My daughter left a book at our house over the past few weeks and I have picking it up, reading a few chapters, putting it down, picking it up again. I'm almost through with the book now and she would like it back. She had asked if I had read and she seemed surprised when I said no. I will say that the book articulates in general what I feel about the religious world in America today.
There are a lot good points made in the book, but one quote in particular sums up what I think strikes at the problem:
Here is the quote,
" We must realize that slight tweaks, new music, creative lighting, wearing hula shirts, shorts, and flip-flops won't make doing church more attractive. Church must not be the goal of the gospel anymore. Church should not be the focus of our efforts or the banner we hold up to explain what we are about. Church should be what ends up happening as a natural response to people wanting to follow us, be with us, and be like us as we are following the way of Christ." The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay.
Church as we know it is losing ground. And it is not just the young adults who are walking away. My bride and I meet contemporaries all the time who have decided to take a time out from activity of church. The senior middle-aged are not tired of church, we desire spiritual community more than ever before. I would guess my group is more involved in random bible studies, prayer groups, spiritual disciplines than almost anyone, but we are finding the outlets in non-traditional settings. Why?
Because the "organizational church" has squelched the "organic church" almost to extinction. Reflecting on the pain we and others have suffered over the past decade, it is always the organization that has inflicted the pain. The organization fires the ministers, revamps the programs, silences the dissenting voices, and looks to sustain itself at the expense of community members. The organization is a terrible monster to feed, but it has outgrown the intent of the faith community. As such, it is being rejected by young and not-so-young.
We are probably pretty good examples. We "attend" church regularly, but we garner our spiritual nourishment from a variety of places. We have lost the zeal to "do church" as we used to. Instead, we meet with our smaller group as often as we can. We share life with them, travel, heartache, kid concerns, job upheaval, struggles and joys. We watch around us for those who need help and manifest our ministry through random acts of kindness. We develop friends, then as we get to know them we all share with each other our spiritual journey, without condemnation, without religious superiority, without "church" We don't find ourselves asking for prayers from the organized church, we feel they are no closer to God than we are. We do find ourselves being ministered to by the those who care for us and vice versa. Spiritual walk for us is more around us, than trying to bring people to a certain place or understanding. It is more next door, than next Sunday.
I suspect this attitude is driving the church leaders nuts. It can't be helped. What should really worry them is the defection of the Boomer crowd, not the "roaring Twenties" This deceleration is going to be faster than they suspect. I feel sorry for the organizations that hold big mortgages, the money isn't going to be there. God rewards ministry, not mortgages.
Anyway, Godspeed out there. If you want a warm and open spiritual conversation, help with a problem, or a prayer, you are welcome, we have no intent to take away your history or your money.
Don
No comments:
Post a Comment