The Emerywood Pulpit
“The Ancient-Future Church”
Micah 6: 8; Romans 12: 1-2
Where is the church going and what will it look like in the next 20 years? This is a question I have had asked of me on a regular basis. In the church we are living through a cataclysmic revolution similar to what the Reformation must have felt like — only at warp speed (they had no smart phones, twitter, Facebook or the Cloud.) Today transformation occurs in a matter of days and weeks, not decades or centuries. The late 60’s and early 70’s were known as a period of great change — yet the pace was nothing like the present day. Recently National Public Radio had a report about how churches in decline were having “beer and hymns” worship services in pubs and even church basements. (I must admit that I never saw that one coming!) In other places blue jeans and tee shirts are being exchanged for robes, candles and altars as even “contemporary” churches are discovering the value of liturgical worship.
All this rapid change is frightening to most ministers I know — for we were not educated to live in this world. What is scariest is that often churches cannot cope with this change and so they batten down the hatches, thinking that if they can just keep the proper forms and methods of worship and church, then all will be well. Personally, this makes me grateful to be pastor of Emerywood, a church which has never been afraid of change or newness. Just as you were on the cutting edge in 1957 — and were roundly criticized for being so, so we are striving to move in those directions today. There are those who see our attempt to transform our church and tell me that I am foolish, that it is impossible to modify a “modern” church into a “post-modern” one. However, I have never been accused of backing down from a challenge, so, as I reflected upon our church, where we are, and the future ahead of us, I thought idea-sharing might be in order. What will the church of the future, the church that survives and even thrives through this revolution, look like?
To begin with it will be a church which is never too quick to mirror the contemporary culture, but remains grounded in the past. In another day Dean William Inge put it best: “He who marries the spirit of the age will soon find himself widowed.” Before you think I am mixing my message and confusing myself and you, let me explain.
I do not think that the pure gospel of Jesus Christ needs updating or changing. The content of the good news is the same. What does need updating is the mode, the form in which the gospel is incased. Just as the clothes which we wear become outdated and need changing, so the structures and forms of our churches are continually in need of renewal and remodeling. This is why I have titled this sermon the “Ancient-Future Church” — a term which I first heard from Dr. Robert Webber of Wheaton University. The emphasis of “Ancient-Future” lies in returning as it were, into the first century, understanding the nature of the early church, and then working to recreate that church in 21st century culture. The church of the future is the church which first goes back to the past (as much as possible) to gain its values and beliefs, and then comes forward to the present and on into the future with new forms and structures within which it will carry out its calling and mission. Every generation does not have to reinvent the church, but every generation must re-focus the church in its purpose, calling and values. These are what we lose as we get comfortable doing church the way we’ve always done it. The road to the future leads through our ancient past.
The Ancient-Future church will be one which focuses resources and energies on those areas in which it is particularly gifted and which are most effective and efficient in achieving their goals. In the past churches tried to be all things to all people — rarely saying “no” to anyone. In an age of declining revenues churches are discovering that they must prioritize ministries. No one church can provide everything to everyone…even the mega churches are discovering that this does not work.
This emphasis on effective ministry means that we will now evaluate our personal faith and the life of our church by the nature of our Christian walk, by how well we follow the path Christ Jesus has laid for us and not by how many times we attend a church event or how much money we give. Many of us can remember when Sunday evening worship was the mark of a “true follower of Jesus Christ.” The wide gate/road folks came on Sunday morning; the narrow gate/road folks, i.e., the true believers, came back on Sunday evening. Now, few churches have Sunday evening worship as a warmed-over replica of Sunday morning. Previously we evaluated people by how many times they showed up at church during a given week. Now we know that even our best and most devoted members may be absent for weeks at a time. The Ancient-Future Church will meet at those times and places which are most effective and not on someone’s ancient, farm-based calendar. The Ancient-Future Church will be one which focuses on a faith walk and not an attendance record.
The Ancient-Future Church will be one which focuses on mystery, awe and wonder in worship. Rather than using Powerpoint or printed sermon outlines to communicate, it will use imagery, including art and metaphor, as its primary focus. For instance, we print Orders of Worship because we are mostly accustomed to reading something we can hold in our hands; we like print media. The Ancient-Future Church will reject print media as too costly and ineffective and will instead use multi-media and all manner of art in worship. Worshippers will be able to download images, liturgy and even sermons on their iPads. Paper bulletins will become a relic of the past, much like the Gutenberg Press was in the last century. This will result in a change in focus for worship: experience/encounter of God rather than education will be the norm for worship in the Ancient-Future Church.
The Ancient-Future Church will be one which does not proclaim to have all the answers or to possess all the truth. Taking its clue from the world view changes of a post-modern culture, the church will see truth as subjective and open to discussion and evaluation depending upon one’s criteria and experiences. Theological truth itself will be understood more as metaphorical and less as literal. For instance, in theological circles we have had 3-4 differing interpretations of the atoning death of Christ. I believe that in the future we will see dozens of interpretations — each illuminating an aspect of the Crucifixion which we have not previously seen. This type of openness will spread to every dynamic of Christian thought as an incredible flow of creativity moves dynamically through the Body of Christ. The Incarnation, the Virgin Conception, Creation and even the Resurrection will go through vast changes in meaning and understanding. Who is to say that this is bad? I happen to believe that it will be quite good and that the church which emerges will be stronger than ever, better able to relate to persons in all circles of human existence.
The Ancient-Future Church will formulate a discipleship which is focused more on “being like Jesus,” i.e., being incarnational and less on “being like Moses,” i.e., being legalistic and rules oriented. If we would mirror Jesus rather than Moses, then we must live out of the ethic of love rather than law. Whereas Judaism came down hard on “sins of the flesh” Jesus refused to do so, saving his harshest condemnation for the “sins of the spirit,” i.e., the religious leaders whom he thought to have known better and whom he accused of keeping “sinners” out of the Kingdom. To the “sinners” Jesus offered forgiveness and acceptance, i.e., love and grace.
This pattern was not unnoticed by Paul — and in reading him we can see how he tried to move his understanding of ethical behavior out of the legalistic structure of Judaism and into the freedom of Christ. At times Paul seems to be caught in the throes of moralism/legalism on the one hand and grace on the other. However, on other occasions he reaches what seems to be heights that no one else could touch, as in our Romans 12 text this morning. This passage calls us to the highest and greatest ethical norms — a mountain which could only be scaled through the transforming power of the Spirit: “…you be transformed through the renewing of your minds…” is how Paul stated the matter. Grace, not law, leads us to the heights of ethical lifestyle.
As a result we are already seeing a dramatic shift in how the church views sex and sexuality. Lifestyles are being accepted as normative which in the past would have received great condemnation. The younger people I know are seeing sex and sexuality more from a cultural perspective. They are not singling it out for focus as has the church of the past 200+ years. The age of Puritanism had died for most people and that is a good thing. How our views of morality work themselves out vis a vis sexuality is a matter that is still in process. Even secular culture is beginning to see that sexuality without restraint is not a good thing. The Ancient-Future Church will struggle with this — as did the Ancient Church itself!
The Ancient-Future Church will be one where serving, loving, and being are valued as the essence of true discipleship. This church will emphasize “big issues or macro-matters” over “small or micro-matters.” For instance, having a service of “Beer and Hymns” seems sacrilegious to those of us in the South. We can recall the temperance movements, when the pious saints were those who did not let a drop of the “devil’s brew” pass over their lips. Now, we know that the problem is not alcohol, but the disease of alcoholism — and that we can be a place where people with that disease receive acceptance, help, and healing. Interestingly enough, there are European Baptist conventions which will serve beer but are appalled at American Baptists who smoked cigarettes. Go figure.
As the Ancient-Future Church emphasizes “macro-matters” we will find ourselves working on issues such as world hunger, housing, potable water, sanitation, education and literacy in addition to touching people with the love of Jesus Christ. These are far more important to us than whether someone smokes a cigar or has a beer. The Ancient-Future Church will work to resolve major issues and not just by doing small projects one facet at a time. I can see the time soon coming when housing projects, child care facilities, and senior care all come together under the rubric of a community of faith — clear from governmental intervention, control, or subsidy. Rather than be known by what we are “against” we will be known by what we are for — or we will cease to exist. Macro-matters will dominate our thinking as we move against the forces of evil and oppression.
We will be a church which, in the words of Rachel Held Evans, will need larger banquet tables and rooms — for community will be a major focus. Every time one turns around in the gospels we find Jesus at a party (that is my kind of Savior!) The Ancient-Future Church will be one that throws bigger and bigger parties — and keeps inviting more and more outsiders to those parties.
In these parables of Jesus we find the King tearing up the “A” list and going to the “B” list time and again. In the last 30 years we have re-discovered that more people are loved than coerced into the Kingdom. We have been reminded time and again, that evangelism is about an ongoing relationship much more than about praying a prayer or walking an aisle. I have spent much of my ministry listening to people telling me of scare tactics and worse used to entice them down an aisle and through the baptistry — all in the name of coming to know Christ. The Ancient-Future Church will be one which understands salvation to be a life-long process and coming to Christ far more about relationship than repeating a canned phrase. Further, participation in the Kingdom of God will be far broader than the membership rolls of any church or denomination. The question, “To which church do you belong?” will be replaced by “Tell me about how you follow Jesus?”
We will be a church which will work better at Christian education than at indoctrination. I am often appalled at what passes for Christian education in many of our churches and church schools. Many strive to teach children “what” to think rather than “how” to think. So many churches and “Christian schools” are tied to wooden, literalistic, outdated and even false interpretations of Scripture so that I am not surprised when young adults walk away from the church. How dare we tell children to believe “Biblical facts” which are plainly contradicted by science? Do they really believe the earth is only 6,000 or so years old when science says 13.7 billion or so? Do we really expect our children to listen to us when we tell them that dinosaurs inhabited the earth with humans, despite all the scientific evidence to the contrary? Is my faith so weak that it is tied to a literalistic reading of Genesis which is not even in accordance with the nature of the text or how Judaism understood it? The Ancient-Future Church will espouse a faith which transcends such ignorance and leads us to a deeper and more balanced understanding of God and life.
In the future how we interpret and proclaim Scripture will change as with education more people understand the basics of Scriptural interpretation. We will exchange the pulpit for a live microphone, and instead of a monologue we will have a dialogue about how we interpret Scripture and understand our faith. The pastor will be the one who keeps us pointed toward God and hopefully sets the proper parameters for our interpretations. The old New Testament principle of “Soul Competency” will be reborn in communities of faith around the globe.
The Ancient-Future Church will be a church which, I believe, will call people to a greater sense of personal responsibility for their actions and the results of their actions. We will emphasize community over self — and stress the responsibilities we have as citizens of our world, our country and members of a community of faith. The “connectedness” of life which we see in our communications and media will become front and center in our faith. This connectedness will flow more relationally than it does institutionally — it will be more to each other and less to any particular church, denomination, or religious structure. Those churches which connect with people will be those which grow.
The Ancient-Future Church will be one in which missions/missional will not apply to just that which happens somewhere else, but will apply to all that a particular community of faith is and does. Young people now tend to view church not as something to which they go to sit and soak, but as a dynamic, active group through which they serve. This will only increase. They see that a community of faith only has a couple of primary purposes: community, which includes worship and relationship; and ministry, i.e., providing a place through which one can live out one’s calling. The days of institutional loyalty are over; the church is expected to prove itself time and again as to its worthiness and effectiveness in the world.
So, there you have one person’s vision of what is coming. Do I agree with all of it? Not necessarily — there are parts that I would change. Will it happen for all at the same pace? No — some churches will die before they will make the necessary changes to adapt to this new and vibrant age. It is estimated that this year alone 8-10,000 churches will have closed their doors. Many others are on life-support as 6-10 persons keep the doors open and the institution afloat. However, when they die — and they are dying as they tend to be members of the Builder Generation born before 1946 — the rate of church death will become catastrophic.
The reality is that just as the shopping habits of the public have changed, i.e., people no longer flock to shopping malls to make their purchases, so their worshipping and church habits are changing as well. Dramatic transformation is already here and more is on the horizon. Either we will adapt in the Spirit of Christ and become that Ancient-Future Church, or we will soon become irrelevant to the work of Christ. The choice is ours.
Robert U. Ferguson, Jr., Ph.d.
Emerywood Baptist Church
1300 Country Club Drive
High Point, North Carolina 27262
November 17, 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment