As a nation, we collectively just stopped to give thanks for all of the blessings we have in our lives, and now we collectively will move toward celebrating the most influential teacher of love and forgiveness our world has ever known. 

It is a period of celebration and recognition of faith unrivaled on the Earth. You add all of it up, and you get an undeniable reminder that this nation is still one rooted in its faith. 

Let me be clear here — I am not speaking of religion. What I am referring to here today is a belief in a force unseen yet very much felt, and that through that belief there is hope for better days still yet to come. When you get down to it, that is the very essence of faith. 

We all know that organized religion is increasingly falling out of favor with Americans. In fact, for the first time in our national history, American membership in churches fell below 50% this year. Just 20 years ago, that number was 70%. 

What is even more fascinating is that now less than 60% of religious Americans are part of any organized church — down from 73% in 2000. And, even more eye opening, in 1985 nearly 70% of Americans had confidence in our churches — today, that number is 36%. 

Organized religion has been rocked by scandal and in-fighting on the whole. More and more we are seeing even whole denominations tearing themselves to pieces when one faction views a particular issue in a way that goes against the views of others within them. Too often, all of that paints a less than desirable image for the outside observer. 

With that said, the reasons for the decline of our churches are complex, but with all of that in mind consider this statistic: 90% of Americans today still believe in a higher power, and of those over 70% believe in the Judeo-Christian God found in the Bible. 

And, furthermore, a majority of Americans still believe in the teachings of Jesus as essential rules for living their lives. 

So how can all of that be reconciled? 

I’m not here to dis our churches today — in fact, far from it. For many Americans (and the majority of our community) the church is a cornerstone in their existence, a place to find God and to have spiritual batteries recharged. In my eyes, our churches still fill an essential place regarding who and what America is. 

But it seems clear that Americans are increasingly finding God and having those batteries recharged outside the walls of our churches. Quite honestly I don’t know that I have a problem with that, even knowing we are still called to gather together as a body. I know that in my life God has shown up in many situations and places I never would have expected him to if I hadn’t known better. 

In fact, it would actually stand to reason that a believer finds God’s presence not anchored in any particular place or a person, and is liable to be encountered pretty much anywhere. 

Consider the lyrics of the recent song “That’s Where I Find God”:

Sometimes late at night, I lie there and listen

To the sound of her heart beatin’ and that song the crickets are singin’

And I don’t know what they’re sayin’

But it sounds like a hymn to me

No, I ain’t too good at prayin’

But thanks for everything

Sometimes, whether I’m lookin’ for Him or not

That’s where I find God

From a bar stool to that Evinrude

Sunday mornin’ in a church pew

In a deer stand or a hay field

On the interstate home to Nashville

In a Chevrolet with the windows down

Me and Him just ridin’ around talkin’

Well, I do that a lot

That’s where I find God

I don’t know about you, but I absolutely relate to those words. I’ll never forget a cold morning from my youth hunting with Thomas Hudson, the patriarch of Egg & Butter Road, when he said, “if you can’t see God out here, then you’re choosing to not look.” 

And actually, I find encouragement in the belief that God can be found just about anywhere — if you’re willing to open your eyes and your heart. In essence, our faith should be ongoing, and not apt to be turned on or off depending on where we are or who we are with. 

And regarding Jesus, his teachings still resonate through the majority of us. His maxims of love and forgiveness are inarguably the most important to be found anywhere. As we evolve as a nation, it seems we are collectively moving toward the stance once espoused by Thomas Jefferson. 

“I am a Christian,” he once wrote to the educator and politician Benjamin Rush, “in the only sense in which He (Jesus) wished anyone to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, abiding them in preference to all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence, & believing he never claimed any other.”

My Aunt Jo Duren used to say, “every pot has to sit on its own bottom.” The same holds true for each of us and our own practice of faith. Each of us has to find what works for us in our existence. 

As we embark on this annual celebration of faith, I encourage you to find your place to renew your faith in the hopes of better days yet to come.