Topic(s): Denominationalism, Worship

We’re No. 1.

Americans who give their religious affiliation as “Church of Christ” are more likely than any other group to attend weekly worship services, a new Gallup Poll reports.

Sixty-eight percent of members of the church of Christ interviewed by Gallup said they attend worship services at least once a week or almost every week, according to a poll released April 14.

The analysis is based on an aggregate of more than 11,000 Gallup Poll interviews between 2002 and 2005, including 123 identified with the church of Christ.

Denominations on the list included:

• Mormons — 67 percent
• Pentecostal — 65 percent
• Southern Baptist — 60 percent
• Catholic — 45 percent
• Methodist — 44 percent
• Presbyterian — 44 percent
• Lutheran — 43 percent
• Episcopal — 32 percent

For more information, see poll.gallup.com
—Bobby Ross, May 1, 2006

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” —John 4:23

Quotable:

Topic(s) : Wisdom

• Sacred cows make the best hamburger. —Mark Twain
• He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I ever met. —Abraham Lincoln
• If you believe everything you read, you better not read. —Japanese Proverb
• I judge all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity. —John Wesley
• An old man was asked what had robbed him of joy the most in his lifetime. He replied, “Things that never happened.”

Obsolescence

Topic(s): Wisdom

Art Linkletter is national chairman for United Seniors Association, the 1.5 million-plus member organization that is committed to expanding “economic freedom and health freedom for Senior Americans, their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.” He is one of the most respected and beloved media personalities in America. His best-known production, “People are Funny,” ran on NBC-TV and Radio for 19 years and was rated in the Top 10 productions for more than 11 years.

Linkletter’s books, Kids Say the [-est] Things, was one of the top 14 best sellers in American publishing history and was one of 23 books he has written. His most famous recent national best seller is Old Age Is Not for Sissies. Here is one of Linkletter’s quotes about old age: The four stages of life are infancy, childhood, adolescence, and obsolescence.

I believe it is safe to say that the first three stages are chronological. The fourth stage can come at any age, but most likely after puberty. However, society tends to reserve the term obsolescence for older adults. Society is wrong, of course. Obsolescence is an attitude. It exists in the minds of those who allow it to exist. It exists only because it is allowed to exist.

The dictionary defines obsolescence as “passing out of use or usefulness, or becoming obsolete.” Among my close friends are dozens of people who are retired or who are no longer “gainfully employed.” Those two categories are not necessarily the same. But no matter. Not one of these friends is obsolete. They are vibrant, positive, forward-looking, and some of them are even enthusiastic about who they are and where they are going in this life and beyond. They laugh, and they cry—occasionally at the same time. Their smile may catch you off guard; you cannot remain somber-looking when they smile at you.

Most of these friends are not rich. They live modest lives. Some of them live in very nice homes, but they have discovered that home is a place where children are born and raised, where friends and family gather and enjoy one another. The house they live in does not define them. It is a place where memories are made and celebrated. What defines them are their values, their faith, their trust in God, their belief in each other, and their hope for the future.

If you have just heard some story right off the rumor hotline, don’t waste your time sharing it with these friends. They are quick to agree with Solomon, “There is nothing new under the sun.” If you want to complain about the old songs we never sing in church anymore, go somewhere else to complain. These friends have learned how to adjust, and they do it rather well.

They may have some free advice to offer, but you will not like it. Their favorite line is, “Get over it.” These folks:

• are never late to meetings. They would rather be an hour early than a minute late.
• love to tell jokes—often on themselves.
• know how to pray—they do it many times every day.
• prefer to sit than to stand (who in their right mind prefers standing over sitting?)
• have learned how to love deeply. Ask their grandchildren.
• mean what they say, and say what they mean. They can be blunt. Good for them!
• have learned how to forgive. They know that not forgiving is a painful existence.
• remember what it feels like to win and how to lose. They prefer to win.

Are they obsolete? Nope. They have the most fantastic future available to anyone.
—Tom Barnard