For most of my life, I have paid attention to renewing God’s vision in the church. It is one of my core callings of ministry. This renewal work involves listening and observing trends and opportunities that exist both within our local congregation as well as in the church universal. The prevailing opinion of those who write about this is that we have a problem. A big problem. This goes far beyond–yet includes–our own financial challenge in the current recession. Every denomination in our country is facing declining numbers. And some are even saying the church is virtually extinct in Europe. As one response, the United Methodist Church is starting a new media campaign this month that targets the 18-34 year old age group because we are missing them (10thousanddoors.org). Through this we are being invited to Rethink Church.
I’ve been doing my own Rethink of Church. I am excited about this new media campaign and hope it helps, but I don’t think it goes deep enough to really provide long-term change. I’ve heard a lifetime of theories about why our church has so many problems. Most of them involve pointing out how someone else’s choices and actions lead to our decline. They examine how someone else needs to fix the problem, take their proper responsibilities, meet their obligations, and fulfill expectations. The challenge then becomes an issue of analysis and even control. Not working yet? We need to work harder and manage everything better they say.
Yet, with a plethora of great theories, years of training, and tons of books written and read about it, we are not better as a church. The challenge we face continues to deepen and become more insurmountable. I believe that as long as we are always looking at what someone else has done or needs to do to fix things we will remain in the swamp of guilt and anger, grief and blame.
We the church suffer.
As I Rethink Church I think we will stay stuck until we change the question: we need to each accept that the problem is mine and that each of us is God’s answer to the challenge. Instead of focusing on how to manage others or manage ourselves, our focus becomes ownership. This Rethink of Church leads me to consider how I am participating in both the problem as well as the solution. What am I doing right here, right now with the new life that God gives me? That is the ultimate stewardship question.
There is great freedom in this Rethink of Church. We are invited to let go of the burden of the past (guilt or blame) and turn our attention to God’s present Presence and to consider what we are called to today. This is the power of the Cross and the Resurrection: our past covered by the cross and our future opened up in the Risen Christ.
22:49:11