Crisis in the Church?

A very poignant statement that involves all that holds God, His Church, and our involvement in what we hold sacred as crucial for the future of worship and stability of Christianity. The crux of the matter brings up questions pertaining to the growth of the Church, from early eras when the Church was the central strength for believers, to the present time of the early 21st century. My recollection of pre-Vatican II days is one that brings the Baltimore Catechism to mind, the memorization of particular mandates and prayers, and admiring the respect for clergy and religious.

As we look at our present time with Christianity, our local churches, and what some might call rapid diminishment of our congregations, the first question might be, when did this crisis begin? Or even more poignantly, how did this predicament ever get started? These are two of perhaps a myriad of questions that may never completely be resolved, but just like the pronouncement of Elijah, that all struggles to reach the top of the mountain end up with a slide down the other side, indicates that solutions to any problem will require many challenges.

Let’s combine the two questions into a more realistic dilemma of what was the cause of forgetting God’s place in their personal lives? One could go back to the Book of Exodus, when Moses went up the mountain to speak with God, while the Israelites grew tired of waiting and fashioned a golden calf to worship, and all the while ignoring what they just recently experienced; freedom from their taskmasters and the promise of a country flowing with milk and honey. Is this symbolic of what today’s churchgoers are going through? We live in an instantaneous environment, gratification, fast money, and, perhaps worse of all, having our way in all aspects of fast living, and the feeling of; “I did it my way”. What happened to God’s place within our lives? Do we have too much? Are we so pampered that, if we can’t do it, then nobody can?

One sure perspective is we have not forgotten God; we just put Him in second place in our life. God, to many, has become a necessity in times of dire straits, but otherwise just another entity to adhere to because we’ve always done this. Some aren’t even conscious as to why they go to church, except for the fact our parents and grandparents did it, so we will as well.

Thankfully, there are those who are searching for something but not quite sure what. Augustine’s famous quote; “Our heart is restless until it rests in You” tells us that God made us to one day live with Him in eternity, and this is somehow imbedded within our spirits, and many do not know what they are looking for until one day they awaken to this deep and abiding reality that, that unknown is known as God.

Today, the Church is searching for ways to keep the congregations together in a meaningful manner that utilizes a diminished clergy pool, a need to judiciously use existing structures that will meet the immediate needs of the people, and sound ways to keep the flow of monetary funds coming in to support the local Church.

We certainly have the personnel within our church who are gifted enough to meet these various requirements, but how to use them in a solicitous manner may take lots of discretion and thought. The most important factor we as church leaders must adhere to is not to disregard the presence of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus promised us He will always be with us. Too often those in charge within many areas of life fail to rely upon God’s wanting to guide and support our decisions. This is prime in meeting the criteria of a looming crisis which is not as bad as we might envision. As the Church moves forward in it’s quest to meet all the aforementioned needs, let us, as church, work collectively as the Body of Christ and seek His guidance as we move ahead into the future.