As best I can figure, church attendance is up approximately 84937% on our two “holy days”, you know, Christmas and Easter! (Also 4/5 of all stats are made up on the spot…) Even the ancient Hebrews, for all we like to point at their inability to see Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy, their propensity towards idolatry, and their ingenuity at repeating the past’s mistakes, at least had 3 special times when everyone went to church (Exodus 23:17, Deuteronomy 16:16). That means they were 50% more spiritual than us, right?
Sigh…
I just read this from the Barna group’s research: 92% of “churched” adults say worship is “very important.” The vast majority of those surveyed indicated that worship was the most important portion of a church gathering.
Yet, in that same study, guess how many people actively prepare for worship on a regular basis? Four of ten. I’ll admit, that’s higher than I expected, but lower than I’d hope.
If there’s one things the children of Israel did right (for a while), it seems to me that they recognized the significance of worship and planned accordingly.
Side random trivia tidbit: the group surveyed most likely to “prepare” for worship in the Barna group’s poll? Northeasterners. Go figure!