Have you ever picked up and read a book that radically redefined the way you look at things? It's like putting on a new pair of glasses or changing the light in your room from a 40 to a 75-W bulb.
That happened to me recently as I have been reading through Reggie McNeal's The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003). My bishop had this on his reading list several years ago, and I have to say, for a bishop of a mainline, traditional church, this is pretty radical reading! I commend Bishop Schol for passing it along... (Although, he may regret that he did!)
McNeal's central precept is that the church of North America is in serious trouble and is in danger of collapse in the next several decades unless it can identity six realities about itself, ask itself some tough questions and in so doing, redefine its identity, relationship with Jesus, and mission.
The first reality is the collapse of the current church culture. This culture represents a bygone era of the church's heyday in which the church found itself in the center of society. People came to it, it thrived, and served as a haven-like religious club in which people could find spiritual nurture and community.
However, as the culture of the world has changed over the last forty and fifty years, the church has done a poor job recognizing those changes and reaching out to the people who make up that change of culture. The church has stayed the same, doing what it's always done, maintaining the same churchy image, and expecting that if we can only "do church better" people will come to us. McNeal aptly points out that this is simply wrong, as evident in our shrinking church rolls, especially among people between the ages of 18 and 35.
Prime example: this past week, I was with some friends in a body piercing and tattoo parlor. The whole time I watched and listened to the people who worked there and who were visiting to get piercings and tattoos. I spent time talking to them, getting to know them in the time I had there. They're not the bad, hideous monsters that churchy people might imagine them to be. Alternative, yes. Living in some lifestyles that are potentially dangerous, yes. Spiritual and seeking, absolutely. Visiting our churches on Sunday morning for their answers: a resounding NO!
And yet, these folks are made in the image of God and are people for whom Jesus lovingly, faithfully died! And what are church people doing about it? We're sitting comfortably in our own little worlds, carrying on as we always have, hoping that maybe if we do some catchy things they might come to us. (Although, if we're honest, we'd have no idea what to do with them, if they even came!)
What's the answer? It's not in redeveloping our church culture and mission strategies. The answer, as McNeal points out, is to "...recapture the mission of the church" (12).
McNeal goes on to say, "The correct response, then, to the collapse of the church culture is not to try to become better at doing church. This only feeds the problem and hastens the church's decline through its disconnect from the larger culture. The need is not for a methodological fix. The need is for a missional fix. The appropriate response to the emerging world is a rebooting of the mission, a radical obedience to an ancient command [the Great Commission], a loss of self rather than self-preoccupation, concern about service and sacrifice rather than concern about style" (18).
The only way those guys in that tattoo and body piercing parlor can join me in being a disciple of Jesus Christ is if I can love them enough to go to them, be in their world, develop a relationship of trust with them, and show them (not just tell!) the freedom, love, peace, joy, and truth of being in Christ. They may never step foot in my church, but they can be the Church in a whole new way.
Of course that requires a whole lot of letting go-- letting go of my ego, my agendas, my attitudes, my expectations, and my needs. But isn't that what Jesus calls us to anyway? Doesn't Jesus call us to lay down our lives for others? Didn't Paul say, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20)? Didn't Jesus selflessly die on the cross so that we could live?
If we are going to be the Church, a church who doesn't practice churchianity but true discipleship, it's going to require that we move out beyond ourselves, give our lives over to the Lord, and join him where he is most powerfully at work-- in the world seeking his lost sheep.
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3 comments:
I agree that the church "culture" pushes many people away. I also agree that the church must go to the people and not wait for the people to come to it. But it sounds like you're saying that all church structure is irrelevant to following Christ. And yet, we are admonished in Hebrews 10:25 to not give up the meeting together to encourage each other. Additionally, we learn from each other and become more mature Christians interacting with the rest of the church. So while "new church" doesn't have to look like "old church" I think it's counterproductive to lead people to believe they can be little Christian islands with only Jesus beside them. Jesus is enough, but He also tells us that we need each other.
Great thoughts and clarifications, Howard. What's in question is the current church culture, not the Church as an organized group of believers who meet regularly for worship, nurture, and discipling. You're right; we definitely need that. Like you said, Howard, we can't operate on our own. What I'm advocating for is for the North American church to redefine its purpose and mission so that together, we're following the Great Commandment and Great Commission in a culture that by and large does not know Jesus and desperately needs him, just like we do.
Anytime we assume the next generation or even a different cultural group will respond to things the way we did we generally make a mistake. An example: my grandfather and father were/are pastors. I have some of their sermons and I could preach their sermons because the truth of the Gospel doesn't change, but the manner I preach it and the examples I would use would have to change to be relevant.
The same might be said about music, style of service, date and time and where the service is held. At our church the younger folks attend our worship service held in our gym and led by a praise band. The older members primarily attend the service held in the sanctuary led musically by an organ and baby grand. We are considering a third service and it will not look like either of the other two. It will target a different segment of our community (either a Hispanic service or a young adult service are possibilities).
Church is still relevant, but only if it changes methods with the culture around it. The Scriptures are always absolute, but the way we present them should be relevant to the listeners! Didn’t Jesus use fishing examples around the fishing community and farmer examples around farmers?
Ray McDonald - Pastor of Mt. Oak Fellowship of the United Methodist Church in Mitchellville, MD
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