Does the Church Have a Future?
Recently I had lunch with a long-time church member and friend. Right after "You having the salad buffet?" he asked: "What do you think is the future of the Presbyterian Church?" He was talking about our particular branch (the PCUSA) and his question had been fueled by visiting more than one Presbyterian church that was down to a handful of elderly members as well as one historic church that had disappeared altogether. He also mentioned a report he had read about the overall membership decline of the PCUSA.
Now I didn't know all that when he asked. He just dropped the question and looked at me. But my mind kind of went in the same direction. I said, "It's struggling; that's for sure." I also mentioned aging congregations and difficulty reaching younger generations as well as retaining the members we already had.
I thought of the theological fights of the last generation, but I think those are neither or salvation nor our downfall. Or said another way, I think the whole enterprise that is "church" in the U.S. - Presbyterian, Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist, and more - we're all experiencing the reality of post-Christendom. That is, it is no longer an expectation that to be American is to be a church-going Christian. And I don't think that's a bad thing.
It's not new news that we are living in a post-Christendom reality. Europe has already preceded the U.S. by a generation or more, though because of church-state ties there it looks a little different. But why is it not a bad thing? It is not a bad thing because the Kingdom of God has always been other than the kingdoms of this world. It is not a bad thing because the Savior who became least and who sits on the eternal throne has always been other from the rulers in this world.
We have enjoyed the boost of a supporting culture for most of my lifetime (not to mention since the time of Constantine!), but that cultural support has come at a cost. It wraps raw Christianity in a coat of compromise and confusion... it becomes so easy to worship the cultural, what's entertaining, the flag, the President, our privilege, or the power of the country instead of the ONLY one to whom we owe complete worship, service, devotion, and love.
I am reminded of King Saul who heaped armor and his large sword onto the shepherd boy, David, in order to fight the giant Goliath. It was unnecessary, well-intentioned, but misguided. God's direction and power were what was needed.
The pews may be emptier, but we also now have the opportunity and clarity to empty the definition of "Christian" of all the add-ons and syncretism that have accumulated. That won't be automatic either; in fact, our default seems to be to long for the former days. But let's not miss the opportunity for God to shape our future more along the lines of "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done." That's a future I can look forward to!
Further reading: check out my "Hope" post from several years ago.
