The expressions of church that will likely survive  in this new century are the expressions of church that bring spiritual meaning, connection and purpose to people who no longer find meaning in simply signing up.   Rituals will connect with people where they’re at–and yes, we’re including liturgical rituals in this imagination.  Denominational-ism, while currently devalued, will retain a place in 21st century Christianity, but without much of the pride and exclusivity that have so poorly defined its character.  As one of my colleagues, Pastor Tim, says, it’s likely though that the mainline Protestants will merge together under a big umbrella.  And like the many sub-identities of the Roman Catholic Church–from the Jesuits to the Franciscans to the charismatics–the 21st century merged Protestant churches will maintain the familiar sub-identities we call Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Church of Christ, Episcopalian.

The churches that seem to “get it,” like the historic peace churches that got out in front to lead the rest of us on the Iraq War– these churches may do quite well indeed.  This past decade, their people and leaders have modeled  Christian integrity as they have called us all, time and time again, to the principles of non-violence, reconciliation  and forgiveness that define the Good News in Christ.  Meanwhile, too many of us have been mired in church cultures where Christan belief has long been welded to American Exceptionalism, so much so that too many of us adopted a “tiptoe through the minefield” strategy in order to survive.  A lot of us Lutherans ducked behind the Augsburg Confession’s stated position that the affairs of state are best left to the state, and that we should spend more time tending to the spiritual realm.  So we kept quiet, prayed for the troops, and officiated some funerals for the unfortunate young folks who came home in a box from that damned war.   (It isn’t profanity when you call a thing what it is.)  But, I digress…………

Churches that make plenty of room for doubt, for questions and for uncertainty, will serve people who are starving for such communities.  These churches stand the best chance of becoming strong faith communities, since the primary opponent of faith isn’t doubt, it’s certainty.

I believe the Church’s best gift to this emerging 21st century culture is found in the ancient heritage that rises above the limitations of creed and doctrine, yet it’s also a heritage that  also paradoxically claims these things as the identity markers that hold different, even disagreeable people, together in community.  Like many folks, I’m drawn to the legacy bequeathed to us by the earliest Christian churches that left their mark on the New Testament.  These were different faith communities, radically different in some cases, and some communities brought radical differences together around a common table.  The New Testament witness reveals there were problems–oh boy (Oy!), were there problems!  Yet these folks continued to live together in these communities, and they ultimately gave the larger Greco-Roman culture some priceless gifts; first and foremost being the value of every person–slave, child, female, or free citizen–in the sight of a loving God.

Today we live in a culture where folks pursue their ambitions with strategies that often include de-humanizing and demonizing anyone they perceive to be in their way.   This has been going on so long that the society hasn’t been rended, it’s been “chasmed.”    That chasm seems un-bridgeable at the moment.  If the Church could see and seize this opportunity, it could become the place where people who disagree could gather together and model the behavior that can heal us and make us whole.  There is a balm in Gilead, and it’s the gift of life St. Paul lifted up to the Galatian churches as the life they could find in the Spirit:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (today we might add “divisions”). If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

(Galatians 5:23-26)

This won’t be a perfect model; it never was.  But it’s a model that can bring tangible healing and salvation to a world torn asunder by all those things Paul would ascribe to the life lived only in the acceptance of a physical reality.  And this church can call us all to a higher standard of behavior toward those we find disagreeable.  This church can remind all of us that the divine spark of God flickers in both friend and enemy.

There is another expression of church that will find good footing in these times.  The church with an organic gospel, the good news that God is part and parcel with every aspect of the material world–our planet as well as the universe–this church can guide people down a healthy path that folks like Emerson and Whitman thought possible only through humanism.   It’s true that the ancient gnosticism pitting noble, incorruptible spirit against the evil materialism of nature, this has gotten far too entrenched in Christianity.   Most folks know that it’s just not right to knock down mountains, poison rivers and destroy habitat merely for the sake of extracting its resources for our own gain.  Most folks know that such behavior is contributing to much of the death-dealing activity that threatens the earth and all its species.  Organic gospel churches that stand against this ongoing devastation might do very well.

But we must know that we can no longer define “well” by membership numbers.  Instead, “well” should refer to the integrity of the church and its faithfulness to its essential, historic message of a life to be lived in the love of God .   That’s the historic message carried by a diversity of historic folks, including the Ignacii from both Antioch and Loyola; the Martins of Tours, Wittenberg and Birmingham; both Billys, Billy Graham and Billy, the long-haired Jesus Freak toting around a dog-eared copy of Good News for Modern Man.

I expect the Church as we’ve known it, will continue to decline during my lifetime.  But resurrection cannot happen without death.  Even now, the 21st century expressions of church are emerging.   These expressions defy labels and categories through their newness and adaptability to the changing present.  We shouldn’t be too surprised or feel too threatened, since it all goes back to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the profound changes these events brought into the life of the world.

Meanwhile, in all we do, as we live day after day in this uncertain, sometimes fearsome, new century, maybe the best advice on how to conduct our daily business comes from one of the ancient leaders of the second century Church, Irenaeus of Lyons.  In turbulent and uncertain times, he wrote, “The business of the Christian is nothing else than to be ever preparing for death.”  As I read him, there’s not one snitch of fatalism to be found in that statement, only the paradox that we find in Christ, that to die is to live, and live abundantly.  So we live, working to make the world a suitable inheritance for those who follow us.  We live, knowing that All Things Must Pass (to borrow from George Harrison), and those things include our thoughts and dreams and everything else you and I grasp on to as a way to comfortably frame our sense of reality.  We live, believing that Life and Love continue to grow and to blossom in the new realities that exist beyond our framework.

To wrap up, here’s a version of “All Things Must Pass” performed by the Friends of George at his memorial concert, held in the dawning years of this new century.  Try watching the entire DVD of the Concert for George, especially the part where East meets West, and I think you might find some of the touchstones that are even now defining new expressions of spirituality and community in the 21st century.

This may come as a shock to most Christians, but if you do a search of the less contemporary translations of scripture, the word “feelings” is virtually nonexistent. Where it does appear, it is cited as more of a superficial, even negative attribute than a positive; and yet, as we watch and listen to many from today’s churches, be they leaders or laymen, not only do we see a clear fixation on feelings, both physical and emotional, we notice that those feelings have by and large become a replacement for faith.

In fact, if you substitute the word “feelings” wherever you see the word “faith” in those older Bible versions, it will become clear to you what motivates and guides the average “Christian” today – point being: most of us are not following the Living Word of God by faith, we’re simply following our feelings and calling it “faith.”

This doesn’t require a Bible.

When one considers the sobering words of the prophet Jeremiah, who said: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked…” it should cause us to take a discerning look at what moves us. If our worship and service to Jesus Christ is measured by mood, then may I suggest our “Christianity” is more theatrical than theological?

Could it be those laughing and crying masks taken from Greek comedies and tragedies that once hung in old movie theaters now belong on the walls of today’s churches? Honestly, is that not what many of us come to church for these days – to hopefully experience a good laugh or cry with friends, aided by mood-altering music, motivational speakers, movie clips, drama and sugary snacks? Is this not what many modern day preachers, teachers, pastors and worship leaders attempt to facilitate among their congregants and class members through emotional presentations and elaborate productions… strong feelings that generate laughter, tears and applause?

And, if you haven’t noticed, leading the charge are people who are very “passionate.”

You see, “passion” is a buzzword that is commonly used among contemporary Christians to give assorted “ministries,” however abstract and bizarre, a perceived legitimacy. If a Christian is “passionate” about something, it is automatically assumed and accepted by the brethren to be God-ordained, in spite of what the Bible teaches.

As flesh, we are naturally drawn to whomever or whatever gratifies us; but that does not mean all people, places and things that make us feel good are good for us. Feelings are easily manipulated, especially in group settings where consensus is king; and those feelings can become obstacles in our obedience to Christ when we make them our primary motivation and navigation through life.

We know that drugs, alcohol, food, sex, entertainment, recreation and career can all be addictive and destructive when misused and abused. Add wealth, fame, power and influence to the mix, where pride becomes an accelerant, and you have an explosive combination. What most of us, even Christians, don’t realize though is that at the heart of it all is the subtle setting-aside of God’s Word in order to feel good.

Some of us do it for results, and others, for relationships.

Eve was deceived by the serpent’s seductive words and took of the forbidden fruit to get results and thus feel good about herself. Adam accommodated her because of their relationship in order to sustain the connection and good feelings between them. She chose results and he chose relationship – both chose to feel good at God’s expense; and it backfired.

This is the 21st century church.

Mind you, the objective here is not to feel bad, but to hear, obey and proclaim the Word of God regardless of how it makes anyone feel. When we ignore His Word to spare our own feelings, we resist the Holy Spirit. And, when we withhold the Word from others to spare their feelings, we stifle our witness and demonstrate to one and all that we are more interested in gratifying goats, seducing sheep and running rampant with the herd, than submitting to the Shepherd.
This is why the church is in such decline – because we are going out of our way and sparing no expense to accommodate people and their passions instead of God and His Word.

Do we really expect the Lord to bless and multiply that?

“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” – 2nd Timothy 4:1-4

 Paul Proctor, a rural resident of the Volunteer state and seasoned veteran of the country music industry, retired from showbiz in the late 1990′s to dedicate himself to addressing important social issues from a distinctly biblical perspective. As a freelance writer and regular columnist for NewsWithViews.com, he extols the wisdom and truths of scripture through commentary and insight on cultural trends and current events. His articles appear regularly on a variety of news and opinion sites across the internet and in print.

Sometimes I wonder if 21st Century believers are working hard to accomplish some of the very things Moses crossed a blistering desert to escape.  I mean, Egypt had splendor, sophistication and technology.  But Moses sacrificed it all to become a dirty, bearded, barefoot prophet for a God who wanted to live in a tent!  Something tells me that Moses wouldn’t have the first idea about what to do at one of our Arts & Worship Conferences.

In a world where even the term modern seems archaic to people who call themselves postmodern, what are we to make of those bearded, barefoot guys from the Stone Age who wrote our Bible?  In 1500 BC, high-tech was all about carving granite artistically.  Not only did God forbid being represented by some artistic graven image, but he even warned his people not to use tools to decorate their altars.  [EX 20:26] Moses was so astute, he didn’t even argue that everybody back in Egypt built their altars with dressed stones.  Selah.

Of course we understand why Old Testament prophets appear out of step with our sophisticated world of I-Phones and high fashion, but we tend to forget they looked painfully unsophisticated to their uncivilized neighbors, too.  I think people were shocked when Isaiah walked down the street stripped down to his underwear.  The nerve! And we know for a fact that David’s emissaries were so humiliated when a foreign king shaved off half their beards that they were allowed to remain in hiding until their beards grew back.  So how foolish do you suppose Ezekiel looked when God ordered him to shave his hair and his beard?

The holy men who wrote our Bible needed to have their feet washed before they could eat with friends because both animals and people went to the bathroom alongside every road and highway they traversed.  And they were lucky to enjoy a bath even once a week.

It should remind us that there is such a thing as trying too hard.  Sometimes we try much too hard for sophistication in a ministry that has often been advanced by men who looked like fools.  Sure, Paul complimented the Greeks at Mars Hill on their diverse religiosity, but only a few sentences later he reminded them they were all accountable to the One True God.  It really didn’t go that well!

I remind myself that God has seldom valued virtues like polish and chic sophistication.  He has always worked to cultivate things like durable faith and visible integrity.  And when I recall that some of the holiest men who ever lived had matted beards and smelly feet, I remember that God cherishes humility as well.

Welcome to the Desert!

Why is it important to know all these things?  Because this is world in which people seek faith.  This is the world of the global media culture in which the church of the early 21st century will be built or within which it will fall apart, or fade away.  There are lessons here if we have eyes to see and ears to hear.