Come Back to Church

January 18, 2026
 
Reflections from the Heart of Allan Redenius
The reed grows tall and strong in the mire.  But drain the swamp and soon the reed withers and dies.  The freshly painted house, when neglected, soon fades and the paint begins to peel.  After that, the wood rots and the house eventually falls down.  The shiny new car loses its luster if never washed and polished.  The athlete quickly loses his physique and athleticism if he doesn't stay in shape and practice.  Let me add one more.  He who neglects his faith, maybe never had any faith at all.
 
I really don't care about the reed that grows in the mire, the paint on the house, the shiny new car that loses its luster, nor the athlete who loses his athleticism.  But what I do care about is your faith.  So how is it with your faith?
 
I recently read a disturbing article entitled, The Unchurching of America.  It recited a staggering statistic that each church body loses approximately 15% of its attendees each year.  It went on to say that many people are turning to online mysticism, tarot card reading, artificial intelligence and other hocus pocus inspirations, all on the internet.  Whatever happened to the daily reading of your Bible for inspiration and insight?
 
Whatever faith you have, you need to water it, keep it fresh, polish it, and practice it, just to keep it alive and growing.  You can't assume that faith will come to you.  You must seek after it as a treasured pearl of great value buried in a field.  Don't go looking for it in any place but a church that preaches the unaltered truth of Jesus Christ.  There is no fortune teller, no false teacher, no charlatan from whom you can learn and take a shortcut to gain faith.  You can't grow or nurture your faith if the church you attend just appeals to your emotion through a laser light show, fog on the stage, and music thumping in your chest.  Why do I say that?  “When the flash is gone, you got nothing.”  
 
I may be a lone voice in the wilderness, but as a nation, we need to push back on this alarming statistic that people are abandoning church.  As born-again Christians, we can’t sit by and watch people abandon their faith.  We need to tell them that it is only through Jesus by which they gain faith and grow their faith.  
 
In the name of Jesus… America come back to church, real church!
 
Pastor Allan
 
©2026 Allan Redenius, All Rights Reserved