Asleep Sitting Up

DateLine (11/22/06 – Green Pond, SC)

The Thanksgiving Holiday news is filled with the travails of travelers. Seems as if almost 30 million persons in the US are expected to travel at least 50 miles or greater to visit family this holiday season. Almost 3 million are expected to travel by airplane. This fact alone is the primary reason why I am not traveling this week. This is the week of the “infrequent” traveler.

One of the requirements of traveling as I do is the need to catch a few winks whenever the situation presents. 6:00 AM flights become an opportunity to make up sleep lost during the short night. Delayed, missed or canceled late night flights force one to create “beds” in busy public airports. It’s a survival skill for the road warrior although travel sleep is never as good as sleeping in your bed. As a matter of fact, it’s hardly ever horizontal. I am here to declare that I have perfected the art of sleeping sitting up. I’m not sure if it’s an acquired skill or a result of chronic sleep fatigue; I simply drop my head and in an instant I’m counting sheep. I have slept in many an airplane seat. I have slept during morning flights, mid-day flights, and evening flights. I have spent the night in airport waiting areas with strangers. I can tell you from first-hand experience that spending the night in the Philadelphia airport is a scary event.

Church statisticians tell us that almost 70% of churches in the US are plateaued or declining; this at a time when the enemy is aggressively pursuing his agenda in the culture. Near the end of Jesus’ life, as His humanity was struggling with the prospects of His impending death and alienation from the Father, He invited His two closest friends to hang by His side in the Garden of Gethsemane. At His greatest point of need, the persons that He had personally chosen to spend His most intimate time with on earth wilted; they fell asleep.

The parallels between the scene from Gethsemane and the condition of the contemporary church are striking. Jesus had a simple request for the disciples; pray with me. Likewise the request for today’s church is simple; tell others about me. In a time that requires vigilance from the church; “she” snoozes away much like the disciples during Jesus’ last hours. Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Matthew 26:40.

Sleep is necessary and no one or institution is to be begrudged their rest. No doubt the church is as busy as it ever has been. With so many churches in decline the facts would seem to indicate that we have lost our effectiveness. When it comes to the work of the church we should all make sure that we’re not “asleep sitting up!"