C136 4/27/58
© Project Winsome International, 2000

DANTE ADDS AN EXTRA ROOM
Dr. John Allan Lavender
Revelation 3:15-16

If Dante were to make a return trip through Hell and then revise his "Divine Comedy" to accommodate the variety of sinners we have on hand today, I wonder if he would find it advisable to add an extra room.

You may remember that following his first visit to that Penitentiary of the Damned, Dante devised a number of mansions at different levels to suit the degree of guilt of each evildoer.
For instance, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa was assigned a room down on the lowest level because he did not believe in immorality. Another group found themselves in a kind of never- never land because, while on earth, they stood for nothing. Their sin of neutrality was so destructive, heaven could not receive them and hell would not have them. Little wonder Dante's guide said, "Let us pass on."

Well, there is at least one species of sinner I feel might cause Dante to add an extra room. These people are working more havoc on the Kingdom of God, doing more damage to the cause of Christ, then any other single factor. Not because they are evildoers, but because they are evil non-doers. I refer to absentee Christians.

Morbus Sabbaticus
On our way to church this morning, Dr. Roland Dutton told me the story of a minister who visited one of his members to find out why he was not attending church. The man said, "Pastor, it is like this. I'm betwixt two straits. I live too far away to walk and too close to drive." Well, there are some people whose sense of commitment is about that shallow. They sufferer with a disease which is nearing epidemic proportions. It is called "Morbus Sabbaticus"or Sunday Sickness.

According to the Maryland Churchman, it is diagnosed as follows:
"The symptoms may vary, but they never affect the appetite.
No physician is required.
Symptoms never are apparent for more than three hours.
The disease is highly contagious."

The Churchman goes on to point out that:
"The attack comes on suddenly every Sunday morning. No symptoms are felt on Saturday night; the patient awakens as usual, feeling fine; he eats a hearty breakfast, but about nine o'clock the attack comes on and lasts until noon. In the afternoon marked improvement is noted and the patient is able to take a ride. No recurrence of the disease is noted until the following Sunday morning."

We can smile, and that's a good thing. But when we think about the problem more deeply, we discover it's nothing to smile about. As a matter of fact, absentee Christians are the most deadly enemy the church has ever had. As a result of their indifference and disloyalty, the Kingdom of God has been dealt a mortal blow. Churches by the thousands are dying on the vine. Thousands more are struggling along in a kind of comatose state, devoid of the vitality and life so desperately needed for good to win in its conflict with evil.

The weapons which this enemy has used against the church are not a sword and spear, as in the first century persecutions. But they are every bit as deadly! As the Christian Century suggests,
"The most fitting monument which could be erected over the remains of many a defunct church would be the carved symbols of the instrument of its murder: A lawnmower. A set of golf clubs. A miniature automobile. A television set and a lounging chair. These are the weapons which this species of sinner has used against the Kingdom of God. And the effect could not be more tragic if they had used an inquisition, a den of lions or a prison cell."

The Curse of Absenteeism Upon the Local Church
I spoke at a service club not too long ago the slogan of which is, "Attendance is the price of membership." I asked a few questions and was told a member cannot remain a member of the club if he fails to attend three meetings in a row. The attendance record of each member is published for all to see, and, in their estimation, absentee members are not really members. As a result, they told me there are some members who have maintained 100% attendance for as long as 25 years. I met one man who often drives many, many miles to attend some other club when he cannot attend his own.

Then I thought about the attendance record of our church. On one of our better Sundays a few more than 60 to 70% of our resident members attend. I am ashamed to admit it, but there are some sundays during the summer, when attendance represents less than half of our membership. During our Worship Crusade when, as you know, we made an all-out effort, scores of phone calls and personal contacts were made, hundreds of letters and cards were sent, and yet 187 of our resident members did not attend even once during a period of six weeks.

In addition to these, we have 130 members on our rolls who are classified as nonresident members. Combined with the people I have already mentioned, they form a group of more than 300 -- better than 1/3 of our total membership -- who have not attended this church once in over a year.

Now, it's true, we are setting new attendance records all the time, and I praise God for that! I know of very few Baptist churches across America which can boast of finer achievements than our own. But this is largely due to our extended session for children, and the large number of visitors who find their way to our church Sunday after Sunday.

Just think what would happen if even two thirds of the people who sometime back yonder walked down the aisle of this church and said, "I want to be part of it. I love Christ and I want to serve him here," actually attended regularly. Together with our visitors, we would literally burst at the seams. Folks would have to come early to get a seat. There would be standing room only at every service. The whole town would be talking about the vitality of our love for Christ. And, because a crowd draws a crowd, the impact of our church upon the community would be tremendously increased.

During the war, absenteeism of plant workers was considered to be a serious crime. The guilty people were called saboteurs, because they reduced production, handicapped the war efforts and prolonged the conflict. Honestly now, is absenteeism any less a crime in the realm of the Spirit? Absentee Christians produce the same devastating results. They reduce production, handicap our effort in the war against sin, and prolong the conflict. They place a tremendous burden upon the rest of us who have to pick up the burden that should be theirs. They lower the moral of the entire group. They make it impossible for the church to fulfill the responsibility God Himself has placed upon it. Yes, absentee Christians take a deadly toll upon the local church.

The Curse of Absenteeism Upon Community Outreach
Then, consider the curst of absenteeism upon the ability of the church to make an impact upon the community.
"The basic defect of the church," says Elton Trueblood, "lies not in her divided condition, but in her insipidity."
He is arguing that the church has no vitality. No vigor. No virility. He is saying that because the church is unable to make a dynamic difference in the lives of its members, it is unable to make a dynamic difference in the life of its community. Sadly, I believe Dr. Trueblood is right.

The other day I came across the story of man who, in a kind of dream, saw an aged woman. She was weak and infirmed, confined to a chair. He was told she was the church. Then he saw a strong woman in mature life, superintending the erection of a great tower, in whose construction multitudes of people were employed. He was told that she, too, was the church.

Then he saw a graceful, surpassingly beautiful young woman and lo! she was the church.
When he sought for an explanation he was told by the maker of his dream, that the key to the mystery lay in himself. When his commitment was weak, the church was old and helpless. When his commitment was stronger, the church grew younger in his eyes and he saw what mighty things she could do. And, when his commitment was at its best, he saw her beauty and youth, the guarantee of her splendid future.

Thank God! I have seen our church as that beautiful young woman! I have seen her ministering to little children, teenagers, and adults. I have seen her strong in service and in sacrifice. I have seen her when she has reached out arms of love to bind up the wounds of the sorrowing. Open the eyes of the blind. Set free those who are captives from the prison house of sin.

There are others, however, who have not seen her as I have. They do not know her as I do. To them she is a tottering old woman. Weak and infirmed. Making little difference in the lives of her members and causing hardly a ripple of change in the character of her community. And the question with which I wrestle again and again is:
What difference, what real difference, if any, would there be if the Morgan Park Baptist Church ceased to exist? What if our little island of real estate were turned into a park? Would she be missed? Would the community see a difference? Would there be any to mourn her demise?

Oh, I know there are literally thousands of lives which have been blessed by this church. There are hundreds of homes that have been drawn closer together. Thousands, yea millions of dollars have gone through this church in its 80-year history into missionary service across the seas, and its influence has been felt around the world.

I know there are some of you this morning who would testify to the eternal difference this church has made in your life. And when I think of you, and the thousands of others like you, when I remember that if only one life were touched by MPBC it would be worth all the effort, then I realize we have every reason to be thankful for the way in which God has seen fit to use us.

But when I remember the hundreds of homes we have not been able to reach, when I think of the literally hundreds of lives we have not been able to touch, when I think of the literally thousands, yea millions of dollars which have not gone into Kingdom work because of faulty stewardship, then I am sobered again by the curse of absenteeism and its devastating toll upon the effectiveness of this church in ministering to the life and needs of this community.

"Herein is my Father glorified," said Jesus, "that ye bring forth much fruit." It is not bringing forth fruit that pleases him. It is bringing forth much fruit. The curse of absenteeism is that it undercuts the effectiveness of the church. It stifles its witness. It limits its fruit bearing. It makes it impossible for the church to have the impact upon the world God ordained it to have.

The Curse of Absenteeism Upon the Pastor
Bu that is not the end of it. Look at the curse of absenteeism upon the pastor. I could preach a whole sermon on this one point, but I won't. But friends, I live with this problem day and night. It affects everything I do.

One of the most tragic indictments that can be leveled against absentee Christians across our country is that they cause their pastors to spend over half of their time -- sometimes seventy five percent of it -- in the discouraging, heartbreaking task of trying to get church members to come to church.

Instead of being busy at the job to which we gave our lives, that of winning the lost and edifying the saints, the average pastor is given over to the sad and sorry task of spoon feeding a hoard of spiritual infants who have failed to grow up!

And only God knows how many ministers have lain awake at night, and how many have actually wound up with a nervous breakdown, because of the sheer frustration of trying to drag along "dead-weight Christians" whose spiritual immaturity reduces their pastor's effectiveness and negates much of what he tries to do.

The Effect of Absenteeism Upon the Absentee Himself
But while absenteeism is a terrible curse to the church and pastor, it is nothing compared to the effect of absenteeism upon the absentee himself.

I hold in my hand a little tract entitled "The Empty Pew -- A Tragedy in Four Acts."
It says:
ACT I -- THE EMPTY PEW
Sunday motoring.
Weekend gaiety.
Mental indisposition.
Minister depressed.
Church slipping.

ACT II -- AN EMPTY HEART
No time for God.
No time for prayer.
No interest in the bible.
Cobwebs blur spiritual vision.
Anxiety supplants poise.

ACT 111 -- AN EMPTY LIFE
Influence for God -- nil.
Influence for the church -- nil.
Influence upon people needing spiritual help -- nil.
Bank resources may be accumulating, but no
Spiritual wealth laid up.
Materialistic and self-centered.

ACT IV -- AN EMPTY HEAVEN
No "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
No "Thou hast been faithful over a few things."
No crown of life.
No training for service in the Kingdom.
No "Enter thou into the joy of the Lord."
THE END.
Yes, the curse of absenteeism is greatest upon the absentee himself. In the words of our text, "because thou art neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth."

Several weeks ago my attention was drawn to a person in serious trouble. For obvious reasons I can't be more specific than that. Suffice it to say, I have been in that home on a number of occasions and have spent hours of my time attempting to find a solution to the problem. This past week word came that this person now accuses the church, the pastor, and even God himself of being a failure. "Religion is a hoax. There is nothing to it. The church has let me down."
These are some of the things this person is now saying. And yet, according to our records, this person has not been in this church once in over a year.

One can only wonder who failed whom? I, as pastor may have failed, and if I have I am truly sorry! But the church has not failed. It has been here all the time. God has not failed. He has been on twenty-four hour duty every day of the week. Who has then failed?

My friend, you can't play fast and loose with your faith and then expect it to mean something to you in an hour of crisis. The inevitable law of the harvest is that "We reap as we sow."
If you take more money out of a bank than you put into it, you go broke. The same thing is true of your faith, your home or your church.

The curse of absenteeism is that it undermines the faith of the absentee himself. It makes prayer a farce instead of a force. It throws up an iron curtain between himself and his God. It negates the power of the Holy Spirit so when a crisis comes, the absentee does not have the spiritual resources with which to meet it.

If life were just a personal thing, I suppose we could say it's not necessary for Dante to add an extra room. The absentee has already created a kind of Hell for himself here on earth. But life is not just a personal thing. It is a social thing. We are inexorably bound up with each other.
The Bible says,
"No man liveth unto himself and no man dieth unto himself."
When we fail, others fail. When we falter, others falter. When we take a cheap view of God's things, his whole Kingdom suffers. For that reason, the judgment of God must inevitably come as each of us has our commitment scrutinized by him.

What are the causes of absenteeism? There are many, but let me list a few.

The Absence of a Sense of Sin
One cause is the absence of a vital sense of sin. We live in a generation where even the word "sin" is considered to be in bad taste. We prefer not to think about it. We are ashamed to admit it. We would rather pretend it does not exist.

As a result of the absence of a vital sense of sin, there are many folks who do not have a vital sense of forgiveness or salvation from sin. As Dr. A. W. Tozer points out:
"The average (carnal) Christian becomes one by a series of compromises, where by he surrenders something to gain something else and dickers for his salvation like a Maxwell Street huckster."

Because absentee Christians have little, if any, sense of sin, they have little , if any, sense of conversion. It is not a transforming thing to them. It does not alter their way of thinking, talking and living. It does not color their attitude toward self and others. It does not result in a sense of awe at the amazing grace of God who gave his son to save them.

No Vital Concept of the Church
Because their conversion is a kind of cold-blooded, emotionless, colorless affair, these spiritual Albinos have no vital concept of the church as a great soul-saving center.

To them it is just another organization. One more pot on an already overcrowded stove. They do not see it as a colony of Heaven on earth with the doing of God's will as its first and last purpose. They do not see it as
"A restaurant for those who are hungry. A hospital for those who are sick. A recruiting station for those who would serve."
They do not see it as a worshiping, redeeming, all-inclusive, eternal fellowship made up of striving, struggling, succeeding and failing people who own Jesus Christ as Lord.

To them it is just another "club" which makes irritating demands upon their time and they'd rather not be bothered, "thank you."

No Vital Sense of a Need for Loyalty
Because they have no vital sense of the church as a soul-saving center, absentee Christians have no vital sense of a need for loyalty to it. If it suits their convenience, they come. If it does not demand any real sacrifice, they give. If it does not up set their schedule, they serve. The result is an insipid, half-hearted, weak-kneed, milk-and-water kind of religion which, in the long run, does more harm than good.

It is all on the surface. It gives the impression all is well, when in actuality all is not well. Nothing of eternal consequence has happened to them. They have not really been touched by Christ. They have not been joined to him. They have merely joined a religious club.

This may be an over-simplification, but I think it comes painfully close to the real heart of our problem. Absentee Christians have no vital sense of sin. No vital sense of forgiveness and salvation from sin. No vital concept of the church as a soul-saving center, and, therefore, no vital sense of a need for loyalty to it.

What is the Cure of Absenteeism?
What is the cure of absenteeism? Again, the answer is not simple. But, it would seem to me that it lies in going back to the cause.

It might help to take a long walk down the back alley of our sin to see again that from which the love of God has redeemed us.
It might help to remember it is no small thing to be saved from sin, ransomed from ruin and delivered from death.
It might help to remember what the goodness and grace of God really means in terms of the gift of his Son that we might have eternal life.
It might help to remember that the church is to the world what Christ would be if he were here himself. That it is a colony of Heaven on earth. That it has no other reason for its existence but to spread abroad the gospel story.
It might help to remember how much we owe the church. For sometime, somehow, somewhere along the line, it was the church that introduced us to Jesus who is the Source of our eternal life.
It might help to remember that because the church is a soul-saving center we owe our very life to it, and therefore, we should come to it not for what we can get, but for what we can give.

We ask so much of God. We ask him for eternal life. A place in Heaven. Peace of mind. Forgiveness of sin. Liberation from guilt. A reason and purpose for living. But what do we give in return?
An occasional tip of the hat as we condescend to worship in his church once or twice a year?
A token gift of a dollar or two a week when our tithe is many times that much?
A few hours of service when the preacher pricks our conscience so much we can't say "no."

But what are the minimum standards for Christians? What are the basic, fundamental things God has a right to expect? I'll leave that up to you. But, as you decide, let me remind you that when God gave his Son, he gave his all.

Perhaps the answer lies in a bit of wisdom given by Cathy Young, the nine year old daughter of Robert Young the famous father of "Father Knows Best." It seems Cathy was saying her prayers one night . Robert Young reports,

"She asked blessings for everyone. Her mother and me. Her sister. Her neighbors. Her school teacher. Her dog. Then, she started on her request list which was pretty long. It sounded like an enthusiastic letter to Santa Claus. Suddenly there was a pause, and I heard Cathy say in a small, meek voice, 'And now, dear God, is there anything I can do for you?'"

My friends, that question can change the world. It can change our church! If everyone of our members begins to ask, "And now, dear God, is there anything I can do for you?" our church will generate so much power the gates of Hell shall not prevail against us. You can't answer for others, but you can answer for yourself. How about it? Will you begin to soberly and sincerely ask, "And now, dear God, is there anything I can do for you?"

Prayer: Dear God, we know there is so much we can do for you, and yet we do so little. Forgive us. Take us where we are and lead us to where we ought to be. Take us as we are and make us into what we must become if we are ever going to convince our family, friends and neighbors that Christ has made a difference in our lives, and can make a difference in their lives, too. In the name of him who gave his all for us, amen.