Just a short story today for the blog. I heard this story this week. Back in the 1960’s England, the English people got most of their information from the BBC, the British Broadcasting Company. It offered many different types of programing for the nation. Politics would be a part of the line-up along with current news of interest to the people. On Sundays, the programming was religious. Each week, there would be a live church service from various churches. The head of the BBC during the 60’s was a man named Hugh Greene. He was a tall man that ran a tight ship leading the BBC to some of its more glorious days. If you are my age, you will remember the 1960’s was a time of upheaval and rebellion. England was all in, just as the youth of America were, with this social unrest. The BBC had hired some younger producers who weren’t even close to being religious. They had recently come out of the colleges and universities doubting any and all things concerning authority and traditional morals. This group of newly hired young people began to push to stop the religious content at the BBC. Their argument would be “no one buys into that religious stuff. We are enlightened. Only the old and ignorant people still believe those things anymore.” The truth was, they were correct in one sense. They had learned and absorbed those philosophies from their professors and these were popular beliefs. One day at a programming meeting, a particular young man began pushing this narrative once again. “We need to drop this religious content, this church programming, and use the time slots for more important things.” That was the gist of his idea. Hugh Greene stood to his feet at the end of the table. He looked straight at the young man and said something like this. “Young man, the church will still be here when the BBC is dead and in its grave.” When I heard this story, I thought about something I have told our church for well over four decades. It is a truth that comes straight out of the Bible. Concerning the church of God, Matthew 16:18 tells us “…the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” The only organization that the Lord Jesus promised perpetuity too is His church. He didn’t promise perpetuity to any para-church organization no matter how wonderful and Christian it is. There may not always be a Corinth Baptist Church, but there will always, somewhere, be a church that preaches the Word of God, wins people to Christ, baptizes believers, edifies one another, takes the Lord’s Table, and worships biblically. Make the church a central part of your Christian walk. I choose to throw my lot in with the same group Jesus did. It will be here when every other entity is in a relic in the dust bin of history.