I recently talked with my neighbor about the frustrations he is experiencing at a prominent mainline church where he has been an active member and leader for many years. Many such once-famous and now-mostly-empty mainline churches are spread across the country.
What I noticed is how frequently he recalled great preachers of the past and great ministries done through this congregation in earlier decades. His congregation seems to live on in memory but is now stuck in conflict.
Their leadership frustration can be attributed, I think, to no longer having a clear purpose for ministry in the future. Congregations trying to relive earlier glory years can easily become just a social organization going through the human behaviors that used to work but no longer do. When I hear someone say their church needs to fill up the pews, I know they haven’t a clue about basic Spiritual purposes and energy.
John Shea is a popular storyteller and theologian. He offers a necessary perspective on the role of memory in Christian churches. It needs to be balanced with fresh experiences of the Spirit at work today. He describes Christians as People of Memory and the Spirit: “The essence of Christian faith is a living relationship with God, a relationship which was inaugurated by Jesus of Nazareth and which is presently available through his Spirit as it suffuses and transforms the lives of his followers.” That living relationship produces many outward forms for expressing and sustaining that relationship. These include many rituals, elaborated beliefs and theologies, and espoused values and behaviors.
Shea observes that as generation succeeds generation, these diverse creations stockpile. “They are in constant need of reform in order to be faithful to the living God they want to reflect. The principle is that the Church is always reforming but never fully reformed.”
Do the people of a withering congregation still have a living relationship with God today? Or are they trying to carry forward memories of what used to be? How do you recognize when a “living relationship with God” is present or gone?
The Spirit is never really gone from churches of believers where God’s word is at work. But his impact may be limited when he is expected to work only through old forms and formulations that don’t communicate well to new generations. Almost certainly a living relationship has weakened when believers no longer express excitement about future opportunities to share God’s love and no longer find the energy to do so.
There is no checklist for determining how alive in the Spirit a congregation is. But the Apostle Paul offers a clue. He told the Corinthians that when they gather publicly they should conduct themselves so that a visitor will be convicted, fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” (1 Cor 14:25). Fairly or not, such is the test visitors bring to their assessment of congregations today.
A long-time ministry colleague observed, “I’m not trying to restrict the work of the Spirit to the pastor, but tell me a congregation that is ‘filled with the Spirit’ whose pastor is not.” Spirit-led ministry is not learned from MBA courses on leadership, which I used to teach. Those insights can certainly help. But more basic is tapping into Spiritual energy, which usually has to be absorbed from other Spirit-led leaders, whatever their church body affiliation.
People can and do intuit where a living relationship with God exists. The hunger for such a relationship is just as strong as ever. Accomplishments of the past are no substitute for present evidence of the Spirit.
Here are a few more observations from John Shea: “When we retain the message of the King but lose the feel for his presence, the passion of religious mission turns to dull obligation.” “Without being balanced with fresh experiences, religious tradition usually degenerates into rationalistic theology, a formal morality and a religious cult. Sometimes a religion which is nothing more has ceased to exist.”
I have recently been appointed to two withering churches whose theme song is “O the Glory of Who We Used to Be”.
Most mainline congregation are now withering and fixed on what used to be. Your job as a preacher and pastor is to highlight fresh movement in their midst when it happens. Keep an eye out for new relationships, new movement among the members. Celebrate when a program goes well. Celebrate reconciliation when it happens, but of course, get permission from the person who is involved in that relationship. Don’t dwell on good intentions. Highlight results, even if they may not seem impressive. Point out the Spirit at work in their midst. Talk about the fruit of the Spirit and have them tell about times when they felt a special level of love, joy, peace, trust.
John Shea: “When we retain the message of the King but lose the feel for his presence, the passion of religious mission turns to dull obligation.”
That statement is so very true. Without a growing relationship with the Holy Spirit (Jesus who sent Him to us so He can teach and guide us) we are in danger of losing our joy and peace here on earth.
Once we commit to the Lord we never lose our salvation but we can lose our joy and our peace.
That joy is why our Heavenly Father created us to let the world know we belong to Him and He to us, so we may Glorify Him until He returns.
We can do all things through Christ and being led by the Holy Spirit’s convictions/teaching we truly learn how to Glorify our Father.
We do not become religious robots but are compassionate,alive,exciting,loving children of God who not only grows in our relationship with Him but we inspire others also to grow in Him. The we come to Jesus with a teachable spirit,eager to be be changed.Trust Jesus to refresh you yourself in the peace of His presence through the power of the Holy Spirit which is in all believers. Remember “I am with you always”. These are the last words He spoke before ascending into Heaven. Include Him in all your thoughts and find yourself blessed beyond all expectations.
Jesus my prayer for all believers is that they grow their relationship with You and see the power of God was not just for the biblical days but alive today in Your everlasting presence as You promised. May our Lanterns be filled when you return Lord.
I trust you Jesus to fill the churches that are withering as they truly search for You.
Amen.
What preachers and leaders can do is point out fresh Spirit work when it happens in the fellowship. It is one thing to talk about the King’s presence. Much better is to point out when and where that is happening within the congregation. I used this blog in our own staff meeting and asked whether they personally had experienced a fresh movement of the Spirit over the holidays. Two told reconciliation stories within their family. Next year I hope they will be more attentive to the Spirit at work around them.
Hello Dave,
I agree the title of this blog catches your eye immediately and hits one as a bullet, because it is such a simple but powerful truth. Thank you for the time you take to put such spiritual compassion into all you write. What a gift to all of us who are privileged to read your words. You ask many thought provoking questions for our present day church. Where is the Spirit residing in churches- closed in a closet somewhere or out in the midst of a congregation who flourishes with the Spirit’s presence in a very dynamic way?
So, I am an LC-MS pastor, attended Fuller Theological Seminary, took courses friom C. Peter Wagner, Pat Latore on leadership and some guy named, Dave Luecke who also was my D.Min project advisor. Maybe you know him. Over the last 25 years at my church, I used the principles learned at Fuller, tried hard to listen to the Spirit, and saw some incredible things the Spirit did at our church. Our church grew. We built a new facility in 2007. We have lively contemporary worship and an amazing young worship leader. Every now and then, the sermon isn’t too stinky, either. We have vital and alive ministries including a strong Family Life emphasis appealing to one of the major demographics in our community (our church slogan is, “Seeing Marriages and Families Thrive with Jesus in the Center”), a preschool with 110 children, a fantastic VBS with 150 kids, and a strong youth program. But alas, over the last 5 years, our church has declined in worship attendance. I’ve prayed about it–a lot–worked all of the bags of tricks I gleaned from Fuller and, of course, my incredibly insiteful and wonderful advisor, but the decline has continued. Why is that? The best I can come up with is that there are a number of factors contributing to the decline. First, the overall trend of our country seems to be away from the Christian faith and church. Next, we are in the northeast (New York), one of the least Christian places in the nation. In addiotion, some of our people have moved to warmer or less taxed places (New York taxes are horrendous). Then, there have been people leaving because of our Biblical stances on homosexual behavior or abortion or because they divorced and decided to attend a nearby church that offered a divorce recovery support group. Through considerable prayer, I decided that another factor is that I have gotten older and do not have the energy I once had and that, being 66, the Spirit was leading me to retire and let some fresh blood take over. Currently, I am working 3/4 time and our congregation is in the call process. I am focussing on making sure the transition allows for the next pastor to have the greatest joy in ministry. I guess through all of this I am saying that from my experience, there are many factors that goes into whether a church is vital and alive or declines.
Arnold Deknatel — Yes I remember you. Those were wonderful years at Fuller. Changed my life and brought me back into ministry. Sounds like you had a great ministry and, like me, you are continuing even in retirement. I still go to the office every morning at Royal Redeemer. It has been a very valuable place to try things, watch what works and what doesn’t.
Yes, church growth and decline is a very complicated issue. There are no gimmicks. The main factor in my conclusion is the Holy Spirit and how a church cultivates ministry led by him. Sounds like your church is an exciting place to be. Having a community reputation as a church where good things happen is basic.
I am just finishing a third set of blogs that I will entitle Motivation to Grow in Christ. My Virtual Church Fellowship website is in its final stage of development. Being the Discussion Manager is a good thing to do for a semi-retired pastor, who knows the people.
You can explore the site at http://www.virtualfellowship.church. It can be customized for a specific congregation.
Your two most important sentences in this blog post are:
1.The Spirit is never really gone from churches of believers where God’s word is at work.
2. There is no checklist for determining how alive in the Spirit a congregation is.