Perspectives
by ED CHERRYHOLMES
Recently, I heard a gospel quartet on television. Among the songs they were singing was one called “The Old Country Church.” No doubt it brought memories of growing up in a wooden church in the country or a small town. A certain revere takes over as we remember good times that are in danger of vanishing from the American landscape. Singer Bob Dylan points out a bitter truth about our arrival in the 21st century; small just doesn’t cut it anymore. Fifty years has almost wiped out the “mom and pop” stores in favor of Walmart or CVS Pharmacy.
Not long ago small churches could compete with larger churches. White frame churches still dot the countryside and small towns, but the churches are no longer able to maintain the type of program that was once taken for granted.
The average age of parishioners among country churches is at or near retirement age while large suburban churches thrive with those in their forties or younger. The economy has a lot to do with this. A full time ministry is becoming harder and harder to maintain and we are witnessing an influx of part-time or lay pastors. The old country church may well go out of existence in a few years. Sad as that is, we are fighting a war which becomes harder and harder by the year. The church will survive but its form is rapidly changing.
Going with the small country church is a way of life. We want things to be big. The song ends with a lament which seemingly has no answer. “How I long once more to be with my friends at the old country church!”
