A CHURCH IN DECLINE

I’m conflicted.  There are so many things wrong with the way today's churches relate themselves to the communities they serve, yet too many of the alternatives being put forth as a solution to the increasing lack of relevance in the church seem as irrelevant as the practices they seek to replace.

Lets be clear about this. The church in America is in decline, fully 20% of Americans self-identify as “Nones” and that trend seems to be accelerating. And the solutions to this stunning decline being advanced by various groups reflect to a remarkable degree the soul searching in the Republican party post 2012 election.The same demographic trends that caused a majority of voters to reject Republican policy in 5 of the last 6 presidential elections has sent the church into a downward spiral during that same time period.

Remaining the same church that is in decline seems as unappealing a solution as some of the ideas put forth by radical/anarchist Christians, and therein lies the conflict. Empowering women, people of color, changing our focus from social causes like gay marriage and abortion to social justice issues such as poverty, global warming and hunger might be a debate better worked out between believers of good will rather than a solution to the decline of the church. Because if a definitive resolution of those disagreements is the key to the survival of the church, we may well be doomed. Too many Christians treat their individual stand on these issues as deal breakers.

So what can we do? First of all, don’t rely on me for the answers, seek solutions and answers on your own, talk with other believers, pray, read what others have to say paying particular attention to those you disagree with because chances are the ultimate solutions will be gray, not black and white. But, since you asked, here’s what I think. Let’s preach less Paul and more Jesus.

It seems that the only times of the year we spend in intensive examination of Jesus is at Easter and Christmas, the rest of the year it’s all Paul. Which is really silly when you think of it, Jesus as infant and then crucified leaves out so much of the story that transfixed and then transformed the world that all by itself it could be classified as spiritual malfeasance. Don’t get me wrong, Paul was a giant of the faith but he was not the faith. Many of his writings were deeply moving and lyrical, but more so than the words of Jesus? Nah.  Can you find a better answer to the curious than our Lord’s respnse to John the Baptist, who asked “Are you the one who was to come?”   ^“So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” Luke 7:22 That’s the message that will restore the church.

We have the most attractive personality in history to share with others and instead we preach Paul, we impose conditions on others that Jesus never did, we have crafted an impossibly complicated theology that is nowhere found in Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, and we wonder why our youth are fleeing the church in droves and the message of Paul falls on deaf ears outside the sanctuary.

So maybe we can start there, get back to Jesus. See if that is a more attractive message than the one we’ve been delivering.