What I learned at Fall Convocation or What are we doing here anyways?

           I love the fall retreat that the NC Synod hosts each year at Lutheridge. I love it because September is a great month to be in Arden. I love it because it is a nice rest from the busy life of pasturing while at the same time providing tools and information to help make us betters leaders. Once again, we had a great presenter in Dr. David Lose, who talked about how we share the biblical story. He pointed out something most pastors and church members of mainline churches know: we are declining. The story of the “mainline decline” is nothing new. He also pointed out that an overwhelming number of Christians today know less of their bible than previous generations. This is despite having more access to bibles, biblical education materials, and professionally trained theologians (pastors/rostered leaders) than ever. Why is that?

            Dr. Loses suggests, and after listening I think he has a great point, that the reason Christians know their biblical stories less, and the reason our churches decline, is that the Biblical story has shrunk in the imagination of our people. That is to say that we no longer see the bible as a sacred story that has something to say to us, but rather as a collection of stories that had something to do with people who lived long ago. And the smaller the story looms, the less it matters to their everyday life. The less it matters to their everyday life the less it matters at all. The less it matters at all, the quicker people leave our pews, not for another church, but for nothing at all.

            So what are doing here then? Or what are we going to do? Well, we need to do is make the story of the Bible a story that is relevant. Not relevant as in a Rule Book or a map to living the Best Life Ever!!! But relevant as in a story that helps explain who we are. Relevant as in a story we want to actually share with others because it’s a story that matters to our lives, and if makes a difference for us then it can make a difference for others too. I think church leadership is to blame as much as anyone because we have not been teaching this and we have not been making disciples as Jesus calls us to. Rather we have been training Lutherans: that know when to respond in the liturgy, and know when they have heard an entertaining or “good” sermon. This passivity may have worked for us and our parents and grandparents (although I really don’t think it did), but if we want a church relevant for our children and grandchildren we must do something. We must go and make disciples again.

            How do we do that? Well in a lots of ways, mainly through relationship and leaders who will equip members for ministry instead of just “feeding” them another sermon. There are a lot of steps and not everyone can do all of them. However, there is one step that I believe we can all take, regardless of gifts and age that will help us to bring the biblical narrative back into our churches and our lives and make us healthier and more missionally minded churches. We can imagine ourselves in the middle of the biblical story once again. We can start to look at our bibles as a book about God AND about our world today. We can preach the Gospel as a story worth being a part of and worth sharing with others. If we can take that first step, then maybe the disciple making won't seem so daunting and foreign. Then the story of “mainline decline” can be replaced with the story of the God’s Spirit renewing the whole world.

Note: This is also my pastor's article for our October 2013 newsletter.