Do you ever get together with others and share the blessings in your life? If you’re a church goer, you might have a time during the week set aside for telling how God has blessed and healed you. My colleague, Eric Nelson, writing for the July 10, 2017 edition of Communities Digital News, believes that this practice of faith and the sharing of its results is the key to religion’s survival. If you have fears about the demise of organized religion, this little piece will give you hope. Here’s Eric:
By their own admission, the results of San Francisco radio station KALW’s recent religious survey are “not necessarily statistically valid.” Even so, they reinforce what many of the more scientific studies have been suggesting for some time: Religion is in decline.
“I would say [I’m] spiritual and religious by preference,” wrote one survey participant, “but traumatized by several churches, so church is no longer in my life.”
“I agree with many of the ideas and values of Christianity, but am against extremism of any kind,” wrote another. “I feel like ‘religious’ people are the most judgmental individuals ever.”
Still, well over half of those surveyed, regardless of church participation, indicated that some form of daily spiritual practice is important to them – an indication, perhaps, that religion’s so-called decline is not as precipitous, or as inevitable, as some might assume.
As a Christian, one of my favorite spiritual practices is getting together with friends at church every Wednesday night to listen to an inspiring message, sing a few hymns, pray with and for one another, and express our gratitude to God for blessings large and small.
I’ve been doing this for decades, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized what an extraordinary activity it is….
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