Give Thanks

It’s time for Thanksgiving.  It’s time for turkey, football, family and friends!  It’s time.   It’s also time to give thanks.  What do you give thanks for?

I’m thankful for my family and friends.  I’m thankful for the blessings in my life and I hope I never take those blessing for granted.  As a believer I’m thankful to God for all good things and for God’s presence in the tough times.

And as a believer I want to say a word of thanks for the church.  I am thankful for the entire church including those of us in the West.

I’ve been hard on the church in the west for the last few blogs.  With Thanksgiving coming up I want to stop and say that despite all that I’ve said I am thankful for all of the church today.   I really am.  Why?

Despite her flaws I am here because of the church.  God did it but he did it through the church.  The church was founded by God, sent out by Christ, and empowered by the Spirit.  We are flawed but we are God’s.  And as I look back I have been shaped and supported by God’s church.  While I may not always agree with what is happening she has been a source of strength and support.  The church has helped me and guided me in so many ways.

I’m thankful for the good things churches have done and are doing.  The number of schools and hospitals that have been started by churches will surprise you.  Missionaries have fed, clothed, and helped so many people.  Thanks be to God for so many– Bonhoeffer, Mother Theresa, Dr. King, Billy Graham, Lottie Moon, St. John of the Cross, John Smyth, Roger Williams, Brother Lawrence, St. Paul, my grand mother and on and on the list goes.  Those people and so many more (most I’ve never met) have shaped who I am today and have changed the world for the better.

While the church struggles with post-modernity and with moving from conventional to intentional we have many challenges ahead but we are empowered by the same Spirit that hit at Pentecost and has moved ever since.  Talking about this in Sunday School one adult in her 30s remarked that it is a good thing as well.  She commented that in her job there were many who were there in a conventional sense and after they left and those who stayed were intentional they were able to build a stronger team.  Perhaps as the dust settles those who want to be here can build a church that is strong and willing and open to do God’s work.  And in the end God has a plan for the church and I’m thankful to be a part of that plan.

And for the local expression of the church I serve in Madison Heights I give a special thanks to you!  I’m thankful for the over two years I’ve been your pastor.  I’m glad to have found a place of grace, love, and mercy.  I’m excited to see what God is doing and I believe this holiday season will be a wonderful in the life of our church.

And so as Thanksgiving comes and Advent hits next Sunday take a deep breath.  Give thanks.  Don’t let the rush of the holidays rob you of the joy of giving thanks.

Praise be to God!
Amen!
Derik

 

Church Conversations: More thoughts on the Church Today

I’ve had an interesting week. On Saturday I went to a local Lutheran church and heard theologian and best selling author Marcus Borg lecture.  Borg is an engaging and interesting speaker who I don’t always agree with but find thought provoking. I then spent Monday through Wednesday at our state gathering of Baptists- the Baptist General Association of Virginia.   So I’ve heard theology, mission reports, resource information, and times of worship.  I’ve had so much thrown at me in the past week that I really haven’t processed it all.  In the midst of the conversations my last blog about the situation of the church kept coming at me.  So here is what I’m thinking.

The situation of the church today

As my previous blog commented I see a crisis in the west.  This is a crisis mainly with churches that are NOT ethnic. This crisis began with mainline churches but is now spreading into evangelical and conservative denominations.   Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists have now joined the decline.  The only four groups showing increase are the Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Assembly of God, and Church of God (Cleveland).

Marcus Borg is by his own admission a liberal theologian and was a part of the controversial Jesus Seminar.  While I realize that some of his conclusions are not what I conclude I found much to ponder and consider.  Borg stressed that the church is moving from conventional to intentional. What Borg was saying was that the church before the 60s was conventional.  It was expected that folks attend church and so churches grew and thrived.  After the early 60s you are no longer looked down upon if you do not attend and so it is no longer a cultural plus to attend church.  Therefore you have to ‘intend’ to be in church.  So we are now intentional.  That means our churches may be smaller but those who come are more intentional about their involvement.

This past week at our BGAV I had many conversations with fellow Baptists. I was amazed that I am continuing to hear about churches in division and church pastors being forced out of their positions. Church conflict and church firings of pastor is in my opinion becoming an epidemic. The BGAV itself was a positive meeting and much good was reported.  I’m excited to see the work being done and yet I do lament over the struggle financially that the BGAV and most churches are experiencing.  But those hallway conversations and observations stuck with me.  So here are some thoughts/food for thought.

*Churches that are primarily “white” are dying, shrinking, and at best ‘holding their own’ in attendance, finances, etc. I’m not racist but we all are aware that most churches are now unofficially divided on racial divides and historically it was intentional.

*Those churches are turning inward and hurting themselves even more. I don’t think they are all shrinking due to those fights but I believe those fights are a result of their death and decline. Desperate people do dumb things. Drowning people sometimes drag those who are trying to save them down.  One church I know of had a meeting to ‘talk about their pastor’ and a man said, “When we get the right pastor the pews will be full.”  The blame game doesn’t help but it is what is happening. Those churches that would normally be unhealthy even in good times are increasing in bad behavior and others that would not be dysfunctional in good times are sliding into unhealthy behavior due to the panic mode.   Churches that are shrinking, not meeting bills, seeing folks flee to mega churches etc, are beginning to blame their pastors, fight with one another, and lose focus.

Something has to be done.

We are going to have to realize that the situation of the church today does not excuse bad behavior. They will know we are Christians by their love.  My own church has had many folks visit who come wounded from churches that are at war.  I’ve talked with these folks and they are good people who do not want to be in the midst of such dysfunction.  I’m glad we can minister to them and help them get connected again with a church.  I’m sad for their former churches but I don’t blame them for leaving.  I would too.  I think many will flee those fussy places and come to healthier churches. And many will leave to never return to a church again.

So what will we see in the future?  My crystal ball!

*I believe more than half of the churches (all denominations) that are in existence this Sunday will not be in existence when I retire (I’m 37).

*I believe that in that time many of those churches will devour themselves and hasten their death.

*Existing churches that practice healthy patterns of congregational life will gain many members from those dying congregations.

*Existing churches will need to be vigilant and work to protect themselves from catching the ‘mean virus.’

*Some churches are beyond help and need to die in grace and prepare to give funds to God’s work elsewhere.

*Existing churches that are not beyond help have choices to make and if made wisely will have a bright future.

*Seekers will be turned off by those fighting churches. We will have to work hard in our healthy churches to present a better image to them.

*New churches will grow and thrive. New church starts allow for innovation and new ways.

*Help will come from the South. Africa, South America and eventually the East will plant interracial churches more and more in this country.  The revival in those places will come here and yet while many of existing churches today will be gone the healthy and thriving ones will welcome them and work with them.  This will result in a great awakening of faith. Maybe in my old age or in my childrens old age we will finally see a flourishing faith in the West.

What will it look like? Not like the church of today. I don’t know for sure but I believe it will be interracial and diverse. It will be missional and glocal.  Those churches will be planting new churches and will work locally and globally.  They will also be places of joy and excitement and will be intentional.  They will exist in a world that will give them no favors and will offer many choices besides being in church and they will choose their faith.  I do not know all that will happen but it will be good because God still has a plan for his people.

So what about our churches today? That’s for a future article but I do believe that many churches will continue as part of that new day.  But sadly many will not.  What will your church do?

Blessings,

Derik

Church Conversations: Are We Missing a Revival?

Did you know that 82,000 people are converting to Christianity every day?  Only 6000 of those are in Europe and North America combined.

Follow the link below at Associated Baptist Press to read more:

http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4558&Itemid=53

Historians point to various great awakenings in our history that have shaped Christian life in the West.  The awakenings of the 1700s and 1800s resulted in much of the growth of denominations and churches in our country.  The two major identifiable ones are the First and Second Great Awakenings and you can read about them in history books but many of our churches were born from those revivals.  Read this link and think about how those movements also helped bring needed social reform as well as leading others to Christ.  They were great moments in Christian history.  There were extremes in the excitement but overall that were moments that helped shape us and make us stronger.

Now a new one is burning hot but not here.  South America and Africa and others are experiencing this movement.  There are excesses of course but the good outweighs any of that.  Churches are growing and lives are being changed.

And here we are missing out.

We sit around and try and figure it out.  Is it because our denominations are fighting every time they have annual gatherings?  Is it because we are victims of our own success?  When you have much it is hard to find what life is all about.  Yet with the downward turn in our economy did we see higher church attendance?  Nope.  We saw people conserving gas, shopping wisely, but not really coming back to church.  Attendance didn’t change much.  Back in 9-11 brought a short spike in attendance that quickly disappeared.

In the US churches are declining.  In the US church bodies are tearing each other apart in highly public annual meetings.  In the US the church future looks dark.

But elsewhere there is excitement!

With what little growth we have experience in the US and Europe I suspect ethnic and immigrant churches make up much of that growth.  Take those out of the mix and I suspect our 6000 daily growth would drop drastically.  I say that because the numbers in mainline and other formal denominations are declining at alarming rates.

I am in the midst of preaching a series of sermons on why folks don’t come to church in our culture.  I am addressing four.  Why folks don’t come:

*When we fuss and fight.

*When we act holier than thou.

*When we don’t practice what we preach.

*When we don’t even want to be here.

This article sounds pretty doom and gloom so let me leave you with some hope. God is great.  God is God and we are not.  If 82,000 are coming to Christ each day then God is still at work.  We may be watching while others are experiencing dramatic movements of the Spirit but that does mean that transformation and revival is possible!  We should celebrate that God is moving!  And as the west once traveled to those same countries where revival is spreading the reverse is at work.  More and more from those lands will come back to the West and our prayer needs to be that our sisters and brothers from the South and elsewhere will come this way to inspire, challenge, and bring us back to faith.  There was a time when the fires burned here and we went out to them.  Now perhaps God is at work to reverse that story! And we should praise God that the church is not dead nor does she slumber.  She has just shifted location!  We must be faithful and work until the day when we catch up.

Blessings,

Derik