(Re)building the Church

In response to a "Make the Church Great Again" view

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I have been involved on the Presbytery level with a series of presentations on ‘Small Church Options.’ The basic idea is, there are lots of available options and models, some for worship leadership, some for how we use our buildings, and some in the ways that we do ministry. Some of these options are very old ones (like yoked or parish models), and some are newer ones (hybrid and virtual church). Broadly, the presentation was that we know that we are in a different time in the church, so what do we do about it (I will probably share more of that work here).

At the end of one of these presentations, a colleague of mine questioned the very premise (that we are in a post-Christendom world, and need to figure out what the church needs to look like now). They suggested that the Presbytery do more to encourage people to go to church (e.g. take out an add in the newspaper). We have had several more conversations about this in-person. A few days ago, this person sent an email response of the presentation to Presbytery leadership, who then passed it along to the presentation team. They included an interesting article about the mental and emotional benefits of church attendance. I worked hard on a response, and thought that I would share it with y’all.

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“Thank you X for your thoughts, you and I have had several conversations about this, so perhaps I have had the opportunity to have thought about the response a little more.

It is interesting that I got this email while attending a webinar on 'Nones' the increasing number of the population who are non-religious, and especially 'nothing in particular.' It might be far more comfortable to go back to the 70s or the 90s¹, but (echoing Y) we have to be realistic about the increasingly secularized, globalized, and post-Christendom world that we actually live in (in the words of the Webinar presenter, the 90s was a wholly unique time, that will likely never happen again). From your and my conversations around this, I realize that you are not there (yet), and maybe there are some things that we can do to turn some of these trends around; but I respectfully suggest that we are not going to make any major changes to the broader culture by wishing that things were different than the way they actually are. Any changes that we can make to these trends are going to be through the church actually being the people of God and building more vibrant communities where we are actually exhibiting the kindom of God, where we are actually serving our neighbors, where we are actually doing justice loving kindness and walking humbly, where we are actually putting into practice the words of Jesus Christ.

There is a difference between saying church is "becoming less important in our lives" and saying that church is less important to more people in America. One is about the individual, the other about the whole. I fully agree with you that the church has, does, and will play a vital part in the lives of individuals. Study after study tells us that involvement in a religious community leads to longer and fuller life. I too have been supported and nurtured by the wider church (I have also been hurt). The problem is that more and more of the general population is convinced that the church is not the place to find enrichment and fulfillment. Some of this is due to larger trends of secularization (which we have little to no control over), and some of it is the result of the way that we and our siblings in Christ have been the church. Way too many of our friends and neighbors are dealing with the trauma of being a part of a church in the past, and/or by seeing 'the people of Christ' being far from Christlike. 

Ultimately, it feels like your critique is that we have 'given up' on getting things back to the way they were (is that fair?). For my part, you are absolutely correct. You and I are looking at things from a very different perspective. It seem to me that you are looking back on a long and full ministry where much of the culture was on your side, and where you have been personally supported and fed by this institution; perhaps you are also grieving the fact that it is not that way anymore. I am looking forward at an entirely different religious and national landscape, where the headwinds are immense (partially because of the nuclear fallout of the church during times of power, and what religious people continue to do with power right now).

We are all like Ezekial looking over the valley of dry bones, and asking if they can live again. My answer is "Oh YHWH, you know." our Living God of resurrection can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, but I also believe that God is calling us to co-create rather than wait for a miracle. To continue the metaphor, it will take picking up the solid bones and putting them together according to God's desire, and God adding the sinews, muscle, and skin while we nurture and maintain them. However, I am unwilling to simply wish for an army of bodies which may be impressive (and speak to more financial stability and cultural influence) but which ultimately lacks the animating Breath/Spirit of God. In my estimation, the future of the Church will look very different from its past, which is very good in some ways. We need to rebuild our communities and institutions into ones that reflect Jesus, ones that actually do fill peoples' need for community and mental health (as well as literally feed and clothe them), communities that help more than we harm. Then, and only then, will our friends and neighbors see the church as a place of love and belonging, where their needs can be met, and they will be safe from abuse. If we need to find and live into new models to do that, then so be it; if our institutions need to die in order for God's work to be done, then "The Church is to be a community of faith, entrusting itself to God alone, even at the risk of losing its life" (F-1.0301).

I am glad to have you by my side in this task, it is only together that we can discern God's call for the future, 

I might suggest the Webinar, take a look at the statistics and numbers (it is donation based, including $0):  https://homebrewedchristianity.lpages.co/the-nones-signup/

1. though I am not convinced it would be better. In many ways we are where we are right now as a direct response to popular (Mostly evangelical) Christianity in those periods. There is a direct line from Jesus Freaks, to White Evangelicals (directly hitching their institutional power to the Republican Party), to White Nationalism. And 90s Evangelicalism (with its Purity Culture and spiritual/emotional/physical abuse) has directly led to the Deconstruction/Ex-Evangelical movements. Compared to other developed countries, The United States is WAY more religious. Evangelicals have not declined as quickly, partially because of their willingness to be directly used by the conservative and Republican political movements; Mainline churches (like the PCUSA) has declined more rapidly, partially because we are not willing to do so (which I am not sure is the worst thing).