A challenge for us

Those of us in the Christian church are facing enormous challenges these days. One of those challenges is in how we see ourselves. If churches are to live in this secular world, the way we look at ourselves in that world really matters.

I grew up in the churched culture of the 1950's and 60's in the United
States. The church had a respected and accepted place in society, and being a member of a church was an unspoken cultural expectation for many people. Those days were swept away in the social upheavals of the late 1960's and the technological developments of the 1970's and beyond. Today, churches in the United States are in decline in numbers and influence. We struggle to understand why.

One reason stands out. We are too self centered. The message of Jesus Christ is focused outward on the world and its people. Far too many churches are focused on themselves and their own well being. In the 21st century, that kind of self absorption is a recipe for extinction.

In Luke 15 Jesus tells a succession of stories that illustrate the nature of God's heart. One of those is the story of the lost sheep. As the story goes, a shepherd who has one hundred sheep finds that one of them has strayed away. Rather than accepting that one percent of his flock is lost, he leaves behind the others and finds the wandering one. When he returns, he calls on his neighbors to help him celebrate. What was lost had been found. At the conclusion of this little story, Jesus announces that there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety nine who are in the fold. We ordinarily take this as a comforting reassurance of God's care, but it actually leads to a conclusion that would disturb many church members: God is more concerned about those who are outside than those of us already in!

That is not to say that God's providential care for people who already believe is less. It is to say that God is not as concerned for the well being of our institution as he is for the pursuit of those who do not yet to know Him. With that in mind, it is reasonable to say that a church should spend most of its time and energy in proclamation, outreach, and mission, and very little energy on its own internal concerns.

I don't know of many churches that operate like that. Most churches are stuck in the attitude that members needs come before those of strangers. Building maintenance comes before evangelism. Mission giving is the first thing to get cut in a budget shortfall. Policies and procedures manuals get more energy than Bible study. There are many who know this and work hard against it, but behaviors are hard to change. Institutional concern is the virus that is killing churches now, not demographics or economics.

Do you see this? What do you think we should do?