Expressions Newsletter

FROM THE PASTOR

Going to a professional conference is always a bit of a “mixed bag” of experience.  Sometimes they energize, sometimes they inform, and sometimes they rehash things you already knew and had heard before.   My recent time in Orlando was no exception….but it was different because this was a conference put on by Church Planters, and so instead of hanging out with a bunch of Lutherans, I spent my time with the Evangelicals (Baptists, Pentecostals, Presbyterian PCA, etc.)

           Do you know what I found out?   They are just as concerned about things and as declining as we are.   In 2007, for the first time in the denomination’s history, the Southern Baptist Convention had more funerals than baptisms.    Alan Hirsch, an Australian missiologist put it extremely succinctly.    “Christianity as a worldwide movement is growing, but it is not growing in the West.  Western Christianity will rise or fall by what happens in the next 20 years.   If current trends continue; by 2025 the total population of the US and Canada that will claim a church affiliation will be ½ of what it is today across all denominational lines.”

           Where is the church growing?  What is working in the rest of the world?   There are two trends that are absolutely crystal clear.

           The end of the “attractional” church.   While there are instances of mega churches offering everything under the sun, or appealing to special niches, there are problems inherent with church built upon this model.

First of all, what you are really doing is competing for a narrow population sector.   In Australia, Hirsch noted, “Hillsong” is often cited as the great success model for church, attracting thousands of people to their worship experiences which use high energy music and seeker sensitive preaching.

But “Hillsong” stylistically appeals to only 15-18% of the Australian population, mostly upwardly mobile and higher economic income status white collar workers.

If every church in Australia tried to do what Hillsong does, no matter how good they are at it, they would still only be dipping out of that 15-18% of the population.   It’s not faithful to the Gospel, which proclaims it is good news to all people

When church becomes an “event” to which people are attracted, it feeds a consumer model of church and society.   So, when the “product” isn’t as good as it used to be, whatever that is, (music, preaching, small groups, etc.)  the population goes looking for a better product, and the tyranny felt by the church/institution is to keep coming up with bigger and better ways to attract folks.   Attracting folks was not the first model put into place in the New Testatment.  In fact, Jesus would shy away from crowds when they gathered, preferring to do something else… namely work with his disciples!

The reclaiming of the task of making disciples as the main thing for Christianity.   The other trend that is clear is that where the Christian Church is growing, there is very little emphasis on the church as a place, but rather the emphasis is on following Jesus and the primary task of the disciple is to help someone else follow Jesus as well.

When Mao Tse Tung, took control of China, Christianity was officially outlawed. There were 2 million Christians living in China at the time.   All churches were shut down, property confiscated, and assemblies outlawed.    For 60 years, there were no pastors, no priests, no professional church workers of any kind.  Many assumed the church would cease to exist.

When the communist control of the country was lifted after those 60 years and it was no longer illegal to believe, we discovered that the church in China had grown from 2 million to 120 million!

How?  With no supporting structures, it suddenly became imperative that each and every person who knew about Jesus share that with someone else and find ways to support their own faith by discipling someone else.   They were creating their own place to share the story of faith so that it would not be lost.

In the west we have long held to a model that church is something that the professionals do.  Too long, have we held on to that belief, and I am a chief sinner in doing so.    In this Baptist/Pentecostal/Presbyterian gathering over and over I heard, “We have got to recapture the priesthood of all believers, and unleash each and every person as someone who can disciple someone else.”

Hey!  That’s Lutheran!  We came up with that “priesthood of all believers” thing!

So, as we look forward the call process, and begin to think critically about what kind of leader we want here at Faith Lutheran, I want to encourage you to do something completely different.

I want you to think about this.

                      What if no one comes?  Does the sharing of Jesus end if we don’t have a Pastor in the building?  Or dare we dream of something else?  Dare we dream of equipping ourselves to take on the whole thing.  If this place is to grow, it will be because I chose to take my relationship with Jesus seriously enough to want to grow in it.

If this place is to grow, it will be because I chose to start looking for folks who I could disciple, who I could start a relationship with in which we shared scripture, talked of faith, and eventually wanted to gather for worship together, and Faith is a good place for that.

What will be our model here, in the future?  Will we continue to try to attract a narrow sector of the population?   Or will we dare to open our eyes to every person we meet with an idea to start a relationship with them that can lead us to sharing our faith and hope in Jesus Christ with them?

Radical stuff, I know, but then, that’s what conferences do, they stir you up a bit!

 

In Christ’s Love,

 

Pastor Merle