It’s Worse Than We Think, But That’s OK
When people I’ve known most of my professional career see me these days, they all ask the same two questions.
The first question is, “Do you miss it?” The answer to that question is “no, I don’t miss it.” Sometimes, I miss preaching on Sunday and yes, I miss some of the people. What I don’t miss is the daily grind of leading a local church. I’m convinced I stepped aside at the right time for me and for the church. I’m not bitter or angry, however I am fully aware I don’t have the patience needed to be a good pastor. I used to be very comfortable thinking in terms of a five-year plan to accomplish something. Now, at 68, ninety days is a long-term plan. So, no, I don’t miss it.
The second question is always, “What have you learned?” My answer: “It’s worse than we thought.”
What is worse than we thought?
There are very few healthy churches. There aren’t many churches who understand who they are, why they are where they are, and the mission God has assigned them. This confusion is causing members who are disengaged and, in general, bored. While they may attend worship services on the weekend, there’s nothing else in their lives that would mark them as a follower of Jesus Christ. When I was growing up, my tribe, the Southern Baptist, didn’t drink alcohol. This was so well known, we were the butt of a lot of jokes. Everyone knew Southern Baptists didn’t drink. Now, a lot of people abstain. Most of the people in my gym don’t drink because they recognize how bad alcohol is for a healthy body. Being sober no longer marks a person as a Christian.
Second, there are very few growing churches. For every church that is growing, other churches are dying. People have started church hopping. There are all kinds of reasons for this: people don’t like the new preacher, a church has a better children/student/college ministry for their family. Who knows where the family will end up after this stage of their lives. If they find another church that meets their needs for this moment, they’ll go to church there. At the end of the day, there are no more people attending church than there was at the beginning of this episode of ecclesiastical musical churches. The number of sheep at one church may be greater, but the number of sheep in total remains the same.
Some are saying, “But I have a friend who came to know Christ.” We all do, but the reason we remember these stories is they are so rare. The vast majority of Christians have never shared their faith and never been part of anyone else coming to faith.
I’m a realist. I love the local church, and I believe the local church is God’s plan for world evangelism. That makes me confident about the future of God’s people. First, Jesus said the hell itself wouldn’t prevail against His church. The church has always survived. The church will survive now.
How will the church survive? By doing in North America what we’ve been doing around the world. Want to know where one of the fastest growing Christian churches is? Iran. That’s right. Iran. Want to know how they do it? They get into cars and drive around the city. While they're driving, they’re listening to worship music and teachings on Jesus. In villages throughout Africa, one little church trains one of their leaders to go start another church in the next nearest village. No building. No seminary.
Just a Bible and a burden.
What would happen if one friend invited another friend over to talk about Jesus? What if every living room and back porch became a sanctuary? What if every neighborhood luncheon became a prayer meeting? We’ve been doing church this way for a couple of thousands of years. We’ve always done it this way on the mission field. Show up, find a person of peace, look for a local need, share the gospel as the opportunities arise.
This is why I’m confident. People want to know about Jesus. They distrust the institutional church, but they are curious about what Jesus had to say. They are also asking questions of meaning, hope and purpose. These are Jesus questions. This and so many other reasons are why I’m hopeful.
Jesus is working. Wherever two or three are gathered, He’s present. Just because the old wineskins can’t handle it doesn’t mean Jesus isn’t pouring out new wine filled with new life.
Christ makes all things new. What we forget is Christ is constantly making all things new – again and again. What was new yesterday is old today and needs to be made new again and again. Christ is doing that. In the graveyard of the institutional church, God is bringing forth new life.
We shouldn’t be surprised. Tombs are always the places where resurrection happens.
This essay was first posted in Scot McKnight’s newsletter.
