Worship

Justice by Whose Definition? When Worship Becomes the Issue

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In my last post, I asked what constitutes justice when a denomination and departing congregations find themselves fighting over church property. Who defines justice? And does protecting an institution’s interests necessarily mean justice has been served?

But the question doesn’t end at the church’s property line. It follows people through the sanctuary doors. What constitutes justice when a retired pastor’s choice of where to worship becomes a question of denominational loyalty?

I raise the question because the present situation in South Carolina called back to mind an action taken by my former annual conference, the Louisiana Conference of The United Methodist Church, three years ago.

I hear you saying, “Malone, you’re a little late to the party.” I know, but I still wrestle with whether the position outlined in Bishop Delores J. Williamston’s letter to retired clergy was just. The letter addresses their participation in congregations that disaffiliated from the denomination.

I’m including both pages here because the wording matters. Readers deserve to see the bishop’s explanation, including the concerns about clergy covenant and accountability, before considering my questions.

When worship becomes the issue

One sentence in the letter deserves particular attention:

“Being active in a church can mean worshipping regularly in the congregation and/or serving in a staff or volunteer role.”

The letter goes on to identify preaching, presiding at sacraments, and officiating at weddings and funerals as examples of participation. It states that retired clergy who worship regularly, unite with, or serve in a disaffiliated congregation are no longer in good standing or in covenantal relationship with their fellow United Methodist clergy. Withdrawal from conference membership is required.

That is a broad boundary. It encompasses the pastor standing behind the pulpit. It also encompasses the retired pastor sitting in the pew. Should those activities be treated the same way?

There is another question of consistency. If a retired United Methodist pastor may lead a funeral in a Presbyterian, Episcopal, or Baptist church, why should leading one in a disaffiliated congregation carry different consequences? In each instance, the pastor is ministering outside the denomination. What makes one acceptable and the other a violation of covenant?

Is the distinction theological? Does the restriction imply that a disaffiliated congregation is no longer a Christian church, or that it has become apostate? The letter does not make that argument. If the distinction rests instead on the congregation’s decision to leave, then why should that history determine whether a retired pastor may minister to grieving people there?

I recognize that holding a funeral in another church’s building is not necessarily the same as joining its denomination or accepting an ongoing pastoral role. That is precisely why these distinctions matter. Occasional pastoral care, regular worship attendance, and formal ministerial affiliation deserve to be considered on their own terms.

If the concern is ministry outside United Methodism, why single out disaffiliated congregations? If the concern is specifically their departure, what makes this restriction a just response? A different history may explain the different treatment. It does not, by itself, establish that the treatment is just.

Covenant deserves a serious conversation

I spent more than twenty-eight years as a United Methodist pastor. I understand that clergy covenant involves responsibilities. Retirement does not erase those commitments.

The letter explains the continuing relationship retired clergy are expected to maintain with a United Methodist congregation and the reporting required of them. I received many of those reports in my time as a District Superintendent. I know it matters.

The letter also raises concerns about retired clergy planting congregations outside the denomination and recruiting members from United Methodist churches. Yup! I agree that doing so while retaining United Methodist credentials raises legitimate questions about covenant. But putting those activities in the same category as occasionally helping with a funeral, assisting in a baptism, or participating in a worship service seems, well, a bit unjust.

A denomination has a legitimate interest in how people holding its credentials represent it and exercise ministry. Clergy colleagues have legitimate reasons to expect honesty and care in their relationships with one another. But acknowledging those responsibilities does not settle every question about how they should be enforced.

Regularly attending worship, joining another denomination, and recruiting people away from a congregation are different actions. What justifies placing them within the same boundary? What harm does each cause? And should each carry the same consequence? Those are questions about justice.

A policy can be clear and still deserve examination. An institution can have authority and still need to explain why a particular exercise of that authority is proportionate and faithful to its mission.

There are people behind the policy

I know former colleagues who have responded in different ways. Some willingly surrendered their credentials so they could participate with integrity in the congregations where they wanted to worship and serve. Others continued openly, essentially daring the conference to take their credentials. Still others continued quietly, careful about drawing attention to where they worshiped or how they participated.

I will not identify them or describe circumstances that might identify them. Their lives are not illustrations for me to use without regard for the consequences. Nor do I assume that every response resolves the question of covenant equally well. But these different responses reveal the strain this boundary places on people.

Surrendering credentials after a lifetime of ministry is no small thing. Neither is feeling that worshiping with a Christian congregation must be done discreetly.

What kind of pastoral conversation might help people navigate those choices? Is there room to listen to the relationships, convictions, and spiritual needs involved before concluding that participation constitutes a broken covenant?

The consequences matter

The letter also addresses benefits. It explicitly states that withdrawal will not affect a retired clergy person’s Wespath benefits. It distinguishes those benefits from the conference’s retiree health benefit, which it describes as available only to retired United Methodist pastors in good standing with the Louisiana Conference.

That distinction matters. The letter isn’t a threat to take away a pastor’s pension. Still, attaching consequences for retiree health benefits to a determination of good standing makes the definition of good standing especially consequential. I am addressing the letter and the reasoning it presents, rather than making a claim about how every case was handled or what policy is in effect today.

Perhaps the policy has changed. Perhaps it was never enforced. Those possibilities would matter in assessing its present impact, but they would not erase the questions raised by the letter itself. What does it mean for the church to tell retired pastors that where they worship could affect their standing—and, with it, their eligibility for a retiree health benefit?

Is regular worship attendance sufficient grounds for consequences of this magnitude? What pastoral purpose does that serve? And could a more carefully drawn boundary protect legitimate denominational interests while respecting a retired pastor’s conscience?

Justice must reach beyond our own interests

These questions should not depend on which denomination’s name appears over the church house door. If my own denomination established a comparable boundary, it would deserve the same scrutiny. Otherwise, “justice” becomes a word we use when we dislike someone else’s decisions and put away when the decisions benefit us.

I am not asking the church to abandon accountability. I am asking what faithful accountability should look like when conscience, Christian fellowship, and institutional commitments come into tension.

We should be able to distinguish worship attendance from the exercise of denominational authority. We should be able to address concerns about recruitment without assuming that every act of participation poses the same problem. And we should be able to ask whether a consequence is proportionate without being accused of dismissing covenant altogether.

In the previous post, the question concerned property. Here, it concerns people—their worship, their relationships, their years of service, and their consciences. The institution’s interests deserve consideration. So do those of the retired clergy.

Just because we can justify something doesn’t make it just. Justice by whose definition? Surely our answer must make room for the person sitting in the pew.

Until next time, keep looking up…

If any of my reflections encouraged or challenged you, follow Not the Perfect Pastor on Facebook for more conversations about faith, ministry, and becoming faithful disciples of Jesus.

What Happened to the Church Gathering?

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

Questions About Participation, Preaching, Communion, and the One-Hour Worship Service

Fair warning: This post is longer than most. I’m supposed to be writing a blog, not a book. Even so, these four questions belong together, so I hope you will persevere to the end.

In my last post, I considered three questions about church leadership: the role of the senior pastor, denominational hierarchy, and professionalized ministry.

Today, I want to turn from who leads the church to what happens when the church gathers.

Four of my original eleven questions belong together:

  1. Is the church supposed to be a gathering of non-participants?
  2. When did church gatherings become sermon-centered?
  3. When did the church lose its weekly commitment to the Lord’s Supper?
  4. Were early church gatherings limited to one hour?

Once again, I am not standing outside the church criticizing what everyone else is doing. I have planned and led more worship services than I could possibly count. I have selected songs, prepared sermons, written liturgies, scheduled volunteers, administered Communion, and watched the clock—yes, that clock that hangs above the back door.

I have worried about whether the service flowed smoothly. I have shortened parts of the service when I knew my sermon would be long. I have felt the pressure to finish on time. I have also stood at the door after worship hoping people were pleased with what they experienced.

I am not questioning practices in which I have merely participated. I am questioning practices I have helped create and continue to perpetuate. That doesn’t necessarily make those practices wrong. It does mean I should be willing to examine them.

Is the Church Supposed to Be a Gathering of Non-Participants?

Most churches say they want people to participate. We invite people to sing, pray, give, serve, and respond to the sermon. Even so, most of what happens during a typical worship service is performed by a relatively small group of people.

The pastor preaches. The worship team sings. The musicians play. Designated people pray, read Scripture, make announcements, receive the offering, and serve Communion. Everyone else watches, listens, and participates when instructed.

There are practical reasons for that arrangement. A worship gathering needs order. Not everyone is gifted to preach, sing, teach, or lead publicly. Giving everyone an opportunity to say whatever is on their mind could produce something closer to chaos than worship.

Paul certainly valued order. When addressing the church in Corinth, he instructed them that everything should be done properly and in order. But the same passage also presents a picture of participation that feels unfamiliar to many of us:

“When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.” (1 Corinthians 14:26 NLT)

Whatever else we make of that passage, Paul seems to assume that different members of the congregation will contribute something when the church gathers.

That reflects his larger understanding of the church as a body. Every member has a function. Every member has received gifts from the Spirit. Every member has something to contribute to the health and mission of the whole. How, then, did the gathering of the church become an event in which most people are spectators?

Perhaps part of the answer is that our gatherings became larger. Participation that might occur naturally in a home becomes more difficult in a room filled with hundreds or thousands of people.

Perhaps another part of the answer is our desire for excellence and predictability. We want the music rehearsed, the transitions smooth, the message prepared, and the service completed on time. Spontaneous participation is difficult to plan, control, and fit into the order of worship.

Again, none of those concerns is necessarily wrong. Preparation can honor God and serve the congregation. Disorder does not automatically indicate the presence of the Holy Spirit. But has our desire for order gradually eliminated meaningful participation? Have we unintentionally taught people that their role in worship is to arrive, sit down, sing when invited, listen to the sermon, and go home?

Attending a worship service is not the same as participating in the body of Christ.

When Did Church Gatherings Become Sermon-Centered?

I need to tread carefully here. I am a preacher. Preaching has been central to my calling and ministry for more than thirty-five years. I believe in proclaiming the gospel. I believe Scripture should be read, taught, explained, and applied to our lives. This is not an argument against preaching. It is a question about the place preaching has come to occupy in our gatherings.

In many Protestant churches, the sermon is the defining feature of worship. Even the architecture of our sanctuaries communicates the significance of the sermon—we have “pulpit-centered” sanctuaries. Everything before the sermon prepares for it. Everything after the sermon responds to it. The length of the service is often determined by it. I have heard church members call everything leading up to the sermon “the preliminaries.” Worse, I’ve heard pastors call it that!

If the music is exceptional but the sermon is poor, people may say the service was disappointing. If the pastor is absent, attendance sometimes declines because people prefer to wait until “the preacher” returns.

I know because I have helped create that expectation. I have promoted worship by telling people what I would be preaching. I have encouraged church members to invite their friends to hear a particular sermon. I have sometimes acted as though the congregation gathered primarily to hear what I had to say. Preaching matters, but was the sermon intended to carry so much of the weight of the church’s life?

The earliest Christians devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. Teaching clearly mattered. But they also devoted themselves to fellowship, sharing meals—including the Lord’s Supper—and prayer. The church gathered to hear the Word, but it also gathered to pray, eat, share, encourage, discern, testify, give, and care for one another. Somewhere along the way, many of those elements moved toward the margins while the sermon moved to the center.

Prayer was shortened. Testimony became unpredictable and occasionally uncomfortable. Conversation was moved to a Sunday school class or small group. Shared discernment was assigned to a committee or leadership board. The Lord’s Supper became an occasional addition to the regular service. The sermon remained.

Perhaps that happened because a sermon is efficient. One person can prepare during the week and speak to the whole congregation at once. It is easier to control than open participation. It fits neatly within the allotted time.

It also reinforces the centrality of the pastor. The pastor studies. The pastor hears from God. The pastor explains what the Bible means. The congregation receives what the pastor has prepared. That arrangement may produce informed listeners. But does it necessarily form mature disciples?

People can listen to thousands of sermons without learning to read Scripture for themselves, pray with one another, discern the Spirit’s direction, articulate their faith, or participate in Christ’s mission. The question is not whether we should preach. The question is whether we have asked preaching to do what the entire body of Christ was intended to do.

When Did the Church Lose Its Weekly Commitment to the Lord’s Supper?

This question may expose the imbalance more clearly than any of the others. The earliest Christians gathered regularly around the Table. Acts tells us that they devoted themselves to the breaking of bread. Acts 20 describes believers gathering on the first day of the week to break bread. Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians suggest that the Lord’s Supper was a normal part of their life together—even if they were observing it badly enough to require correction.

The evidence may not allow us to establish that every congregation celebrated Communion every week in precisely the same way. Still, the Table appears to have occupied a far more central place in the early church than it does in many churches today.

How did we arrive at a pattern in which the sermon is offered every week while the Lord’s Supper is offered once a month, once a quarter, or even (heaven help us!) once a year?

I grew up in a tradition that celebrated Communion quarterly. Later, monthly Communion became more common. In some churches, even monthly Communion can feel like an interruption to the regular order of worship—something that makes the service run long.

Think about what that communicates. We make room every week for the preacher’s words but only occasionally for the bread and the cup. At the Table, the focus shifts away from the preacher. We remember Christ’s death. We receive the signs of His grace. We confess our need. We gather not as customers evaluating a religious presentation but as sinners who come with empty hands.

Communion also reminds us that Christianity is not merely a private relationship between Jesus and me. We do not receive the bread and cup alone. We come to a shared Table as the body of Christ. Rich and poor come to the same Table. Young and old come to the same Table. Republicans and Democrats come to the same Table. Those who agree and those who struggle to understand one another come to the same Table. We receive the same grace because we share the same need.

Perhaps that is part of what we lost when the sermon became weekly and the Meal became occasional. The sermon can be evaluated individually: What did I learn? Did I enjoy it? Did it speak to me? The Table confronts us with a different reality. Christ gave Himself for us, and in Christ we belong to one another.

I am not suggesting that weekly Communion would automatically renew the church. We can participate in the Lord’s Supper thoughtlessly just as easily as we can listen to a sermon thoughtlessly. But perhaps the frequency of our practices reveals something about our priorities. What does it say when we consider thirty minutes of preaching essential but ten minutes at the Lord’s Table optional?

Were Early Church Gatherings Limited to One Hour?

Let me say immediately that longer services are not necessarily more spiritual. I have attended long worship services that were deeply meaningful. I have also attended long worship services that only felt long. A three-hour service can be every bit as lifeless as a one-hour service.

The issue is not simply how long we gather. The issue is why one hour has become the expected limit in so many churches.

We print the times on signs, websites, and social media. Worship begins at 10:30 and should end around 11:30. If the service goes fifteen minutes long, people begin looking at their watches. Parents become concerned about children. Restaurant plans are affected. Volunteers in the nursery wonder if they have been forgotten. I even had an uncle who was a member of one of my churches whose watch alarm went off promptly at noon every Sunday. Such a nice reminder for the preacher. And, from a family member, too…

Some of those concerns are legitimate. Time matters. People have responsibilities. Children have limits. Respecting people’s time can be an expression of hospitality. But our anxiety about time may reveal something deeper.

We routinely spend several hours at ball games, concerts, movies, festivals, and other activities we value. We arrive early. We stay late. We do not resent overtime when the experience matters to us. Yet an additional fifteen minutes in worship can feel like an unreasonable demand. Why?

Perhaps it is because we approach worship as one appointment among many. We have given God His hour, and we expect the church to honor the arrangement. The one-hour expectation also shapes what can happen when we gather. There is time for a few songs, announcements, an offering, a prayer, and a sermon. There may not be time for people to share what God is doing in their lives. There may not be time for extended prayer, silence, conversation, testimony, or discernment. There may not even be time for Communion unless something else is shortened. The schedule favors the predictable. It rewards efficiency. It makes participation difficult.

Again, the answer is not necessarily to make every service longer. Perhaps the answer is to ask whether everything the church needs to do when it gathers can—or should—be compressed into a single hour.

Maybe some of what we expect from Sunday morning needs to happen in smaller gatherings where people can know one another, pray for one another, confess to one another, bear one another’s burdens, and contribute their gifts.

The deeper concern is not the length of the service. It is whether our gatherings are structured primarily around convenience or around the formation of a people. Perhaps the deeper problem is that we have made the Sunday worship service virtually synonymous with the gathering of the church—and then tried to compress everything the church is called to be into that single hour.

The Church Is Not an Audience

I am not calling for the elimination of sermons, worship teams, planned services, or established times. I am asking whether our gatherings are accomplishing what they were intended to accomplish. Are people merely attending, or are they participating? Are sermons equipping people to engage Scripture and follow Jesus, or are they creating a congregation dependent upon the preacher?

Does the Lord’s Table occupy a central place in our life together, or has it become an occasional addition to a sermon-centered service? Does our use of time reflect thoughtful stewardship, or does the sixty-minute limit reveal how little room we have made for worship in our lives?

Perhaps we need to recover gatherings in which more members of the body have something meaningful to contribute. Perhaps we need more room for prayer, testimony, conversation, silence, discernment, and response. Perhaps we need to come to the Lord’s Table more frequently and remember that Christ—not the preacher—is the center of our gathering.

Not every congregation will answer these questions in the same way. A church of thirty people will gather differently from a church of three thousand. A congregation meeting in a home will have possibilities that a congregation meeting in a large sanctuary may not have.

The New Testament gives us principles without handing us a complete order of worship. That gives us freedom, but it also gives us responsibility. We are free to develop forms appropriate to our time, place, and circumstances. But we are responsible for asking what those forms are producing.

Perhaps the problem is not that we have sermons, planned worship, or an established order of service. Perhaps the problem is that the order has become so fixed, the sermon so dominant, and participation so limited that most people can attend church for years without ever believing they have anything meaningful to contribute to the gathered body. The church is not an audience. It is a body.

When the body gathers, every member may not speak, sing, preach, or lead. But every member should understand that they have been given grace, gifts, and responsibility for the good of the whole.

Once again, I have generated more questions than answers. Then again, I’m not the perfect pastor.

That doesn’t keep me from trying—or from asking more questions.

Until next time, keep looking up…

If any of my reflections encouraged or challenged you, follow Not the Perfect Pastor on Facebook for more conversations about faith, ministry, and becoming faithful disciples of Jesus.

Five Shifts Hurting the Church…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

I’ve been doing ministry as a calling for over 35 years now. That doesn’t make me an expert, but it does make me one who has seen a lot. One of the things I’ve seen a lot of is change…and not all of it for the better.

I try mostly to be positive in my blog posts. Unfortunately, that positivity doesn’t always come through because my cynical nature manages to bleed through. I write this post to share a little of the wisdom I’ve picked up over the 35 years of ministry. 

It was coming back into an “official” ministry role (after a brief time away) that I began to notice some subtle shifts in the Church. The shifts were happening before I left full time ministry, but I think I may have been blind to them, and I may have played a role in fostering some of those shifts (I probably did, truth be known). This blog post is my attempt to unpack those shifts, and to say that I believe they are hurting the church. 

So, let’s call this blog post Five Shifts that are Hurting the Church. I won’t belabor them, but I do mention them as a means of starting the conversation with church leaders (if there are any who read my blog) to call us all back to faithfulness in our leadership and our discipleship. Perhaps I offer them as a prophetic word, not sounding an alarm, but simply speaking as one who was deeply engaged, stepped away and returned to notice the shifts.

Brokenness or Sin

The first shift hurting the Church is the Church talks more about “brokenness” than it does about sin. I can’t honestly tell you how many times I’ve personally used the words “broken” and “brokenness” in my sermons when I could have (should have) used the word sin.

Yes, we’re all broken in some manner or another. But, we are also all sinners. When we focus on the brokenness of our humanity, we might too easily overlook the sinfulness of our humanity, and if we overlook the sinfulness of our humanity we might miss the Savior who gave Himself for us. And, if we miss the Savior we miss everything.

See, when something is broken, the most likelihood is that it didn’t break itself. Take a vase, for instance. Vases don’t just jump off shelves and break themselves. The brokenness is the result of something that happened to it. The vase carries no guilt.

In the same way, by constantly referring to ourselves as broken, we fail to acknowledge our own complicity in anything that is wrong with us. Our brokenness, more times than not, is the result of our own sinful choices. There are times when we are broken through no fault of our own. Still, we are guilty.

Here’s why it matters: If I’m simply broken, then I need a therapist or a doctor to mend the brokenness. That might be one reason the philosophy of Moral Therapeutic Deism (MTD) has gained a foothold in the Church. What is that? Basically, God becomes my therapist and the cross becomes a self-help tool.

God exists to help me fix my problems so that I can feel happy about my life and myself. Being a nice person is the only requirement of faith and being good gets one into heaven. The need for repentance is non-existent. We just need the self-help section from the local bookstore. It is a very self-centered religion, but it fits oh, so nicely in American culture.

This is more than a subtle shift in language. It is a total shift in our theology. We are sinners. Sinners need a Savior and the Gospel reminds us that Jesus died for our sins so that we might be reconciled to God through His blood. That’s not to say we don’t all need a little therapy from time to time (I’ve been to therapy myself), but the root problem underlying all the “brokenness” of humanity is sin. The Church must name it and call sinners to repentance so that we might discover the only cure for what really ails us. Let me say it again—sinners need a Savior!

Self-Improvement or Self-Denial

The second shift hurting the Church is we talk too much about self-improvement and not enough about self-denial. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). When we come to church seeking self-improvement, we still have self as the focus. Our gathering as the body of Christ puts Him at the center. We are there to worship Him.

We want to come to church to learn how to be a better spouse, or a better parent, or a better whatever. When Christ is at the center, we’ll be better. Basic discipleship begins with self-denial. Jesus doesn’t want a better version of ourselves. He wants a crucified version of ourselves. Self-improvement refines the self. Self-denial replaces the self. Improvement makes us better, but the cross—well, that makes us new.

Comfort or Conviction

The third shift hurting the Church is we’ve chosen comfort over conviction. We live in a culture where comfort is king. We want to be comfortable, and by comfortable, I mean comfortable in our beliefs. We want to come to church to have our beliefs and our behavior affirmed, not challenged. 

And, we in the church have, too often, been willing to oblige. We have, too often, embraced the philosophy that the only thing we can’t tolerate is intolerance. We don’t want to come across as “toxic” because if someone feels convicted, they might feel judged and go to another church down the street. Our problem might be that we don’t understand what conviction is. Conviction isn’t judgement. Conviction is invitation—an invitation to holiness.

Christianity without conviction cannot produce holy people, and a holy people is what we’re called to be. Holy literally means “set apart,” and we are to be set apart from the world. We are not called to reflect the world’s values, but rather the values that are embodied in Jesus Christ and recorded in the pages of the Bible. 

Comfort does not call us to holiness. Comfort keeps us chained to brokenness. Conviction breaks the chains. Sin kills us. Conviction calls us out of our sin. Conviction leads us to repentance. Conviction claims us for the holy life to which we’ve been called. Conviction clarifies the values and behaviors that set us apart from the world.

Atmosphere or Formation

The fourth shift hurting the Church is we chose atmosphere over formation. In our effort to be sensitive to those outside the Church, we made Christianity a commodity to be consumed rather than a lifestyle to be embraced. I’ve confessed my own complicity in this shift in other places.

In my own defense, we had the best of intentions. We used evangelism as the reason. It was an attempt to reach the un-churched so that they would feel “comfortable” hearing the Gospel. What we accomplished was to communicate a false understanding of the purpose of the Church. In this shift we created consumer Christians instead of forming faithful disciples. Atmosphere creates consumers. Worship shapes disciples.

Worship is at the heart of spiritual formation. When the focus is atmosphere, people experience church but are never formed by it. We gather to worship a Holy God as the center and focus. We gather, not to feel good, but to be in the presence of God. Sometimes we feel good because we have been in His presence, but we should leave with a sense of awe and wonder because we have been in His presence.

Worship that is faithful to scripture is God-centered and moves us away from ourselves and reminds us that God is God and we are not. It is meant to remind us of His omnipotence, His omniscience and His omnipresence. In worship, we bring an offering to God, not to receive something from Him. Worship is not entertainment. Worship is formation.

Belonging or Believing

The fifth shift hurting the Church is that we prioritized belonging over believing. We all want to “belong” somewhere. That is human nature. But, when the Church believes, unbelievers encounter Christ in their belonging. We can belong for twenty years and never believe. Belonging provides a comfortable entryway, but believing (transformation) is the goal.

Again, in our defense, we want to practice hospitality. Hospitality is a Christian virtue, and unbelievers should feel welcomed and loved in church. But, our intent is ultimately to love them into a relationship with Jesus Christ, not simply to want them to feel welcomed. 

We can belong to the Rotary Club and the Book Club. We join those clubs because we support their goals and want to participate in the projects that support those goals. We have a common aim in our belonging. Do we belong to those clubs before we understand their purpose? Sometimes, yes, but we soon embrace the goals of the club or we move on.

Why do we expect less in the church? The church is more than a group of warm and open people. It is the community of saints in the world. The believing church functions as a witness to the truth of Jesus Christ when its members are united in that truth. If we simply belong regardless of our belief, the witness of Christ and the church is weakened.

     The Church, as biblically defined, is a supernatural body of believers. Belonging can lead to belief, but when belonging becomes the priority, belief takes a backseat, and the Church ceases to fulfill its purpose in the world—which is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Discipleship happens through spiritual formation, and Christians are formed through the Church. Belonging matters. Belief is essential.     

These five shifts have influenced the way the Church engaged in ministry over the last 35 years. I’ve written these shifts down as a guide to my own faithfulness in leading the body of Christ. They will also serve as a means of holding my congregation accountable to the purpose for which we’ve been called.

There is much for which we must repent. We, as the Church, must return to faithful discipleship that is rooted in our understanding of our purpose. I spent a lot of years in ministry desiring to be successful. My only desire now is to spend the rest of my years being faithful.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Preaching in the Storefront, Part 2: Five Drawbacks to Storefront Church…

/ pastorlynnmalone / 1 Comment

I wrote last week concerning the advantages of preaching in a storefront church (read it here). I figured I should also share some of the limitations that come with having a storefront church. These limitations affect both our congregation and the community.

Space Limitations

Our storefront church faces significant constraints due to limited physical space. Unlike traditional church buildings, which are purpose-built to accommodate a large congregation, classrooms, offices, and multipurpose spaces, our space (though originally a church) was fitted for commercial use.

Our space lacks the architectural features needed for worship, such as high ceilings, sanctuaries, and designated areas for fellowship. We’re going to struggle to figure out how to hold events in our space, or to expand to Sunday school or small group ministry. And, potluck…well, we’ll just have to see about that.

Additionally, our storefront has a relatively small seating capacity. Yes, there is a wall we can take out, but even then, limited space can lead to overcrowding, discomfort, and an inability to host special events, such as weddings, funerals, or community outreach programs.

One other thing to note, the lack of auxiliary spaces like nurseries, kitchens, and meeting rooms may hinder the church’s ability to offer vital services, such as childcare, Bible studies, and community meals.

Perception and Identity

The perception of a church operating in a storefront can also pose challenges. Traditional church buildings convey a sense of permanence, sanctity, and history, which can attract members and foster community respect.

In contrast, a storefront church can struggle to establish the same sense of legitimacy and stability. Passersby may view it as a temporary or informal operation rather than a dedicated place of worship.

This perception issue can extend to potential members, who might associate the storefront location with financial instability or a lack of resources. For some, the absence of traditional symbols such as steeples, stained glass windows, and pews may detract from the spiritual atmosphere they expect in a church setting. Over time, these perceptions can impact the church’s ability to grow and sustain itself.

Acoustics and Ambiance

Storefronts are not designed with worship services in mind, and this often leads to challenges with acoustics and ambiance. Traditional church buildings are constructed to enhance sound quality, ensuring that sermons, music, and prayers resonate effectively within the space. Storefronts, on the other hand, often have flat ceilings, hard floors, and minimal soundproofing, which can result in poor acoustics and echoing.

Luckily, the acoustics are not very bad in our storefront. I preach without a microphone every Sunday (not a hard thing to do when our average attendance is 30, but if we grow, I’ll probably have to rethink it). More people absorb more sound. Without a microphone, I might become muffled. Heck, they might think I’m muffled now, but they haven’t said so if that’s the case.

The lack of ambiance in a storefront can also hinder the spiritual experience. Traditional church buildings often feature architectural elements like vaulted ceilings, intricate woodwork, and natural lighting, all of which contribute to a sense of reverence and awe. I’ll confess that our team has done a fantastic job of creating a worshipful ambiance in our space, but many storefronts can feel sterile or utilitarian, which can make it difficult for congregants to feel spiritually connected or inspired.

Zoning Issues

Operating a church in a storefront can also lead to zoning and legal challenges. Many municipalities have specific zoning regulations that restrict or limit the use of commercial spaces for religious purposes. I haven’t found that to be the case with Bossier Parish, but if you’re thinking about a storefront church in another community, it’s best to check zoning early in the planning process.

Churches may be required to apply for special permits or variances, which can be time-consuming and costly. Additionally, these regulations often limit the types of activities that can take place within the space, further constraining the church’s ability to serve its congregation and community.

Parking is another common issue associated with storefront churches, and it certainly it with ours. We’ve got four spaces in front of the church and have to utilize a parking lot for a strip center next door. Spots fill up fast when we have a large (40 people) crowd for church. Any growth we experience will ultimately be impacted by limited parking.

Financial Limitations

Storefront churches are a cost-effective alternative to traditional buildings, as I mentioned in my previous blog. That notwithstanding, they can also present significant financial challenges in the long term.

Leasing or purchasing a storefront space is initially more affordable, but the costs associated with retrofitting the space for worship can be substantial. Churches may need to invest in sound systems, seating, lighting, and signage to make the space functional and welcoming.

Additionally, rent will go up at some point, which can strain the church’s budget. Unless your landlord is a member of the congregation and has mercy on it, rent will increase. If rents become unaffordable or the property owner decides not to renew the lease, the congregation may be forced to relocate, disrupting their operations and sense of community.

Deep Roots

Traditional church buildings often serve as landmarks and gathering places, hosting events, providing shelter, and offering a range of social services. Storefronts, by contrast, may not have the space or facilities needed to support such activities. This can restrict the church’s ability to act as a hub for community life and outreach.

Moreover, the transient nature of storefront operations can make it difficult for a church to establish deep roots in the community. If the congregation frequently moves or struggles to maintain a visible presence, it may struggle to build trust and foster long-term relationships with local residents and organizations.

Conclusion

This much I know: For every advantage a storefront may offer a congregation, there is an equal disadvantage. The task of the pastor and the congregation is to weigh the advantages and disadvantages appropriately, pray and then follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I’m uncertain how the storefront will impact our congregation yet. We haven’t been in the space long enough to know. I know God has put us here for now, so we’ll seek to be faithful to the call we hear going forward.

But still, if you’re in the Bossier Parish, Caddo Parish or Webster Parish area, please come join us. Perhaps you’ll help us figure it out.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Made for Work…

/ pastorlynnmalone / 1 Comment

I admit. I have a lazy streak. In my defense, I’m only lazy after I’ve been working. I’m like the lady that used to work for my grandmother who said, “When I work, I work hard. When I play, I play hard. When I sit, I go to sleep!”

Working is on my mind this morning because of the past few weeks I’ve had. Now that I’m pastoring a church again and running a business, my time off has been scarce. Vanessa and I took a few days away before beginning our new adventure in pastoring, but yesterday was my first day off in 20 days (but was it really a day off since I spent part of the day working on a sermon?).

The purpose of my writing is not to elicit your sympathy. It really is my way of trying to process my inability to find workers for my business. It makes me ask: “What has happened to the work ethic in our culture?”

Lessons in Futility

So, here’s a snapshot of my past month. I’ve been trying to fill a position in my shop for a couple of months now. I advertised for the position. Received a couple dozen applications (that’s a good thing). Spent some time processing those applications. Made a few decisions and began the process of interviewing people.

Called a guy in for a face-to-face interview. Went well. Checked his references. Again, went well. Called to make him an offer. Crickets!!! That’s right! Never returned my call. Emailed him. Crickets! No response. Time to move on…

Called another guy. Came for the interview. Went well. Checked references. Again, went well. Called and made an offer. Accepts offer. Start work on Monday. Monday comes. He’s a no-show! Make a call. Crickets. Email sent asking about the situation. Late on Monday I receive an email back that he’s sick and cant’ make it (he’ll start when he’s better–yeah, when will that be?). Okay, he can’t help it because he’s sick, but dude, you have a phone. Call somebody!

Schedule him to start the following Monday (surely he’ll be better by then). Monday comes and he shows up early. Hey! This is a good sign. Works Monday. Asks to take off early to finish a project he started before he took the job. Okay, sure. Tuesday comes. He’s a no-show! Calls that his truck is broke down. Okay, so he can’t help that, right?

Wednesday comes and he shows up–early again. Points earned. Works the morning. Goes to lunch. Never returns! Haven’t heard a word from him. No call. No email. Crickets. Odd thing is I owe him money for the day and a half he worked. Go figure.

Call another guy in for an interview. 10:00 a.m., Friday? Great! See you then. Friday comes. No guy.

Call another guy. 10:00 a.m., Friday (yes, another Friday)? Great! See you then. Friday comes. No guy.

I’m starting to develop a complex. Is it me? Am I not doing something right? It must be me, right?

Then, I think, “It’s really not me, it’s the world in which we live these days.”

I say that because I’ve got another job posting, as well. I’ve received a couple of dozen applications for that position, too.

I provide a link to every applicant who submits an application on-line to a personality assessment. For every person who actually takes the time to complete the assessment, I set up a phone screen interview. I did that for three applicants who completed the assessment. I call. No response. Three different people, three no answers. I leave messages. Still…I’ve never heard back from a single person.

Bummer! And, I’m still two people short on staff.

Lessons for My Life

I don’t know. Perhaps they’ve found other employment and don’t have the courtesy to call and withdraw their name from consideration. Perhaps they’re just checking boxes on a form so they can continue drawing their unemployment. Perhaps they just reconsidered and decided a job in the quick lube industry isn’t for them.

Okay! No problem. How about a little consideration. Have we lost that with our work ethic, too? Do I blame it on Covid? Or, have I just been walking around all my life with blinders on and didn’t realize that’s how it goes with the job market because I’ve never been in business for myself before now?

Whatever it is, it’s very frustrating…and I guess I’m taking my frustration via this blog. I am, however, reminded of Genesis 2:15–

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.“

The good Lord created us for work. Our work is meant to be an offering of worship to the Lord. I’m wondering if our world might be so upside down because no one wants to work anymore. And, don’t get me started on the government and give-aways. Lord, have mercy…

I’m also reminded of this little passage in the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians:

9 We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. 10 Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” 11 Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. 12 We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. 13 As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.

So, I’m finding some solace in the fact that it’s not actually a new problem. I guess it’s as old as we humans are.

I could launch into an entire diatribe on the benefits of work, but the blog is long enough already and I’ve got to get ready for work. But, work today is worship (and to lead worship). Then again, work is meant to be worship everyday, but I’ve already been down that road this morning.

So, get up and go to work. It is what we’re made for.

Until next time, keep looking up…

New Places, New Spaces…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

The Church of Jesus Christ is always on the move, and today the Haughton Global Methodist Church begins worship in its new home. It is a new place and a new space and I know the congregation is excited about worshipping for the first time in this new place.

The space is located at 966 Highway 80 in Haughton, LA. It was a church in one of its former lives, but it has been a physical therapy office in its most recent life. We will re-consecrate the space this morning at 10:30 a.m. for use as a place of worship, and I’d love to invite you to join us if you’re in the Haughton/Bossier City area.

I need to commend the congregation on its hard work over the past month in getting the space ready to occupy. Countless hours of service have gone into the process of converting the space back to its original purpose. Let me say, “Thank you” to all those servants who have been so diligent (and so generous) in doing what was necessary to accomplish the task. Great work!

Today will be my first opportunity to see the space after all the work is completed (will it ever really be completed?). I’m excited to see it and to lead worship for the first time in this new place. I’m excited to see all that the Lord has planned for the space and for the congregation.

I’m looking forward to getting to know the Haughton community in a deeper way. It’s going to be a challenge for me as a bi-vocational pastor, but I pray the Lord opens doors and provides opportunities for the congregation to grow and flourish in the community. I covet your prayers for the congregation, too.

Perhaps this new space in this new place will be an encouragement for new people to explore the Kingdom of God. Maybe there are those in the Haughton/East Bossier area who have been waiting for a new place and I pray the Holy Spirit will open their hearts to take a step of faith in hearing His call to salvation in their lives. Would you pray that prayer with me, too?

This new space and new place is located right next door to an oil change place. I find that only a little humorous and ironic. I spend six days a week at an oil change place and now I’ll be leading worship next door to an oil change place. Providential? Who know? I’m just trying to figure out ways we can be a good neighbor. I must confess that I’m also trying to figure out ways to use it evangelistically. We’ll pray the Lord opens doors for both to occur. Will you pray that prayer with us?

Anyway, my blogs may become less frequent now. Most of my Sunday morning time will be spent preparing for worship. They may even be spent finishing the message for that day. Of course, that’s happened before. Either way, the Lord’s got this. The Lord guided us into this, and I know that where the Lord guides, the Lord provides. I’m anxious to see how He does so in this case.

So, that’s all for this week’s blog. I don’t know when the next one might be written, but I’m anxious to see the story He is writing in the life of the Haughton Methodist Church.

Until next time, keep looking up…

The Road Between Work and Worship…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

Part of my present devotional exercise is reading a sermon a day from Eugene Peterson, beloved translator of The Message paraphrase of the Bible. Though Peterson suffered some damage to his “evangelical” reputation near the end of his life, I refuse to throw the baby out with the bath water. Peterson was gifted with the ability to turn a phrase with elegance and simplicity, and with over 50 years in ministry, he turned many phrases that are both abounding in truth and utterly challenging.

If you’ve never read Peterson (outside the occasional look at The Message), I commend his work to you. If you are a pastor, you would benefit greatly from his memoir The Pastor: A Memoir, whether you’re just beginning the work of pastoral ministry, or whether you’re nearing the end of the journey. Another classic I would recommend any Christian read is A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society. This book will change the way you view Christian discipleship. Well worth the read.

So, one of the sermons I read this week offered me a particular challenge in how I view the church (little “c” intentionally used–meaning the local congregation). Here are the two paragraphs that challenged me:

“The ideal church, as far as I’m concerned (which is rooted in my understanding of Scripture), would be one where nobody came near the church for six days and everybody came on Sunday. The best kind of church would be one with no committees or organizations–nothing happening here between Sundays. Not because we have nothing to do but because we have everything to do. During the week we’re out carrying crosses, denying ourselves, following Jesus, making our witness, helping our neighbors, serving God, working responsibly and as hard as we can to be the people of God in serving and suffering the way he’s called us to do it. We work. We do.

“But, then, on the “seventh day” (the first day for Christians), we come here and leave all that behind. And we enjoy everything that God is doing. We become carefree. Free. We become children again. We let God do it all, and you sing and adore and become aware of his presence.”

Sermon “Transfigured”, Eugene Peterson

Ah! A congregation with “no committees or organizations.” A pastor’s dream! But, without the incumbent “work” of ministry that all Christ-followers are called to do in the interim, I’m sure it would soon become a nightmare. Perhaps it has…

I am reminded by Peterson’s words that there is to be no distinction between our work and our worship. We worship AND we work. Worship is meant to fuel our work. Too often, we compartmentalize our lives such that our worship is divorced from the everyday-ness of life. “This” is my religious life, and “that” is my work (everyday) life. I get so much out of the “worship” part that I want to return tomorrow or the next day to experience it again, but in doing so, I neglect the necessity of the “work” part of loving my neighbor or greeting the stranger. Worship becomes the excuse for my failure to work. Ouch!

It is easy to be Christian on Sunday. It is much more difficult to be Christian on Monday when we are met with the challenge of actually putting feet to our faith. And, if I can go to enough bible studies and serve on enough church committees, I can find solace in the fact that “I’ve done my Christian duty.” It becomes easier to forgo the loving my neighbor or caring for the orphan part of our Christian duty.

As a pastor serving full-time in vocational ministry, I thought it was my responsibility to lead Bible studies and develop programs that enhanced the life of the congregation and fostered discipleship in its members. To do otherwise would likely have gotten me fired! Besides, how would anything ever get accomplished in the life of the congregation without committees and organization? Right? Someone has to lead all that. The “work” of the church does need to get done, after all.

Now, serving as a bi-vocational pastor, I’ve come to appreciate the necessity of the work that must be done outside the walls of the church. Listen, folks! The lost aren’t coming to the church anymore. If we would encounter the lost, it will be in the ordinary, everyday encounters we have with the people where we live most of our lives–our work and our home. It is in that environment that we must live obediently and faithfully. It is in the Monday through Saturday of life where disciples are formed. It is in the Monday through Friday of life where the lost are introduced to Jesus, and are offered the opportunity to embrace him as Lord and Savior.

Worship is not an escape from the world…a welcome respite from the challenges of life. Worship is meant to propel us into the world where our work becomes our witness, and our service to others reflects our faithful obedience to Jesus Christ.

I certainly don’t mean to diminish the work I did as a full-time vocational minister, nor am I casting dispersion on the many friends and colleagues who continue to do that work faithfully. I am, however, calling into question the motivations for doing what I did as a pastor, and for doing what we do as congregations. Age and context have given me a different perspective, and that change in perspective has me questioning some of my deeply held beliefs concerning discipleship. That’s all…

I guess the long and short of it for me is that there is no distance between worship and work. The journey of discipleship follows the same road between worship and work. I suppose faithful discipleship is learning how to “keep it between the ditches” along that road.

Until next time, keep looking up…

Confessions of a Seeker-Sensitive Pastor…

/ pastorlynnmalone / 1 Comment

I came to vocational ministry in 1991. The Church Growth Movement and “seeker-sensitive” churches were all the rage as I began my journey in obedience to God’s calling. I was young, inexperienced and on-fire for the Lord. All I wanted was to see people come to Jesus and see the Church grow. I didn’t know any better. I saw what the “big” churches were doing, so that’s what I tried to do. I read all the books, attended the seminars and watched all the videos (VHS in those days!). I embraced the “seeker-sensitive” model wholeheartedly. What did I know?

What is a “seeker sensitive” church? The “seeker-sensitive” church tries to reach out to the unsaved person by making the church experience as comfortable, inviting, and non-threatening as possible. The idea behind the concept is to get as many unsaved people through the door as possible, and to use nearly any means to accomplish that goal. We can’t have unsaved (or saved) people getting bored, so we need to use theatrics and popular music to keep their attention (yes, been there, done that). Gotta’ have that state-of-the-art technology, lighting and great sound equipment if you’re going to do the job correctly.

A lot of churches became very large (and some very quickly) using the “seeker sensitive” model. One of the first was Willow Creek Church in Illinois. Many “mega-churches” grew to become megachurches following the model. I won’t name more here simply because I don’t want my confessions to reflect negatively on any other pastor or any other congregation. That’s not what this post is about.

So? What is this post about? I suppose it’s more about my failure as a pastor as I pursued the “seeker sensitive” approach to ministry, and it’s about unpacking a maturing theology of the church. Maybe it’s just because I’m old and old-fashioned and I’m just tired of trying to make people comfortable in church. Just call me the curmudgeon pastor. That seems to be what I am these days. Maybe it’s because I’m reflecting on Psalm 95 today:

1 Come, let us sing to the Lord!
    Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
    Let us sing psalms of praise to him.
3 For the Lord is a great God,
    a great King above all gods.
4 He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
    and the mightiest mountains.
5 The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
    His hands formed the dry land, too.

6 Come, let us worship and bow down.
    Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
7     for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
    the flock under his care.

If only you would listen to his voice today!
8 The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah,
    as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
9 For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
    even though they saw everything I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with them, and I said,
‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me.
    They refuse to do what I tell them.’
11 So in my anger I took an oath:
    ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”

Psalm 95 (NLT)

For a lot of my ministry, my mentality was, “Let’s just get them to church and they’ll meet Jesus along the way.” Some did. Most, unfortunately, did not. The problem (as I reflect back on over 30 years of ministry) is that the things I did to attract them, I thought I had to continue doing to keep them. And, it always had to be bigger and better the next time. Gotta’ keep up with the times, after all. Hey? If we wanted to be the big church down the street, we needed to act like the big church down the street.

Being a young and passionate (but totally immature) pastor, I thought it was all about getting people in the door so we could introduce them to Jesus Christ. I’ve used a statement many times before that encapsulates this philosophy: The Church is the only organization that exists for those who aren’t there yet. Wow! Can I see the immaturity now (but, hindsight is 20/20, right?). There is a foundational flaw that can really cause the whole building to crumble in that philosophy.

The Church doesn’t exist for those who aren’t there yet. The Church exists for God and God alone! Let’s get that straight. Disciples of Jesus Christ gather as the body of Christ to worship…worship Him by bringing a sacrifice of praise and to offer Him adoration for who He is and what He has done and is doing. He alone is worthy of our praise and the church’s worship should be a sweet-smelling aroma ascending to the throne of God each and every time we gather. That’s what the “seeker” needs to experience each and every time they enter the sanctuary.

Worship is what makes the church different from the world. It is what sets us apart from the world. Invite an unbeliever to “worship” with pop music and a sound and light show, they’re apt to think, well, there’s not much different here from what I get out there. Just a few mentions of God thrown in is about all. Oh, that and a self-help, motivational speech masquerading as a sermon.

A “seeker” can’t bring a level of sacrifice to church. A seeker can bring questions. A seeker can bring doubts. A seeker can bring skepticism. But, a seeker cannot bring worship to the gathered body. And, don’t get me wrong. That’s perfectly okay. They’re not supposed to!

They are, however, supposed to see the body of Christ offering their sacrifice. In so doing, they experience an awesomeness that is missing from the rest of their lives. They capture a glimpse of the holy…and the Holy One…that is too often missing from the broken world in which they spend most of their daily life. It is then that they begin to explore deeper avenues of faith, and hopefully come to know Christ in a saving and life-changing way. Worship itself becomes a converting experience.

Worship becomes witness. That’s a phrase I like better these days. Another phrase that has meaning for me these days is this–The Church gathers for worship and scatters for witness. The conjunction “and” in that last phrase carries a lot of weight. It is in the “and” that the church must build its discipleship model. I don’t want to unpack what a church’s discipleship model should look like (this post is already too long), but suffice it to say that every congregation must have in place a process of moving a new convert from new believer to mature disciple of Jesus Christ.

So, let me repent of my desire to grow large churches. Let me repent of my desire to attract great crowds. Let me repent of my failure to understand the nature of my task as a pastor/preacher. Let me repent of the times I’ve tried to tickle ears to hold the attention of the gathered body (whether believer or seeker). Let me repent of the gimmicks (I actually gave away a cruise once) and gadgets I’ve employed to attract non-believers.

Let me, instead, lead worship that brings glory to God alone. Let me worship in a way that witnesses to the awesome nature and power of the God of the universe who made Himself known in Jesus Christ. Let me lead worship that becomes witness to the wanderer and the seeker. Let me lead worship that becomes a converting experience for all of us. Let me proclaim with boldness the Word of God. Let me help a congregation build a model of discipleship that leads us all into a more intimate relationship with Jesus and with one another, and empowers us to boldly share the Gospel of Jesus with a lost a hurting world. Let me lead worship that compels us to scatter for witness.

Oh, that is my prayer, Lord. Let it be so!

Until next time, keep looking up…

If any of my reflections encouraged or challenged you, follow Not the Perfect Pastor on Facebook for more conversations about faith, ministry, and becoming faithful disciples of Jesus.

Better Days Ahead…

/ pastorlynnmalone / Leave a comment

Driving across north Louisiana a few days ago, I was reminded of how many little churches dot the countryside. Let’s just say…a lot! More than the number dotting the countryside are the number that also populate our small towns and cities. There are small congregations all across the landscape. Many of them are healthy, viable congregations. Others are struggling to pay the pastor (or find one) and keep the doors open. Still others have closed the doors, financially unable to sustain themselves due to the death of a certain congregation member, or through shifting demographics or through changing patterns of worship attendance.

Most of those churches (the ones still open, anyway), whether rural, small town or city are struggling to survive. I know of one congregation whose pastor made an impassioned plea to a gathered body for help in replacing the congregation’s HVAC system. To the pastor’s credit, the plea worked. The gathered body took up a collection and when all was said and done, they collected enough to fix the system. Good for them…I suppose.

I was participating in a meeting recently when the issue of struggling congregations came up. One of the other pastors noted that his congregation (a very healthy multi-site congregation) donated funds to a small, rural congregation to help them repair their HVAC system. I found it odd that two different congregations in two different denominations couldn’t afford to repair the A/C systems, but I took it as symbolic of the nature of the church these days. A large number of congregations are struggling to survive.

I don’t think that trend will reverse in the near future. The reality is that church attendance is on the decline. The Gallup Organization does a great job tracking church attendance, and their research shows a marked decline over the years in worship attendance. I’ll not rehash their research in this blog, nor will I speculate on the reasons for the decline. It’s real! All those struggling congregations are proof of the reality.

And, many more of those congregations will close. As sad as that reality might be, it is still a reality…a reality that few a willing to acknowledge.

“Well, if people would just…”

Fill in your own blank. Priorities. Congregations unwillingness to change. Lack of leadership. Failure to meet needs. The reasons are too numerous to mention. We could unpack them all and it still wouldn’t reverse the trend.

I also need to note that there are still multitudes of healthy, thriving congregations, but for every one of those, there are ten others that should close or will close over the next five years. Seriously, if a congregation can’t afford to fix its own HVAC system when it breaks, should it remain open?

It’s wonderful that others are willing to do what’s necessary to assist struggling congregations. It’s a reflection of our Christian witness. Bravo! But, isn’t it only delaying the inevitable? And, if so, is it something we should applaud? I really don’t think anyone wants to ask the hard questions to struggling congregations. Most likely, it’s because we have a bad theology of death (yeah, that should be unpacked more).

I didn’t intend for this to be a morbid and depressing blog about the death of congregations (or the church). I really intended it to be about a message of hope for the Church. I mean, really, our hope as the Church is not to be found in buildings. Our hope is to be found in the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. The Church will always be, and against it the gates of hell shall not prevail. Isn’t that what Jesus said?

17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16: 17 – 19 (ESV)

On this All Saints Sunday, I am reminded that the destiny of the Church (the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant) lies ahead of us. The best, truly, is yet to come! That is what motivates me to gather with the body of Christ each and every week. That is what motivates me to preach the Gospel to the gathered body week in and week out. That is what motivates me to lead a congregation faithfully, the challenges of our present situation notwithstanding.

I am reminded of John’s vision is The Revelation:

9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 7: 9 – 17 (ESV)

Looking for diversity in the Church? Oh, it’s coming. It’s our destiny! Seeking true worship in the church? It will come. It’s our destiny!

Testing…tribulation, as John calls it, will be ours, as well. That, too, is the destiny of the Church. Yes, it will be experienced as the Church Militant, but it is through the testing that we shall know the great salvation of our God. It is through the testing that we will discover the Lamb who becomes the Shepherd who will lead us to springs of living water, and shall wipe every tear from our eyes.

This is where I find hope amid the closing of congregations and the diminishing worship attendance. Why? Because the Bible says it’s our destiny.

So, let us be faithful to work for diversity. Let us persevere in the face of trials and tribulation. Let us seek to worship in spirit and in truth until that Day comes and all the Church Militant shall be joined together with the Church Triumphant at the throne of God and the feet of the Lamb!

What a day that will be!

Until next time, keep looking up…

Oh, I Want to Go to Church…

/ pastorlynnmalone / 2 Comments

Church. It is a changin’! So say the statistics published recently by the Gallup organization and reported on Churchtrac.com. According to Churchtrac, attendance at regular weekly religious services has fallen consistently in the 21st century, from 32% in 2000 to 20% in 2022 (view chart here). That’s a fairly precipitous decline in such a short period of time. Yes, I know, Covid-19 happened (and the pandemic may have accelerated the decline), but the decline started long before the pandemic, so let’s not blame it all on that.

And, we wonder why our culture is in decline! Yes, the culture is in decline. I invite you to change my mind. When I say the culture, I mean the American culture. Seriously, can any of us say we are better off than a generation ago? It has always been the desire of one generation to leave a better world for the next generation (you know, your children and grandchildren). I’m not so sure that we ( I mean my generation–I was born the last year of the “boomer” generation) will be leaving our progeny a better world. I think the decline in church attendance is one of the primary reasons why. What do I mean?

We haven’t passed on the faith to the next generation. We (I mean my generation) have lost our perspective when it comes to faith formation. According to Barna Research, Boomers had the highest drop off rate in returning to worship post-Covid at 22%. I don’t mean to bore you with numbers, but research shows our failure in passing on the faith. I can hear the words of Deuteronomy 6 in my ear:

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heartand with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

The primary place of faith formation is in the home, but we need the church (and we need to go to church) to be reminded of who we are and Whose we are. We need to go to church to remind us that we are connected to something greater than ourselves, to remind us that we are not the center of the universe (and neither are our children or grandchildren). We need to go to church to experience the transcendent nature of the Almighty, to remind us that morality matters and why it matters. We need a church family (yes, I said need!) for connection and community.

I know the argument that community is found in so many other places nowadays, but too many of the places people are finding community are in places where connection and community can happen without any moral compass. Yes, people have ethics and each of those communities have boundaries that define them, but too often those boundaries are rooted in activities rather than in any type of moral foundation. The morals and ethics brought to those communities come from outside those communities (generally), and my point is that the more we move away from the place that we find a moral compass, the further we drift from a firm foundation. The church, with all its faults and failures, is STILL the place we will find a moral compass and a firm foundation.

But, the Church is a mess, right? Of course it is! Guess what? It always has been. There have been (and there will always be) times when Christians individually, and the Church corporately, have failed to live up the standards set by Jesus and the Apostles (man! Am I living proof of that fact!). The Church has sometimes failed to embody its own values. Here’s the thing, though: the values survive the failures! That’s why there’s hope, and that’s why I want to go to church.

I am reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew:

Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16: 18

I take this as Jesus’ promise that the Church will not go so far astray that it becomes something it was never meant to be. Though the Church may not be perfect does not mean that Jesus is not perfectly faithful in keeping His promises. Otherwise, hell would win, and well, that’s just not going to happen!

The Church is rooted not in the failures of individuals or institutions, but in its creeds, doctrines and sacraments. These give the Church anchor, and they give we who attend regularly anchor in our lives. When we miss church (and the more we miss church) we lose a little bit of our anchor…our foundation. The more un-moored we become from the church the more the culture will drift from any firm foundation holding it together.

I believe there is still time, though, to recover our foundations. How will it happen? Not by waiting on bishops or clergy to change the world. It will happen when we look in the mirror. You and I are the Church. You and I must to be connected to one another with a common thread of faith because whatever the Church is going to be or whatever the Church is going to do, it will be or do because you and I step up and participate. You and I, as imperfect as we are, are perfectly suited to be vessels the Holy Spirit can use to change the world. It won’t happen if we’re not connected to each other.

Maybe I had to write this today because I’ve been singing this song all week:

Let’s all go to church!

Until next time, keep looking up…