Do you enjoy garage sales? We’re currently preparing to have one at our house this summer. We’ve been going through things, keeping what we need and getting rid of what we don’t. Let me ask you a question: What if the Church had a massive garage sale? Author Phyllis Tickle believes that’s exactly what’s happening today. In her book The Great Emergence, she describes a 500 year phenomenon that sees the church experiencing a seismic change. A change that’s kind of like a garage sale. We’re going through our stuff, keeping what we need and getting rid of what we don’t. Here’s how she described it in a recent interview:
Author Rob Bell describes the change this way:
Whether this is true or not for the church is a great discussion. However, there’s no doubt that this great change is true for our surrounding culture. Technology has indeed ushered us into a whole new world. Things are changing. I mean really changing! If you don’t believe me check out the following statistics (or you can just watch the video on this link - YouTube Video - Did You Know).
Wow! This is crazy stuff. But what does it mean for the Church? Change can be tough to accept, that’s no lie, but it doesn’t have to be. People can get downright nasty when threatened with change. In fact the very word makes many of us uncomfortable. It’s good to remember the following:
I’ll never forget what my friend Bob did during a tough conversation in our church about this topic. Bob--our most senior member who has attended our church for decades--got everyone’s attention by walking up to a whiteboard and writing 2 things:
Let those words stew for a while. There will be changes...and that’s ok! Change is good. Change is necessary...And we will survive! There is no problem too big for the church today. In some ways, the post Christian society we live in (where the majority of people don’t go to church simply just to go to church) is simply creating opportunities for churches to reinvent themselves to correspond to culture. It was Mark Twain who said “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.” The Post Christian society we find ourselves in is an appropriate time to do just that. Church Forums aren’t setting out to change church just for the sake of change. We simply want to create a better church that can more effectively impact lives. I like how Phyllis Tickle puts it:
I can’t think of a better structure to usher in this change then Church Forums. If your church is open and ready for a complete makeover, we will give you the tools to help. Your church can also just try hosting a forum once or twice to see if it’s for you. This path might be better if leadership or congregation is reluctant to embrace this idea. The best part is that Church Forums require no cost and no special skills. It’s simply a free strategy to doing church in a new way that better connects with your surrounding community. Sometimes changes are too radical. Sometimes they’re not radical enough. Church Forums don’t have to alienate anyone, it’s simply a model for hosting and creating positive dialogue that will generate interest in the life of your church. In fact the very topic of CHANGE is actually one of my favorite conversations to have with both churched and unchurched people at a forum event.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |