What the church needs

I’ve been reading some articles that have been posted on a variety of topics related to church. Some of them are articles about why people leave the church. Some make the claim that people leave because the church isn’t being congruent. Some argue that people aren’t connecting with the church because it isn’t relevant any longer. Some call into question the faithfulness of people — were they really Christians to begin with? Some claim that the decline of the church is related to secularization. Some argue that the role of the clergy has changed, but the people in the pews haven’t kept up with those changes and so there is a clash between expectations and reality. Some argue that change in generational leadership is the problem.

I’m sure there are plenty more articles out there arguing for something else.

I think all of these articles and arguments share something in common. They are all correct and all wrong. They have a piece of the puzzle. I don’t think there is a nice easy answer or a grand overarching theme. The church is in the midst of a change — that’s the only thing we can really point to. But thankfully, change is something we church people have a theology around, even if there are claims that the church doesn’t like change. (Which I think is bogus — the church doesn’t like to be not in control).

I’d like to argue a variation on these other arguments. I think there is a range of things going on. And it’s a danger to claim one overarching theme because there is no such thing as an overarching “normal” church…