For some time now the church has not been the big influence in culture it was decades ago. Denominations have not kept up with the times and we seem to be like Rip Van Winkle waking up to an entirely changed world view. People in our churches are struggling with wanting to do church the same way they always have. A.K.A. "The good ole days." We hear "if we only did this" or "if we did that activity again people would come." Years ago people rented there pews. Not only did that provide money to support the church, which was expected, the renters were also expected to be in their pew in church. We have brought that mentality forward into our culture in which individuals and families have a which has a small measure of life available to be a part of a church. While we have all these new machines to "make our work easier" they sometimes cause us to take more time by filling the extra time doing more work/stuff. So we don't have the "Pew Renters" we had before. Now we have people who are "Time Sharers." They may be in there one week and not the following. Their children may only be able to attend Sunday School/Christian Ed two out of four Sundays a month because of other activities. The question is not how we get people into the church? They are not the salvation of the church. We know who is....It is Jesus Christ. The question is why would anyone come to our church and why would they stay? It is our job in faith to share Christ with those outside the walls. These Time Sharers are hungry for meaning in their life but may not be able to be a Pew Renter. That doesn't mean they count any less nor does it mean they are any less hungry than those who are there every week. We need to find ways to have the most impact for those every week but also for those who are there every other week as well. We need to move, quoting Rev. Mike Slaughter from Ginghamsburg UMC, from "Broadcasting" to "Narrowcasting." (Thanks Mike for the words) It means sharing those weekly services not only in the church but outside to individuals/families who cannot physically be there. The technology out today gives people, who can't physically be there, the opportunity to watch/listen to a service by streaming video on a website or setting up podcasts/MP3 files for people to download/listen to. These are not problems to be solved but conditions in which we live that require us to do things differently to reach the most people we can. Denominational free fall is not a problem to be solved but a condition we need to live in and through by adding ways to proclaim the message rather than focus on something which is not a problem to solve. We like solving problems but we can't change conditions. We must live, move and have our being in this wilderness time.I read a story in a book by author Laurie Beth Jones called "Jesus: Life Coach." In the first chapter she tells the story of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson sleeping in the woods camping. Holmes wakes up and says, "Watson! Wake up! What do you see?!" Watson wakes up and said, "Sherlock I see the North Star, which has helped guide us to this spot. Beyond that I see the Big Dipper and the tail of Orion. I also can make out the edges of the Milky way and know that there are universes expanding beyond that." Sherlock elbowed him and said, "Watson, you idiot, someone has stolen our tent!" (Thanks Laurie Beth for the story)
So let's shoot for the stars not look down at our feet. Being the church is a journey not a destination. Look at your bible maps of the Exodus. It was not a straight line and sometimes they had to go backwards to go forwards. Whatever happens, let's trust our faith in the one who is the way, the truth and the life. I pray Jesus steals your tent too.
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