…But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.  For no one can lay any foundation other that the one we already have – Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials –gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.  But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done.  The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. (1 Cor. 3:10b-13)

Recently, I retired from forty plus years in the engineering profession.  Over the course of my career, I learned the importance of structure, support, and foundations.  Without them nothing stands or holds together.  Though my discipline was mechanical, one project I remember at the firm where I worked involved a new football stadium that began sinking.  The university was quite proud of their new stadium – except it was sinking in the end zone.  The investigation by our structural team determined that the footings for the end zone never reached bedrock.  The structure was sinking.  Once millions of dollars were spent to restore the structure it stands today strong as ever.

If the journey of my life was marked by the churches that I have attended there would be nine of them, excluding the base chapels I attended while serving in the military.  Each one contributed to my spiritual foundation. 

The first one was a Presbyterian Church.  It was where I learned to sit still and be quiet… to fold my hands and bow my head during the prayer.  There was no getting up to go to the restroom – things like that were to be taken care of before entering the sanctuary!  Tragically, through the years it has lost its way and no longer holds to the clear teaching of the Holy Scriptures.  But it was the first layer of my personal spiritual foundation in an era very different from today.  The principal from my school and a couple of teachers also went to that church and Sunday values taught there carried over through the week.

My father was an elder and served on the Session.  Changes were in the wind.  The denomination was working on a new curriculum at the time and my father said that when it gets published, we would have to leave the Presbyterian church because it was deviating from its foundation.  Like the church in Pergamum, (Rev. 3:12ff) it compromised the Truth.

For no one can lay any foundation other that the one we already have – Jesus Christ. 

The next church we attended was an independent church.  The pastor had an early morning radio program on the local station and became a best friend of my father.  Interesting note – the pastor’s son and my older brother – now both in their eighties – are good friends to this day.  Foundations….  The biggest change I recall at the time – I was five – was that the building looked less like a church than the Presbyterian church.  Instead of pews that creaked when you sat on them, we now sat in theater seats that flipped up every time we stood up.  Think tabernacle style of the fifties.  The Hammond organ had no pipes and my oldest brother, who was a master of the pipe organ, refused to play it!  (He had a few different blocks in his foundation!)  We started attending Sunday evening services in addition to Sunday mornings.  I learned what prayer meetings were.  Another foundation layer added. 

Fast forward to my high school years, and we attended a much smaller denominational church.

It met in a small white building on the edge of town.  I began attending a youth group for the first time. A thriving ministry today, they have a much larger new building and full staff.

Like the church at Philadelphia, (Rev. 3:7ff), the foundations of obedience and perseverance have held.  We attended this church until I left for the Army.  The foundation of my youth had been laid.

The remaining six churches on my list are a mix of  a community church, a denominational church, and start-ups.  Gone by the wayside, over the years, is the Sunday night service, Sunday School, Wednesday Night prayer meeting, etc.  With manners and reverence taking a back seat, you can now look like a slob at church, drink coffee in the pew, and get up to use the restroom whenever the urge arises.  Each one in some way fits one of the Seven Churches called out in the Book of Revelation.  I encourage you to do a study of them.  (Ref my previous blog on Christian Literacy) Some have changed their names for whatever reason – perhaps a shaky foundation; trying to jumpstart a flagging ministry; or hide?  Trading in their hymnals for “seven-eleven” (seven words sung eleven times) choruses each week, worship services have become more shallow.  A couple have been swallowed up in multi-campus organizations and lost their identity.  One closed completely.

The last church on my list is the one I attend today.

 I have left the various denominations and non-denominations of my childhood.  Pop-culture, seeker-style contemporary churches leave me cold.  To maintain my personal spiritual foundation, I attend a formal liturgical church that holds fast to Holy Scripture.  Organ preludes draw one to worship our Almighty Creator.  Drawing from the rich history of the Christian Church, Creeds are recited regularly; scripture is read each week; members in need are prayed for by name at each service; Communion is observed often.  Foundations are vitally important!  Our eternal reward is based on how well we build and the materials we use.

  …But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.  For no one can lay any foundation other that the one we already have – Jesus Christ. 

The way I see it from my pew…

Bill Erickson