What Do We Do Now?
Church Renewal and the Kingdom of God⎻Part 1
This past Sunday, I preached on Luke 12:22-34 and called this message Church Renewal and the Kingdom of God. In this particular text, Jesus reminds his disciples not to worry about what they will eat or the clothes they will wear but instead to seek God’s kingdom, trusting in God the Father to provide for their needs. The text is usually applied to the individual lives of Christians, which is an acceptable hermeneutical move. But for this sermon, I had the church in mind because many local churches are living with worry and anxiety today
There are church buildings across the North American landscape where Christians gather for worship, fellowship, Bible studies, and other activities. However, most of these churches have experienced enough decline that there are questions about the future. Will the congregation exist ten years from now or will the congregation, like some congregations have already done, end up closing?
We don’t know the answer to such a question, even though most churches would prefer to continue rather than close. This, of course, raises the question of what local churches do now. The answer, or at least the clue to the answer, is spoken by Jesus in the text of Luke 12:22-34. However, before we think more about what Jesus says as an answer to our question, there are three lies that churches have often bought into as a response to the anxiety about the decline of Christianity in America. I want to mention these three lies because they hinder the ability to believe what Jesus says.
Christian Relativism. Years ago, I heard a well-known Christian pastor speak at a seminar, where he was talking about the Christian faith and other religions. During the Q&A session, someone asked him if Jesus was the only way of salvation. However, the pastor fumbled through his response and never offered an unequivocal response, leaving the impression that Jesus was just a way of salvation rather than the way of salvation. The problem is that the notion of Jesus as just a way of salvation is not only false but if such relativism is true, then there are plenty of other things to do than become a Christian and part of a local church. Also, if there is any other way to God and the promise of salvation, then Jesus died an unnecessary cruel death.
The future of any church is always discovered in seeking the kingdom of God.
Christian Consumerism. The logic of consumerism for churches believes that if we find out what might attract people, then the church might grow if we just adapt to those consumer interests. So we might build a coffee bar near the entrance of the church building, install a fitness center, or give every new child a tablet as a way of attracting visitors. Now, I’m all for removing unnecessary barriers between people and Jesus Christ but what we win people with is what we win them to. If churches win people by feeding the consumer appetite, that’s what we win them to until another church comes along with a better menu. And as I speak, the consumer approach I’m talking about has yet to reverse the decline of Christianity in America.
Christian Nationalism. Notions of nationalism among Christians are on the rise. Although Christian nationalist views are not monolithic, the basic belief is that Christians can make America a Christian nation again by passing laws that reflect Christianity and favor Christian sensibilities. That’s a fool's errand as much as relativism and consumerism. If pursuing a nationalistic agenda was the way to bring about God’s will, then why didn’t Jesus pursue it? It wasn’t for the lack of support because Jesus had plenty of Pharisees and Zealots who bought into notions of Jewish Nationalism. However, Jesus didn’t pursue nationalism because he knew the only pathway to the kingdom, the only way for the promise of salvation to be fulfilled, was through the cross—trusting his Heavenly Father to raise him from death, which he did.
What Christian relativism, consumerism, and nationalism have in common is that each is another human attempt at trying to secure a future. Each approach rests upon human power rather than trusting God’s power—Christ crucified (cf. 1 Cor 1:23-24).
Rather than worrying about the future, Jesus tells us to “seek his kingdom and these will be given to you as well.”1 The future of any church is always discovered in seeking the kingdom of God. So, to the question of what local churches do now, the answer begins with the pursuit of God’s kingdom. Of course, pursuing God’s kingdom means following Jesus because Jesus is the way to God’s kingdom.
Right now, we are at a very abstract level. Hang with me, as next week, I will write more about what is involved in a local church pursuing God’s kingdom for the future. However, at the end of the day, I don’t know what the future holds. What I know is that we must trust God (faith) by following Jesus.
The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.