I believe we are going through a cultural earthquake in the church. What happens when there is an earth-quake? (Shaking; destruction; unstable buildings collapse; change in the landscape; loss of life; etc ) Can we relate this to the church? I think we can.
(Shaking) – in the last two generations there has been a shaking of the church. This may be a wake-up call for some; It may call for a change in some; It may lead to a loss in many; Those that are unstable, will collapse; even some that are stable will get knocked around a little. Some that collapse may get a new mindset, and rebuild – newer and better (we call them “re-starts”); some may collapse and never exist again.
There has been a lot of change in the last two generations. We live in a postindustrial, high-tech society with a whole new way of thinking and doing. The phenomenal rate of change (not all good) at the social and political levels has been breathtaking and seems to be accelerating. Amazing technological advances have gathered momentum at an incredible pace. Would you say that the church has or has not adapted well to those changes? All we have to do is point to the increasing medium age in the church and the decline of Mainline church attendance!
George Barna reports that the number of unchurched adults in the U.S. has doubled since 1991. Even more astounding is the statistic that nearly thirteen million people claim to have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, but do not attend church on a regular basis.
Our old maps of Sunday School; VBS; church growth formulas; evangelistic outreach campaigns no longer work as they once did. The location of the unchurched are not on our Sunday morning maps. And, if we contin-ue to follow the maps we have always used, we will never find them nor reach them. They have moved to a land that wasn’t even around twenty years ago!
For the next few days, I am going to use a teaching called Lifeshapes. It is not about a new program or some new way of attracting people to church…It’s really about going back to the basics with some principles of discipleship that are both memorable and multipliable. I have said before that – Jesus left only one plan – one program – for church growth; ( Disciples making disciples.) The amazing thing is that Jesus didn’t have a plan “B”! He didn’t leave the disciples with a book of wonderful ideas for church growth. His last words to his followers were “You shall be my witnesses…Go and make disciples” and he didn’t offer this as an optional assignment. Now, listen very carefully to this next statement; “If the disciples failed to carry out his instruct-tions, the church would fail”…It was up to them to multiply or cease to exist. Maybe the dinosaurs died faster than they multiplied! (Think about it.)
We need to look carefully at the emerging twenty-first century culture. The artifacts of this culture – like television, videos, movies, music, books and the internet – communicate who they are. Many in the last twenty years have grown up in broken and dysfunctional homes. Consider how this is reflected in the media: Until the 1990’s family shows dominated the programming; Family Ties; The Cosby Show; The Brady bunch; while not the same as Leave It To Beaver or Father Knows Best, it was all about family sitcoms. These have been replac-ed with shows that reflect the real life of today like: Friends; Seinfeld; Two-and-a half Men; Will and Grace; Sex and the City; and multiple “reality” shows that call for lying, cheating, and backstabbing in order to win! The two most influential media of today’s culture as far as affecting life and lifestyles are movies and music. While we as Christians are appalled at today’s media, it truly is a reflection of real life. And, just not watching or just turning the channel or just staying in our own little “pretending to be holy” life, will not change anything…nor make it go away.
We have the greatest story ever told! We have the real truth about life! We have “good news” to share with this generation and every generation that never changes! It is a message of “Covenant” (a relationship with a living God who can transform lives.) We have a message of Kingdom living that shares faith, hope, and love in ways the world never will. We have the presence and the power of God available like never before. Lifeshapes is simply a teaching tool that anyone can use to share this message.
People stay away from our churches – not because the message is boring – but because it is shallow, and they don’t see it lived out in those who call themselves Christians. We find ourselves at a point in history where we are like Peter, who, when he was on the mountaintop with Jesus when Moses and Elijah appeared, said “Let’s build monuments so we can hold on to this moment for-ever” (my own words) A cloud overshadowed the mountain top and God spoke saying “This is my Son…listen to him!” There is no new answer today.
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