I have had a rather interesting conversation regarding 'the Church' being more accessible and acceptable to those outside it. Their claim is that the more we become welcoming and accepting the more it will grow. They used as their evidence to support this the changes made in the Episcopalian church which they claim is now inclusive and therefore more acceptable to those outside who no longer find it to be 'phobic' or fundamental. They tell me that this is the way that Church will grow!
Now I had to admit that the more we move ourselves from the old values and standards in terms of lifestyle, attitudes and actions, the more we look like the world and remove the 'counter-cultural' elements that have been the hallmark of the Church since the Old Testament origins *when of course it was Judaism); not only that but the orthodoxy that once existed is lost. The end result of this is not an open and growing Church but a liberal, revisionist and declining one.
Now my viewpoint caused a bit of a kerfuffle as what the other person heard was something akin to the Phelps-like attitudes of Westboro, which was neither intent nor reality. What I heard from the other person was that anything goes and that we should realise that the Bible has to be re-written to work in the society we now live in - the old needs to be put off and new attitudes and requirements need to be added. Inclusive Church is a growing Church because everyone can come in!
Now I don't like Church when it excludes people, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (not mine but Paul's words - Romans 3) and all are welcome because Christ died for them (NT everywhere). I believe that there are certain things that are contrary to that which the Bible calls us to be and do and that these things are consistent and should not be erased in the name of inclusive popularity. I also struggle with those who wish to use the Eucharist as a weapon as much as I do with those who consider universalism and all gods leading to the one true God!
To try and explain the folly in the belief that looking like the world and being 'more acceptable' and inclusive brings people into Church I turned to some statistics (thanks to Not Another Episcopal Church Blog) relating to the Episcopalian Church;
Net Change in Active Membership from Prior Year
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
-50,804 -37,823 -59,457 -51,949 -54,436
ASA
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
765,326 727,822 705,257 682,963 657,831
Change in ASA from Prior Year
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
-21,945 -37,504 -22,565 -22,294 -25,132
So I'll let the figures explain what I was trying to say yesterday. Being 'inclusive' such that we look like the world is not the way to grow church numbers (thinking here of Episcopalian and CofE) - we need to be preaching the Gospel, living the Gospel and remain counter-cultural - why bother to come into a place that's the same as the place you are leaving?
I think the numbers reflect this quite well, don't you?
Pax
3 comments:
I think that some people look to the Church for certainty or continuity, things staying as they are, without change.
The truth is of course that the church has changed and always will, perhaps it's the type of change that we go through that points either to Jesus Christ or to Satan.
I don't believe that the Bible needs to be re-written. Re-Interpreted as new knowledge becomes available of the context that it was written in. It's strengths need to be from those preaching and teaching being able to draw comparisons from it which apply in our lives today.
Having been brought up in the RC Church, I feel that the CofE is actually quite liberated, although restrictive in terms of how it treats some people in terms of their gender or sexuality.
I know that I won't change that very much, but hope that the example of love and compassion that emanates from the Church is able to make all feel that they have a place in the church. The two greatest commandments remain my guide for life and how I treat others, and we acknowledge that in our BCP services and some CW services.
Perhaps it's the bits that are man made and not God centred that could change.
So, where am I. I think that I have moved over the past 4 years from a pretty orthodox Catholic model towards more of a liberal catholic model in terms of churchmanship and belief.
Where will I be in five years time? Only God knows, I certainly don't.
The Holy Spirit has a lot to do with this as I learn more about God, more about myself and more about how to treat others. It's continual growth and development as an individual, which I do see mirrored in others around me.
As we change, I suspect that the Church will change, but not in any hurry. In time with God's will, not ours.
So what you're saying is that being liberal is not a great strategy in terms of Church Growth?
Think many of us have already realised this and whilst some speak of growth in liberal churches my experience is that any growth is the result of liberals leaving traditional or orthodox churches and joining those who are like minded. I don't see them adding new members but merely engaging in transfer growth with pockets of liberal thinking being collected in smaller dissenting groups.
So traditional is damaged and reduced because of the liberals and yet liberals add no new members - is this what you think?
Hmm, it's that old conundrum of being 'in the world not of the world'. How do we live alongside those who have differing moral and cultural views to us, without either withdrawing into a 'holy huddle' or adopting their practices and beliefs? We cannot hope to influence the world around us if we don't engage with it: we are, ourselves, influenced and changed by being in proximity to the Father and Son through the Spirit. It's that same spiritual osmosis that we hope to achieve by living among our neighbours, but exhibiting different lifestyles. It can't happen unless we are spending time with them so that they can see and experience the difference, without feeling that they are being condescended to or judged. Therefore, perhaps we should be thinking less about how to get 'them' into church and more about how we, the church, can go and be where they are?
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