Exodus: Empty Pews, Empty Pulpits
Have you heard the term “Silent
Exodus”? The term refers to the trend of second-generation Asian Americans
leaving their parents’ churches. It was popularized in 1996 by Helen Lee in a Christianity Today article. We may say
the church here in the US today is going through another massive exodus.
According to Barna research, 12 years ago, in 2011, 43 percent of Americans
said they went to church every week. By February of 2020, that had dropped 14
percentage points to 29 percent. In 2022, Lifeway research said that only 18%
said they went to church weekly. Those who said they seldom or never attended
church describe the following reasons why: (1) They practice their faith in
other ways (44 percent) and (2) there’s something they don’t like about the service
(38 percent)[1].
A similar exodus takes place from pastoral ministry. In 2021 Barna Group asked pastors, “Have you given real, serious consideration to quitting full-time ministry within the last year?” In January 2021, 29% of Protestant pastors said “Yes,” but then in October 2021, 38% - nearly a third more pastors – had seriously considered quitting full-time ministry.[2] Many Christians, both clergy and laity, work hard and faithfully for the growth of their church. They do everything they can do for the church. But in reality, we see more empty pews and more empty pulpits. Is there any hope for the church? The Book of Exodus gives us hope. The story of Moses is the story of hope in the wilderness. My prayer is that God may give us strength and nourishment for our upcoming journey individually and as a church.
Bricks without Straw
Moses did everything he could do. He
did everything God commanded him to do. He left his comfortable place. He gave up
his shepherding job and his family. He took risks. He went back to Egypt and
stood before Pharaoh. Perhaps Moses expected that things would go well because
he did the right thing. But the circumstances seemed to get worse. First, Pharaoh
was not listening. When Moses asked Pharoah to let Israel go, he said, “Who
is the Lord, that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the
Lord, and I will not let Israel go” (Ex 5:2). Then, he commanded the
taskmasters not to give the Israelites straw to make bricks but to require of
them the same quantity of bricks as before. Second, the Israelites were
not listening to Moses. They were not able to make the same quantity of bricks
without straw. They were beaten and mistreated. So when they met Moses, they
complained and even cursed him, saying, “The Lord look upon you and judge! You
have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword
in their hand to kill us!” (v. 21) Moses was hard pressed within and without.
P & P
Here in today’s story we learn that
we can be in trouble though we do everything right. Moses obeyed God,
but he was in trouble. Job did everything right, but he was in suffering. We
work hard to keep our church healthy, but the church struggles. We make effort
to live a healthy life style, but still we can be seriously ill. My grandmother-in-law
did everything she could do – early morning prayer followed by morning
exercise, healthy diet, etc. Her only wish was not to become a burden to her
children. But all of sudden, one day she lost her consciousness and remained in
a vegetative state for more than a year. Is there any hope in all these
circumstances?
When Moses was troubled in every way, he did two things. First, he prayed. When Pharaoh and the Israelites were not listening, he prayed, “O my Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people” (vv. 22-23). Yes, Moses complained. He was discouraged. He was frustrated. But he was still praying. He was still talking to God. He never turned away from God. He prayed, and secondly, he did press on. In this exodus story we find the phrase repeatedly, “Moses did just as the Lord commanded him” (cf. 7:6). Moses said, “God, I am a poor speaker,” but he went to Pharaoh anyway. Because of all challenging situations, he was depressed and discouraged, but he never gave up. He stood before Pharaoh again and again and again. He pressed on. “P & P” (Pray and Press on) – that’s Moses spiritual practice when he was hard pressed.
Shut In… BUT
While I was meditating on today’s
passage this past week, the story of Rees Howells came to my mind. I love this
story. Rees Howells was born in October 10, 1879. He was affected by the
1904-1905 Welsh Revival. He and his wife later became missionaries in Africa.
In the meantime there were many trials of faith and deliverances. The following
story is one of them. The time came for Rees and Elizabeth to go to London for
their missionary training. But the thing is that they didn’t have enough money to
go to London! They had to walk to the train station without the money. At that
time Rees was with quite a few Christian friends who wanted to see him off at
the station. The Spirit then spoke to him and said, “If you had money, what
would you do?’ Rees answered, “Take my place in the queue at the booking
office” The Spirit said, “Then, you had better take your place in the queue.”
So he did. There were about a dozen people before him. There they were passing
by the booking office one by one. The devil kept telling him, “Aha, look at
you! You have preached much about Moses with the Red Sea in front and the
Egyptians behind, but now you are the one who is shut in!” Rees answered, “Yes,
shut in, but like Moses, I’ll be gloriously led out!” He prayed and pressed on.
When there were only two before him, all of a sudden one of his friends stepped
out of the crowd and said, “Mr. Howells. I’m sorry I can’t wait any longer, but
I must open my shop.” Then he put 30 shillings in Rees’ hand. After he had the
tickets, the people who came with him began to give their gifts all together.[3]
What a glorious reward for those who trust in God! People say, “To see is to believe.” But for Christians, “To believe is to see.” St. Augustine rightly said, “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”
Red Sea Moment
Today like the Israelites we may
feel like we are standing on the edge of the Red Sea – discouraged, weary, and afraid. But let us be still, stand firm, and expectantly wait for God’s deliverance.
He will surely come and save us.
When we face a Red Sea moment, like Moses, let us pray and press on. Let us thank God ahead of time. Let me close with a poem written by an anonymous Korean author. This is its rough translation:
When
you are pressed on every side by troubles,
In
front is the Red Sea,
Behind
are the Egyptians,
On
the one side is a range of craggy rocks,
On
the other side are Egyptian fortresses.
Then,
begin to praise God and thank him ahead of time,
because
it is time that God will work for you!
[1] Tyler J. Vanderweele and
Brendan Case, “Empty Pews Are an American Public Health Crisis” (Oct 19, 2021),
Christianity Today, https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/november/church-empty-pews-are-american-public-health-crisis.html
[2] Kyle Rohane, “Our Pulpits
Are Full of Empty Preachers,” (April 19, 2022), Christianity Today https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/may-june/great-resignation-pulpits-full-of-empty-preachers.html?utm_medium=widgetsocial
[3] Norman Grubb, Rees
Howells, Intercessor (Lutterworth Press, 1952), Kindle
location 2308-2331 of 4143.
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