Yesterday, I heard a statement from Church Consultant, Conrad Lowe: “The church (in America) is not being persecuted, it is being ignored.” I cringed when I heard him say that. It’s not that I am itching to suffer persecution. The thought of being arrested or tortured for preaching the Gospel of Christ is not attractive to me. But the idea that we are having so little impact in our culture, we are making so little difference, that people are actually forgetting that we are even here – well that is truly troubling.
How can it be that there are so many Christ followers in our country, so much institutional Christianity, yet our neighbors don’t even know we are here? History tells us that the church used to be the epicenter of activity in our communities. In most town squares stood a church building that was as much a part of the happenings as the court house, school or the post office. Now most churches sit empty Monday through Saturday and many are just as empty on Sunday.
How can we go from being ignored to being recognized, known and, most important – effective? How can we become major players in the lives of people in our communities? A few ideas:
Get out! - we have to actually go out into the community, engage people where they live, work and go to school. The best thing the church can do in order to allow people to see us is get out of the building!
Connect – church leaders have to “do life” with those outside of the church. How long has it been since you hung out with someone other than a family member or church leader? Intentional connection is vital to our effectiveness.
Relate – we should try to stay current with trends and movements in our culture. If we appear to be out of touch, we probably are.
The truth is, we may one day have to make a choice. If we start making enough noise (through our Christ-like ministries) that we can no longer be ignored, we may find ourselves on the receiving end of persecution. If we have to choose one or the other, I think I would prefer persecution over being ignored.
Which is worse?
How can it be that there are so many Christ followers in our country, so much institutional Christianity, yet our neighbors don’t even know we are here? History tells us that the church used to be the epicenter of activity in our communities. In most town squares stood a church building that was as much a part of the happenings as the court house, school or the post office. Now most churches sit empty Monday through Saturday and many are just as empty on Sunday.
How can we go from being ignored to being recognized, known and, most important – effective? How can we become major players in the lives of people in our communities? A few ideas:
Get out! - we have to actually go out into the community, engage people where they live, work and go to school. The best thing the church can do in order to allow people to see us is get out of the building!
Connect – church leaders have to “do life” with those outside of the church. How long has it been since you hung out with someone other than a family member or church leader? Intentional connection is vital to our effectiveness.
Relate – we should try to stay current with trends and movements in our culture. If we appear to be out of touch, we probably are.
The truth is, we may one day have to make a choice. If we start making enough noise (through our Christ-like ministries) that we can no longer be ignored, we may find ourselves on the receiving end of persecution. If we have to choose one or the other, I think I would prefer persecution over being ignored.
Which is worse?
- Rick Whitter
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Wow...that statement blew me away as well. What's worse? Being ignored...by far. IMHO, when you cease to be relevant, others become indifferent to your existence; consequently, your voice is ignored by those around you.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, we blame (myself included) the darkness present in the world for the indifference of unbelievers. In reality, it's most likely our absence of light in the midst of that darkness. One thing's for sure: Jesus was never ignored, no matter where he went or what he was doing. The problem is certainly not our Savior or His message...it's us and our failure to engage the darkness around us in a relevant fashion.
We talk a lot about being like Jesus...if we were, it would be impossible to be ignored. Thanks, Rick, for compelling us to action.
That is good stuff Rick!! Leonard Ravenhill said years ago something like this: "We have hundreds of thousands of mnisters in America; still, America has not turned to God."
ReplyDeleteWe certainly do need an awakening in the church today. One that will drive us into the harvest.
"Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."
How do we reconcile the fact that at this moment we have the largest individual congregations in the history of the church with the fact that we have the lowest penetration levels of our communities?
ReplyDeleteIs bigger better?
Would the "cell" approach be effective? (divide the body each time you reach a certain size)
I don't know the answer but I am deeply concerned about the irrelevance of today's church and it's potentially prophetic meaning. Will He find faith on the earth when He returns?
James, I hear you heart. We have to be disconcerted at our lack of impact.
ReplyDeleteI believe that size is nearly irrelevant when it comes to reaching the community. We have all seen small churches and large churches effectively connect with their communities and world and bring life to those who were otherwise dying. Utilizing our preferred model, the church of Acts, I would think that increased size could be a result, rather than a cause, of effective ministry. As the church of Acts moved out under the power of the Holy Spirit, increased numbers of people we impacted and responded. The church grew dramatically both in influence and numbers. Is this the norm, are we to assume that this is a pattern that we are to follow?
I do believe that entirely too much emphasis has been placed on increasing attendance numbers. But I do believe that, as we reach out to our generation and connect them with a life-changing God, word will spread and just maybe others will also respond.
This may also relate to the original idea of suffering persecution for the cause of Christ. History tells us that the persecuted churches are the growing churches.
Do we need to be persecuted in order to grow? I certainly hope not. But once again, if it is a matter of choosing between persecution which results in growth or being ignored, in theory, I choose the former. I suppose my actions speak much louder than my words.