wrong and unacceptable. Now there are moral goods that is not so universally acceptable as necessary thing to have for the well-being of community. Furthermore, some moral goods change in value depending on the time and place, i.e., what could have been taboo yesterday is no longer today’s taboo. Case in point, divorce is no longer taboo for many in this country and also no longer a moral evil, but merely a misfortune of life. Thus, when speaking against divorce, we should simply state our own personal moral opinion of divorce, then acknowledge that divorce is part of life because human beings are not perfect. Similarly, when speaking against homosexuality, we should simply state our own personal moral opinion against homosexuality, then acknowledge that this moral opinion is rooted in a particular cultural-social-religious tradition, which is only fully understood in the context of that particular tradition. Now this is not to say that no one has the right to disagree or criticize. Quite the contrary, all of us have right to criticize and put our own two pennies worth, i.e., no one has the right to take away the right to speak for or against ambiguous moral opinion. However, our moral stand cannot in itself be immoral, that is, it cannot be dehumanizing.

“Ye without sin cast the first stone”?

Of late, we have been hearing lots of moral advice from all side of the spectrum, both from the liberal and conservative camps. There is nothing wrong about “preaching” morality. It is important that we, as a society, teach our children the value of being a morally conscientious human being. But only teaching our children will not do for adults also need to be taught and reminded again and again of the importance and value in living a virtuous life. At times, adults need more encouragements to be virtuous. They need daily reminders that living a conscientious moral life is to live for the well-being of others regardless of the cost to oneself. This means that at times we must confront evil. Hence, the act of speaking out against immorality is neither wrong nor unwelcome. But, before we put our two pennies worthy, it would be wise to reflect on our own past, present and future. It is easy to forget our own propensity toward evil thoughts and actions. We all have the potential both for evil and good. It is a constant reality that manifest itself out in our decisions, which each of us make daily, regardless of whether those decisions were made in full cognizance or not. True that most of us cannot imagine the unfathomable evil, e.g., the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, the Rwanda Genocide, Pol Pot, the Japanese Imperial Armies rape, as part of us all. We cannot fathom orchestrating or assisting the demise of human beings just because of their ethnical background. But, at the same time, we must be aware of the simple fact that we are not people of a particular period and place. Honestly, are we real to believe that if we were born white and living around the early part of the 1900s that we would protest and speak against lynching? Most likely not, and if we do believe that we would have protested and marched against the lynching of black bodies, then we are not being truly honest with ourselves. We are all product of our particular time and place. Thus, it is easier to speak out against lynching because many of us find such practice horrifying. It is always easy to make a stand against evil when we are aware that most believe a particular activity is evil. Most of us are against racism and believe racism is evil because society in large have judge against the practice of systematic racism. But, can we be sincerely honest with ourselves so as to say that we could and would fight for interracial marriage during the 1920s? Could we have stand and fight against the mob as they prepare to lynch a black person? Could we have stand and fight against the genocide of Native Americans during the 19th century? It is easier to speak and protest against immorality and evil when we are not pioneers in our protest and fight against immorality and evil.

Rev. John Yockey Solution to Failing Church Attendance

Rev. John Yockey of St. Jerome Parish in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
By Susanne Jones

Rev. John Yockey of St. Jerome Parish in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, made the decision to offer a discount on the Parish's school tuition, if the parents agree to attend church on at least seven of every ten Sundays. Before this move, being a member of the church was sufficient to receive the discount. More and more churches with schools associated to them offer discounts to active and participating members of the church, making an increase in church attendance a primary goal in this effort.

In a recent article in 'The State-Journal' by Sara Gividen, a Frankfort, KY, Baptist minister was described as expressing disapproval about the fact that the young athletes in his congregation had to choose between attending church or playing sports. He requested from local youth sport organizer to schedule games and practices at other times than Wednesday evenings and Sundays. It appears he felt compelled to enlist the media in his quest to ensure something is done to allow those athletes to attend church.

Why does a minister feel forced to take such a step? Attendance in churches across the country has been decreasing for decades with only a brief increase after 9/11. Furthermore, those members, who stick around and regularly attend church, are usually older and in the second half of their expected lifespan. Therefore, churches increasingly struggle to attract new members, especially those from the younger population.

There are several reasons why church attendance is down. First and foremost, with the scientific progress, and a possible scientific explanation for anything and everything, it is difficult to believe in the existence of God. God just does not appear to be so all-powerful anymore.

Secondly, there have been many scandals surrounding the churches in recent years, especially the Catholic Church. The trust in the ministers and priests has diminished. Their worldliness has become too obvious. Can such a person really give me good spiritual advice? What does a catholic priest know about marriage and parenthood, if he himself has never experienced it? Shouldn't the person leading the congregation be closer to God? Sort of have a direct line to God? Be a perfect human being the way God wants us to be? The questionable behavior of some of the ministers and priests has made it more difficult for others to 'herd their sheep'.

Thirdly, and most importantly, our lives have become incredibly busy. Who has time for God anymore? We have more important things to do. Sunday is not the day of rest anymore for many of us. Stores are open; factories don't stop their assembly lines. Many of us have to work. While maybe fifty years ago it might have been frowned upon to run your lawnmower on Sundays or do any visible to the neighbor work around the house, this is not the case anymore. With our schedules full throughout the week, the weekend is left to keep up with the chores around the house and/or shopping and relaxing. And yes, there is sporting events to attend and other commitments, especially if you have children. And most importantly, even if we have nothing else to do, the weekend is our only chance to sleep in. The day of rest does not include getting up early to attend church.

And then there is the entertainment point. Most churches have a certain structure to their church service. They rarely deviate from their traditional forms of worship. It is the same pretty much every Sunday. Though some churches attempt to make changes and to perk up a few things, they often do so half-hazardly, because they don't want to offend or lose their traditional members. To top it off, some ministers love to hear themselves speak, going on and on and on in their sermons. Unfortunately, nowadays, with TV, Internet, and many more distractions, our attention span is diminished. We want to be entertained and have fun. Thus, going to church can be a boring endeavor.

Therefore, keeping all this in mind, is it really so surprising that God is not important to us anymore? We have other more important things to do. Or do we?

It is obvious, churches have to change and adapt to more modern times to make church and faith more attractive. It is doubtful forced attendance is the way to go, nor should outsiders be pressured into accommodating a church's schedule. In the latter case, this would pose quite a dilemma. What if another church with a different schedule and requirements for their members makes a request? Besides, it's doubtful attendance will increase, even if we make Sunday the day of rest again by closing all stores and factories and canceling all sport events.

Churches should not look to the outside to achieve higher membership and worship attendance. Pressure and force will just scare members away. Churches should look to themselves and what changes they can make. They need to present themselves differently to attract members and to spread the faith. It is up to the minister to properly 'heard' and guide his or her 'sheep'. If it is not impressed upon the member that church is more important than worldly matters, than the minister is not doing his or her job. The church has to find a gentle way to make church more important than all the other commitments a member might have. If there is a choice between mowing the lawn and church, or sport and church, reasonable arguments should be made as to why church is more important and how the member will benefit from the community of the church and the spiritual well being which can be achieved through regular church attendance.

More resources:
http://www.wiscnews.com/pdr/news//index.php?ntid=205924
http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/2384122