BLOG 3/25/17. THE CHURCH: CHANGING TIMES, AND CHANGING PATTERNS

Within the past week there have appeared a couple of interesting journalistic offerings that deserve the attention of those who still have some affinity for the phenomenon of the church—one article somewhat obvious, and the other, perhaps, a bit more interpretation on my part. One is an article in the Atlantic Monthly (April 2017) entitled: “Breaking Faith” and spells out how American churchgoing has declined in traditional religion—and the article deserves our careful reading, not because it is Christian, but because it is good journalism and is enlightening to any who are serious about the health of Christ’s church. The other bit of ongoing news, that has appeared again with the last week, is that the giant department stores, such as Sears and K-Mart, are probably not going to survive much longer (along with Macy’s, etc.).

Put those two together in your imagination. People who are no longer shopping in the large, traditional-in-the-past, brick and mortar stores … are not ceasing toshop, but are simply changing patterns—going, rather, to Amazon, or some such on-line source. The article on the decline of church-going is more difficult to research. It is true that the day of impressive church sanctuaries and colorful preachers, etc. is fading fast, … but look deeper. There is still in all human beings—no  matter how much they may protest—a quest for meaning, for relationships, for spirituality, for some center for their lives, some authority, some guiding line and final goal. And if attendance upon some Sunday morning ‘worship service’ allows them to still be lonely and anonymous, and to have none of those quests addressed … then an honest response is: who needs it?

The fact is: many of those who are “fleeing organized religion” are simply seeking to be better stewards of their time. Atlantic Monthly employs such notions as the one that says this departure is, among others, let by secular, tolerant young people who may be a bit more insistent on some integrity in the use of their time. But it may also be the reality of honest young (or old) Christian folk who have some integrity in their Christian calling. Let me unpack that a bit. If to be a follower of Jesus Christ—a disciple—is to have the life of Christ (or the Spirit of Christ, or the genome of Christ) dwelling in our human lives, … then I want the use of my time to be fruitful in that calling, including the time I take to be with others of like calling. The Spirit of Christ in me resonates with the Spirit of Christ in you and in others, and it is good for us to be together to encourage one another, to be forming each other in the word of Christ, … and to share our pilgrimage and to be equipped to be engaged in this calling by Christ to be the ‘light of the world and the salt of the earth.’

So (stick with me here) … if the ostensible (institutional) church, the ‘ecclesiastical Sears-Roebuck’, is discerned to be disappointing and not fulfilling such needs, … then an honest generation will use its considerable entrepreneurial skills to form colonies that do, in fact, energize, inform in knowledge, equip for the Monday-morning world, and to be good stewards of their time. They may not be “breaking faith” at all, … but creating new forms of the colonies of God’s New Humanity that do what the church being created by Christ is called to do.

And, my dear readers, you can rest assured that this is happening: House churches, coffee cup Bible studies and discussions, informal but very relational and nurturing colonies, even including Eucharist after community meals, not part of any organized religion or denomination of the past, … with with access by internet to the very best Biblical studies imaginable, and communication with others like them through social media. The actuality of this now taking place is an awesome reality. Times and patterns change, but Christ is irresistibly building his church. Stay tuned …