Adjustments

 My wife and I were talking yesterday about all the changes we've seen in our 70+ years of living on planet earth. Three of the homes in which I was raised no longer exist. The house she grew up in was torn down years ago. In our community we've seen businesses move in and out of buildings over and over again. The majority of the stores on Main street that existed when I was a child no longer exist. Downtown Madison used to have numerous small grocery stores. My Dad delivered milk and ice cream to those stores, and I often went with him during the summer months. There is not a single grocery store in the downtown area now.

Some of these changes occurred because owners died and no one was interested in taking their place. Others could not survive when big box stores moved into the community. Some went broke because of poor management or economic downturns. In most cases, adjustments needed to be made that people were unable or unwilling to make.

The countryside is dotted with former church buildings about which the same thing could be said. Congregations grew older and smaller and remained resistant to change. Too often, seminaries produced pastors taught ministry practices that had long ago grown obsolete. Some churches, in an attempt to appeal to as many people as possible, forsook the clear teachings of Scripture. Once a church or denomination starts down that path it is very difficult to turn back around. Eventually, they find that it leads to a dead end.

I received a letter this week from our regional office stating that nearly 40 churches in our region are currently seeking pastoral leadership. Some have been looking for a long time. For at least some of these churches they may have to make some changes in what they are seeking. Smaller churches seeking a full-time, seminary-trained pastor are unlikely to be successful. Rural churches and those in smaller communities are also likely to struggle to find pastoral leadership. 

Many churches continue to believe that people are soon to return to church now that the Covid pandemic has lessened also need to adjust their thinking. People started leaving churches well before Covid became a problem, and they are not going to come back. Growing numbers of people no longer believe that regular church attendance is necessary. In fact, many report that attending church has actually been harmful to their spiritual growth. As a young church leader once reported, his friends not only do not plan to attend a church, they see no reason why they should. This is the reality facing today's church, and it requires a major adjustment in the church's thinking and approach to ministry.

For many years, the come-and-see method of outreach was effective for many churches. This was during a time when most people saw attending church as beneficial. That time has passed. Besides, the come-and-see method was never biblical. The Great Commission instructs us to go into the world sharing the gospel. If the 21st century church is to engage its generation it must do so from the inside. We cannot wait for people to come to us; we have to go to them. We have to enter into their world. As Neil Cole wrote in Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens, "If you want to win this world to Christ, you are going to have to sit in the smoking section. That is where lost people are found."

Adjustments. Few people enjoy them, but if we are not willing to examine everything we believe about church and its mission and change the way we think about how to go about fulfilling that mission, we will join the empty churches and storefronts that are so prevalent across the country. Even worse, people will face eternity without God because we were not willing to make the adjustments necessary to share the good news about Jesus Christ.