The Big Picture

Maybe it is just me. Maybe it is the way that I look at things. I have noticed a lot lately that people tend to become increasingly myopic the more they are involved in things that they find important. Don't misunderstand. I agree with them that what they are doing is often very important, in many cases perfect reflections of what those persons are called and empowered to do. I applaud their efforts. But I certainly wish that we could see with wider vision.

There may be justification for narrowed vision. After all, the big picture of the church today is not particularly rosy or promising. The Protestant Church in America has lost more than half of its active membership within the past fifty years. The developing culture seems less and less interested in religious issues and, more pointedly, religious institutions. Fewer people are worshiping, and even fewer are participating in ministry and mission activities. Many of our congregations are comparative ghost towns, relics of past generations. Many have closed their doors and ceased to exist, except in the precious memories of those who were a part.

Not all the news is bad, however. If the Progressive Church movement is correct in its basic assumptions, the death of the church-that-was is grand opportunity for the church-that-will-be, a movement that is more faithful to the calling of Christ Jesus. Where the self-serving church of the past ceases to exist, room is made for the servant and social justice church of the future.

In the church-that-will-be, congregational energy and focus rests upon equipping persons for the service and ministry to which each is called. Ministry is gift and talent based. Mission is hands-on, moving from impersonal benevolence to personal involvement. Church ritual and sacrament move from memorial and sacrificial models to vibrant acts of acceptance and enthusiasm. The church becomes more energetic, more colorful, more alive.

Through my years at Shiloh Church, we have intentionally led the congregation away from the church-that-was, toward the church-that-will-be. We have tried to bring everything that the congregation does into that theological and practical model. It is not like it once was. It is not yet what it will become. Shiloh is a developing congregation, a rebuilding, a reformation, a renewal. The church is a work in progress, and it is moving. 

If we could just allow ourselves to raise our heads from the work in which we are intimately involved long enough to see the bigger picture, perhaps we might better join together in the daunting task of moving the congregation toward a hopeful, vibrant future. Better, perhaps we might see that what we are doing plays a vital part in that larger scenario of new church development and reformation.

I should mention that this coming Sunday is Reformation Sunday, an occasion to honor and celebrate the spirit of renewal and re-formation in the Church of Jesus Christ. It's a big picture Sunday. Come and join us.