אִי כָבוֹד‎ - Ichabod, the Glory has Departed

As many of you know, I love photographing abandoned buildings. One of my favorite abandoned buildings to climb inside and photograph is an abandoned church. The hardwood floors buckled, pews warped or stolen, and the odor is of stagnant air mixed with aged wood all due to the human absence for so long. I like to stand where the pulpit was once mounted above the congregation and look to the dusty pews and imagine who sat in them.What were the sermons like? What hymns were sung? As the stillness becomes a present reality, the inevitable question remains: why does this building sit empty?

God blesses the local church which remains faithful. We disciples of Christ are called to be salt to a decaying world and light to the dark world (Matthew 5:13-16). This calls for open, bold, and unwavering preaching of the gospel. However, the gospel has been redefined by so many, intentionally as well as unintentionally. Focus has shifted to programs or simply having fun. Local churches across the West have abandoned the mission of Christ to make disciples everywhere with urgency and teaching them to obey the commands of our Lord Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). Many local churches in the American landscape, both young and old, have abandoned the preaching of the gospel in favor of good advice for living, parenting, working, making friends, and social action in a more "relevant" (common ground) way.. In this effort, local churches have abdicated our King Jesus who commanded us to preach the gospel.
In I Samuel, the Philistines defeated an unfaithful Israel and took the ark of the covenant. When Eli heard this news, he fell backward breaking his neck which was fatal. Eli's daughter-in-law, whose husband died in battle, gave birth to a boy naming him Ichabod, for "the glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken." She mentions this naming twice to emphasize the point, as if naming her son Ichabod was not enough! Now, jump to the meaning for this article. When an unfaithful church abandons the mission of God in this dark world - which is the preaching of the gospel - that church ought not be surprised to find turmoil. Factions will rise, arguments ensues, financial offerings decrease, joy and life are sapped right from the congregation.
When I hear of financial offerings decreasing, or a worry about church attendance or new membership numbers, or churches in dispute over interior decoration or who heads what committee, I hear symptoms. When churches struggle keep their doors open, I hear symptoms. These are only symptoms to a disease. Many churches and pastors resort to treating the symptoms with the latest and greatest programs, or replace doctrine with pizzazz to sermons, or have a fun, exciting youth program minus doctrine, or replace Bible studies with ice cream socials (note to reader - I said replace, not "ice cream socials are sinful." This is an effort to answer e-mails in advance). Yet, biblical Christians know that there is a deeper issue in such churches. That issue is disobedience.
Disobedience leads to confusion in mission. This is a cancer that kills local congregations. Jesus promises that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18). This promise is for the true, global church body. If the local church wishes to be blessed, she must remain faithful to the mission of Christ. Otherwise, the local church will slowly suffocate, and voices will turn into haunting whispers and finally silenced. It is God who blesses the faithful local congregation; it is God who silences unfaithful local churches. When I photograph abandoned church structures, I sit silently and marvel at how God silences the unfaithful. When I see the entrance of an abandoned church building, I say "Ichabod - the glory has departed."