I have just read another book
about the “life span of congregations.” Granted, there are some points worth
noting. But the main thing that sticks in my mind is this: churches have
natural life spans. They are born. They grow up. Then they die. Once a Church
enters into “decline” that means it is dying. The priest’s goal should be to
help that congregation “die well.” Since this message of fatalistic death
became in vogue, there has been a general sense that the death of our
denomination, one declining congregation at a time, is assured. It is in the
natural order of things.
What puzzles me is that
pastoral theologians keep saying such rubbish when anyone who has spent any time
in the Church knows better. There are countless stories of Churches that were
in decline but found a new direction, often under new leadership, and rebounded
to greater vitality than ever before. And we all know good and well that plenty
of churches have been around for centuries. The whole notion of life spans for
churches sounds as if they have a “use by” label and need to be tossed out
after the expiration date. It just isn’t so and we all know that.
So I am grateful to a priest
I met recently who showed me this book he is excited about: My Church Is Not Dying: Episcopalians In The
21st Century by Gregg Garrett. I have just ordered it and hope
to share more about it soon. http://www.amazon.com/My-Church-Not-Dying-Episcopalians/dp/0819229342/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429628066&sr=8-1&keywords=my+church
I am equally excited about
the rediscovery of discipleship as the core mission of the Church, meaning we
are here to guide and support people who want to follow Jesus and experience
new life in him. So I am looking into The
Restoration Project by Christopher Martins as a new/ old model for changing
lives. http://www.amazon.com/My-Church-Not-Dying-Episcopalians/dp/0819229342/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429628066&sr=8-1&keywords=my+church
So could we please stop
humming the death march and live into Marching
In The Light Of God?
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