Dead in the Pew

I was sitting in the parking lot at the tire store one Saturday in October, waiting to pick up Meagan after she dropped off her car, when all of a sudden, the words for a new song just popped into my head. It happens that way sometimes. Usually, I repeat or sing the words over and over until everything comes together and I can get home to write it all down. But, this time, I scrambled around to find a pen and paper in the car to write it down quickly before Meagan got into the car and all memory of the lyrics would disappear from my mind forever. So, the first verse came together in a big hurry:

All Things New

                                                                                        

You are the One Who makes all things new,

Waking, we rise to glorify You.

Standing, we sing to worship the King.

We were dead in our sin; You made us anew.

Now we are no longer dead in the pew.

Hallelujah, Hallelu!  Jesus, our hope is in You!

Hallelujah, Hallelu!  Oh Lord, we glorify You!

From the beginning, the words of this song of praise fit together in a meaningful way; I liked the meter and internal rhymes. But that last line of the first verse seemed a little strange and "in your face." "Now we are no longer dead in the pew"--who am I to presume that anyone sitting in church is dead in their faith, "dead in the pew," so to speak? This just doesn't seem like the kind of thing that most people would ever want to sing as they worship together.

I was a little surprised when a similar topic came up this week at worship team practice.  The question was, what should our attitude be toward those people who sit in the pew every Sunday, who seem to be in church for all the wrong reasons?  These are the people who are totally uninvolved in any church activities except Sunday morning worship, and even their Sunday presence seems fraught with ulterior motives, such as business or social connections.  How should we treat those who seem to leave their faith at the door when they leave, resuming their sinful lives during the rest of the week?

What should our attitude be?  Appearances can be deceiving!  We may not know or understand anyone's personal struggles, past trauma, or real motives.  Let's get to know people, let's strive to care for them, genuinely, let's encourage and invite them continually to join us in our homes and lives.  Let's continue to share the love of Jesus with them, over and over if necessary.   God isn't finished with them yet, any more than He is finished with me!   He will continue to draw them to Himself, no matter how long it takes.  How can we want to do any less?

I am sure that just being present for Sunday morning worship provides a vital lifeline for some of the people who are there.  That tenuous connection to God may be all they have at the present time, but it may be just enough.  When we feel like shaking people, yelling at them to "wake up," we really need to remember that God cares about each person much more than we ever can.  He is faithful.  He will do everything that needs to be done.

The rest of the song expresses the thought clearly: we all depend on Jesus' grace.  Even those who appear to be "dead in the pew" are in a good place to hear the good news Jesus brings.  They may reach out for Him from that pew, and cry to Him for mercy and strength. 

You died for our sins, arose from the grave;

Your purpose on Earth: all people to save.

The whole human race depends on Your grace.

We can’t help but reach out for You, oh Lord,

We can’t help but cry out to You.

            Hallelujah, Hallelu!  Jesus, our hope is in You!

Hallelujah, Hallelu!  Oh Lord, we glorify You!

Oh God, You are worthy of praise.

Listen, Your anthem we raise!

We can’t help but sing to our God, our King,

We sing to the One Who makes us all new,

Oh Lord, we’re indebted to You.

Hallelujah, Hallelu!  Jesus, our hope is in You!

            Hallelujah, Hallelu!  Oh Lord, we glorify You!