There’s a trend I’ve been noticing recently, and I wonder if anyone else has picked up on this.
We have forgotten those leaders who have come before us.
The first time I visited London, I was struck by all the memorials dedicated to those who had died in various wars. For example, here’s a memorial to those who died in World War 1 … right on the bank of The Thames:
Here’s another memorial to those who died during World War 2 nearby:
This one says, “From mud through blood to the green fields beyond”:
In the back of St. Paul’s Cathedral (you can’t take photos inside), there are books filled with the names of those who have died in various British wars.
Yes, I know that we Americans have our war memorials as well, like the moving Korean War Veterans Memorial …
and the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial … with the name of each fallen soldier engraved …
It’s appropriate that we remember the sacrifices of those who have died to keep our country free … and Great Britain feels the same way.
But what disturbs me … and like I say, maybe it’s just me … is how quickly we forget the Christian leaders who have done so much to spread the message of Jesus Christ.
Many of the churches in England don’t forget. For example, here’s a list of all the priors, provosts, and bishops who have overseen the ministry at Southwark Cathedral:
And sometimes you’ll discover that a few leaders have even been buried inside a church …
Why bring this up? What’s the point?
It seems to me that in many Christian churches, we purposely forget the leaders who started a church … and oversaw the construction of some of its buildings … and introduced innovations in missions or community outreach … and brought people to Jesus Christ.
But shouldn’t we honor them instead?
Hebrews 13:7 puts it this way:
“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”
The context seems to indicate that these leaders were no longer around, that they were either living elsewhere or dead.
But the command remains: “remember your leaders …”
In my second staff position, there were nameplates of previous pastors on the wall in the lobby. The nameplates simply listed a pastor’s name and the dates he served the church … going back to the late 1800s. (One pastor served only one year.)
The nameplates didn’t tell you what kind of ministry a pastor had … or whether he was forced to resign due to moral failure or conflict … or whether he was married and had kids.
But the nameplates told people that:
*This church has been around a long time.
*This church has had many pastors … and survived them all.
*This church will survive the current one … even if you don’t like him.
*This church has a history … and it didn’t start the first day you showed up.
I really didn’t care much about those pastors when I served in that church … but I look at things differently today.
A few months ago, I visited the website of a church where a friend once served as pastor for many years. My friend ran into some conflict there, and I know little about the details.
The church had an entire page devoted to its history … but my friend’s name was nowhere to be found.
It had been obliterated.
Whatever he did or didn’t do … however he left … doesn’t change the fact that he pastored that church for a long time.
I’m not trying to exalt pastors as some kind of super-heroes. Far from it.
But I want us to realize that other Christians have made sacrifices so we can enjoy our churches today.
Nearly a decade ago, a church that I led as pastor was outgrowing its small worship center.
Since we had some available land, I gathered a group of leaders together and suggested we do some building.
The process was complex. We had to agree on what we wanted … and hire an architect … and present drawings to the congregation for input … and hire a contractor … and deal with pesky neighbors … and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars … and deal with slow city government … and choose colors … and furnishings … and deal with the naysayers … and on and on.
I get tired just thinking about it.
In addition, the people who attended the church pledged vast sums of money to construct that worship center. They made commitments for 3 or 4 years, some giving tens of thousands of dollars above their regular giving.
When guests visit that church … or any other church … how cognizant are they of its history?
As that worship center was being built, I saw church construction in a new light.
Every church building I drove past had a story behind it.
A church was growing … and someone had a vision … and persevered through a lengthy process of prayer and construction and fundraising … so a worship center could be built by faith.
I once heard someone say that this generation acts like history started the day they were born.
Too many young people feel entitled … and have little appreciation of those who came before them.
That’s true in the spiritual realm, too.
Just remember: Christian pastors and leaders and parents and friends made sacrifices so you could attend the church of your choice.
They didn’t do it so anyone would remember them … but remember them we must.
St. Paul’s Cathedral in London was built by the famed architect Christopher Wren. He is buried in the cathedral’s Crypt. The inscription above his tomb says in Latin, “Reader, if you seek his monument look around you.”
If an architect is remembered 302 years after he finished construction on a church building, shouldn’t we know something about our spiritual leaders as well?
How can we best do that?
I’d like to hear your ideas.
It is to bad that we don’t remember or learn about the blood, sweat and tears of Christian leaders that went before us to spead the gospel more effectively. I gess that is why I am drawn to stories of missionaries and old preachers and what they had to go through so we can have what we have today. It is funny how we put so much effort in creating memories in our families…maybe it is time to start creating memories in our churches.
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Kim, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Since we don’t have adult classes anymore, where can the average Christian learn about Martin Luther, or John Calvin, or Billy Graham? Where can people learn about the Reformation, or the Great Awakening, or the Great Welsh Revival? It’s up to pastors to do this educating, and from I’m hearing these days, the pastors don’t know anything about those people or movements. Sometimes I despair … but we can change things!
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Having an official church historian could be a big help in this area. This person would have to keep meticulous records (photos, documents, directories, etc.) and be very good at interviewing long time attendees. This person should also be computer literate and be able to put the church’s history on its website in a fun, eye-catching way. Most importantly, the church historian has to be someone with no agenda-their job is to just tell the story the best they can.
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I agree with you, Ce Ce. It’s a good idea, although the person should be appointed because of fairness and not volunteer for the job. I think I circled around the topic with this article rather than hit it head on. I’ll try again soon. Christians need to know that their Christian faith is centuries old and that history didn’t begin the day they were born.
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I agree with you wholeheartedly, Jim, that young people are just not concerned with the history of the Christian church and the brave people Kim wrote about above. This generation goes not have heroes in any realm of their lives. It is a shame that history is forgotten-the history of the Christian faith, the history of our nation, the histories of our individual families…we live in a fast-paced world where things change daily and we forget to credit the people and things that came before. Our computers are outdated as soon as we take them out of the box, our phones, too-and everyone knows who Steve Jobs was, but does anyone remember Alexander Graham Bell?
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Ce Ce, I think the word I’m searching for is gratitude. I’m grateful to AGB and Steve Jobs and so many others for the way they have improved our lives. And I’m grateful to so many spiritual pioneers as well … William Carey, and JS Bach, and Charles Spurgeon … but nobody who was born before 1980 seems to matter to millions of people. Twenty years ago, I heard a well-known pastor teach other pastors not to include figures from Christian history in their messages because, he said, unchurched people don’t know who they are. So we hear about David Letterman and Alec Baldwin instead of John Wesley and Francis Schaeffer. One of the problems is that few churches now offer venues for learning about past figures from church history. Kim took a missions class called “Perspectives” at our church in Phoenix, and she learned a ton about missionaries from the past … and absolutely loved that class. We need more churches to see the need, though, or we’ll start to think we’re the only generation of Christians since the Book of Acts.
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