by Chaplain Andrews on July 15, 2010
“I want to say I believe that if …men conducted their business in the way the Church business is conducted at the present day, they would be bankrupt in six months; and if the newspapers did so, they’d close up their business inside of the same period.”—D.L. Moody wrote in 1911 in his book “Thou Fool.”
MSNBC writes:
“The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey estimates the United States is 78 percent Christian and about to lose its status as a majority Protestant nation, at 51 percent and slipping.” (2008)
by Chaplain Andrews on July 13, 2010
The YMCA is changing its name to simply “the Y”.
A New York Times article focused much on “all the abbreviations being adopted as formal names by companies and charities alike” (ie. KFC and NPR)—but the last time I checked YMCA was already an acronym—isn’t it? An acronym that stood for Young Mens Christian Association?
But they want to reduce it to a way that’s “warmer, more genuine, more welcoming, when you call yourself what everyone else calls you,” said Kate Coleman, the organization’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer.
Sadly, it is no surprise that the YMCA has drifted from its original intent of “Twenty-two-year-old George Williams, a farmer-turned-department store worker, (who) joined 11 friends to organize the first Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), a refuge of Bible study and prayer for young men seeking escape from the hazards of life on the streets.” And to remove the letters referring to “Men and Christian” from the acronym is probably more descriptive of the work that “the Y” now undergoes.
But here lies the question: How much of what we do as Christians can be simply replaced by the changing of a couple of acronyms here and there?
The lesson? If we are not completely focused on preaching the gospel in everything we are doing, we are in danger of forfeiting our platform to simply good works.
As the great missions hymn tells us;
We’ve a story to tell to the nations,
that shall turn their hearts to the right,
a story of truth and mercy,
a story of peace and light,
a story of peace and light.
For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
and the dawning to noonday bright;
and Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth,
the kingdom of love and light.
When we neglect the story of the gospel, we miss the opportunity to share the message of salvation to the world and we turn from Young Christian Men to just “The Young”.
