Hello Dear Readers,
Bonanza still stands as one of the TV classics. It was on the air from November 1959 until January 1973 for a total of 431 episodes. Not too shabby. Even better, it was the #1 show from 1964 until 1967.
The show didn’t start out as a gang-buster. In fact, it was almost cancelled because of low ratings. When NBC brought out the show it placed it on their Saturday night schedule. As a way to save a sinking boat, they moved it to Sunday night. The ratings rocket ship took off.
That’s when it became a problem for me. More on that in a little bit.
As I researched a bit, I was surprised at some of the storyline. Most will remember the patriarch, Ben Cartwright, otherwise known as Lorne Green. Ben had 3 sons, Adam, Eric or “Hoss” and probably the one the women in the audience liked the best, Little Joe. What I didn’t know was in the story, each son came from a different mother. Ben was widowed three times. Talk about your bad luck.
The Cartwrights lived on a huge ranch, The Ponderosa, located in western Nevada. The timeline was just after the Civil War. The storyline was about family issues and how they struggled in the west. It was a different type of western and some thought it wouldn’t last. It did. And it lasted on Sunday night, which was a problem for me.
Why?
I had to go to church on Sunday night. Oops. I meant to say, “I was ABLE to go to church on Sunday night.”
The previous lesson is from dad.
Me: Dad, do we have to go to church tonight?
Dad: No, we don’t have to. We get to go to church.
Going to church was a lot more enjoyable to dad than to me when I wanted to stay home and watch TV.
What would benefit me more? Church of Bonanza? It looks like my folks made the correct call.
Now, second layer of this lesson.
Like a lot of you, I’ve heard lots of sermons over the years. One lesson I heard from the pulpit, and I have only heard this one time. A preacher asked a pertinent question.
He said, “Over the years, I’ve heard lots of sermons about what does it take to get you to go to church. I have a very simple question. What does it take to make you stop going to church?”
If he had asked me when I was younger, and on a Sunday night I would answer “Bonanza is on.”
One of the mysteries of life is 90%, give or take a little, of the people in the US say they believe in God, in some form or fashion. According to the Pew research, somewhere between 30-40% go at least a couple of times a month.
No matter how you slice it over half don’t go to church at all.
I’ve heard the reasons, and there are quite a few. A lot of them appear valid, at least at first. Some are a bit whimsical – “It was raining. I hate to drive in the rain.”, kind of thing. Others I’ve heard contain very little thought.
Why?
Go back to Genesis. We are made to be in community. We are in a community. The choice is which community do we value and make sure we’re a member?
A couple of years ago, I took a friend to church with me. As we were in the car on the way to lunch, she said, “Your church sure is friendly. We never visit at our church. We go to worship and we leave. That the way we do things at our church.”
How sad.
If you read the Bible, or should I say, when you read the Bible – notice how many stories are about a single person going it alone. There are none.
The spiritual walk is a life-long journey. You need help along the way.
Are there rude people at church? You bet. There are also lots of people who are ready to help.
Does the preacher have an off day, or more. You bet. Go anyway. Most of the churches I’ve been to have had several preachers by the time I end my “season” with that church. It’s not the preacher who keeps the community together. It’s the community that keeps it together.
On one of the Big Red Bus tours in London the guide pointed to a building. “That’s the Church of England. We call it the C & E. Want to know what that stands for?”
Of course, we did.
“Christmas and Easter. It’s the only time you have to go.” We all had a good chuckle. How funny? How sad.
Build your community. If there’s something you don’t like, work to fix it. If it can’t be fixed, and some issues won’t change, learn to endure.
I know God can be found in lots of places. I don’t for a minute contend He is only in the church building. But I do know people who love God and are trying to be better are where you need to be. When they are there, God shows up.
Take some time to examine what makes you miss. See if it’s really as important as you think.
Remember, you don’t have to go, you get to. At least until one day, then you won’t have any more chances to visit the community of people who love God.
Enjoy the ride,
Frank Myer
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
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