Growing Faith Closing Churches

Several of my recent posts have been on topic of churches, the one still a bit of shock to my system. “Where have all the Churches Gone” (July 29) was a ‘waker upper’ to me. It had the largest number of hits thus far encountered by this novice blogger, yielding a nice season of interchange with responders. Mostly affirmation, there were some critiques, some questions, and likely some non-responses from persons who did not agree with my perspective or even choice of topic. As I state periodically my reason for blogging and my choice of topics is “how I sees it.” It is “what the Lord lays on my heart,” 😏 thoughts and ideas not beholden to one particular congregation or denomination even though I clearly speak and live and breathe as an Anabaptist Christian.

I love this great opportunity to be in conversation with the people around me, both Christian and secular and including some very fine new friends in an interfaith community. A growing readership of course awakens an awareness – “so and so will be reading this.” etc. sometimes causing a bit of self consciousness. I hope and pray that I be able to continue as yours truly, no longer as pastor watching his butt, but still grateful for those with sufficient interest (tolerance?) to keep reading. This is why I blog rather than trying to write a book about all this. One variation kind of unique to my journey and actually quite personal for me. Even in my retirement there is one congregation I will always try to be a little careful of. They are my friends (some of them very dear friends) within the trucking industry. I was a long haul trucker all over Canada and the U.S. for the last twenty years of my 'working life' and eventually the r-word was becoming commonplace. I would hear almost matter-of-fact statements of understanding or expectation … that ‘preacher man’ would just go back to his other profession, the one without an end. I received this as kind of a faith statement; preacher is just something, someone - definitely not a job! They are my parishioners until the day we all die! 😂

Now to the topic at hand. Growing faith and closing churches seem like an oxymoron. Growing in faith and closing churches; isn’t that sacrilegious? No, at least not in my opinion! Church and faith are two quite distinct concepts in my observation of life around me. I’ll try to explain. Whenever I speak with some concern or chagrin about depleting church numbers, a common response is “Oh, it’s happening everywhere” as though to placate or even dismiss the thought. Yes indeed, it is happening everywhere, and for those who are losing the church habit due to corona or lifestyle choice or apathy it is evidence of ‘faith loss’ so to say, or backsliding as my teenage friends and I used to hear it described. So believe me, I do not receive comfort when somebody tells me it’s happening everywhere! Faith is a spiritual topic, distinctly on the upside of church doors open or closed, and certainly more than the Sunday morning show. 

Just two days ago I had conversation with a former attendee of our church who used that very line as though to comfort me. Even though we are good friends, I noted a kind of evasiveness and so did not even grant him the feel-good response, “miss you in church.”  (I’m not the pastor any more. It’s not my job! 😌). If he had shown a bit of interest, I would have told him about some recent discoveries of faith, more than something interesting he might have heard in the church. It’s about what’s happening outside and beyond the church services. In my volunteer work these days, I meet up with indigenous persons whose roots were down in the ground long before the surveyors laid out my street. I know new immigrants, including a complete sampling of faith and unfaith practitioners (just like in our churches). Among all these new stimuli I cannot but notice that most of our recent new-age philosophies and evolution of Christian thought, are not of greatest interest to them! These new friends, be they Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Colonial or Indigenous Christians ecumenical or evangelical, or atheist, usually seem more interested to know something about my understanding or faith in Jesus Christ, and that always alongside a hearty interest in personal friendship. 

This is whereof I speak when I say “growing faith.” This faith has potential to grow exponentially even while us church people are consoling each other with church doors closing or working hard to prop up the organizations or pay the salaries. Much of church conversation these days is similar to political chinwag – like we Canadians just endured in this last pretend election. It is but talk ‘about things liberal or things conservative’, but not necessarily about wanting to discover or experience new things. Contemporary ecclesial structures are now failing along with a lame North American liberal/conservative political game. This same old same old is the contributor to churches closing.  Growing faith has nothing to do with hiring consultants or cheerleaders or organizational experts.

This may sound a bit hard-nosed and care less. It is not. As stated in my July 29 post about churches closing I have deep love for the church. Richard Rohr, the Roman Catholic priest who in his books often rails against his church, yet claims it deeply as the Mother of his faith. We all need our mother. Only, as also stated in that blog, the church is not buildings and fresh creative organization strategies; it is people gathered (Matthew 19:20). And if faith is better nurtured in upper rooms (Acts 1:13) or houses (Acts 2:43-47) so be it. If the church will not reclaim its original roots of faithfulness and commitment to the way of Jesus the closures may continue.

Growing faith, closing churches? Certainly not a contradiction, but also not mutually exclusive.  This is not to suggest that real faith will close churches, or closing churches yields fresh faith. But it does suggest that new experiences of faith, new understandings, new encounters with Jesus and new friends can happen all around us, in myriads of new ways and places. On the other hand it can happen in that very same building where I still need to worship with my fellow senior citizens, provided the neighbors and the young people and the kids know there’s faith here. The faith experience is the eternal driver. Institutions are but temporary.

It is a new day, about 500 years since the Protestant Reformation when a whole world discovered the Bible thanks to the printing press. In 2021 we have digital press. Artificial intelligence, digital info on almost any topic, Bible content and religious services of whatever yen. This is standard fare for today’s demographic, available for us and also for those of other folkways, traditions and cultures around us. This digital press now offers the instantaneous and the creative, also the diabolic and demonic. 

In this new day the options and the pitfalls are many. I am no expert in apocalypticism, but endtimes thoughts also come to mind, especially in these latter corona days (conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxers?). In Revelation chapters 2 and 3 seven churches are queried about their state of faithfulness. Different evaluations in their varying circumstances, the focus of this last book in our Bible then goes on to the Lamb of God, the eternal everlasting One, the one who was there, still is, and will be forever. 

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).