Monday, November 10, 2014

Splinters in our out-stretched hands

Tell me what church, what denomination, this story is talking about.

Conservatives have long viewed the reigning power structures with suspicion thanks to moderates or progressives turning the focus away from the culture war toward a more welcoming approach and a greater emphasis on serving the poor.

Just last month's high-level discussion on the modern family, moving toward an inclusive view and even into concrete policies on gays and divorced and those remarried. Some are even calling for a schism, a split of the denomination. Conservatives are now openly talking splintering away from the denomination.

Hey, it ain't the Methodists, this time.

It's -- believe it or not -- Catholicism which might soon be called Schismism if this continues.

What all this means, of course, is that no one knows exactly what to do with the culture wars. Pope Francis has aimed the church at inclusiveness. Some would say that is the tipping point.

But it isn't the first time schism or splintering has been discussed. The irony is most Catholic churches over the y ears who have split from the "Catholic" (which means universal with a little c), church keep normal Catholic characteristics, which means they keep bishops, priests and the sacraments and believe their leaders are in apostolic succession. And it is not just gay rights that have split the church over the years. Some want(ed) women priest, some cling to the Latin Mass, some churches split over African-American rights and on and on.

Who am I to comment, though? I belong to a denomination that has been united only since 1968.

My point is this. We have reached a stage in the life of the Church (big C) that says if you don't like what I say in church, wait a while till there is a splinter then pick and choose like some sort of spiritual buffet.

And IT IS WRONG.
Plain out wrong.
Simply wrong.
Wrong without question.

We can't keep this up, till there is no church to go to. In America, 3,500 to 4,000 churches close their doors each year. Churches are losing an estimated 2,765,000 each year. The ministry loses 1,500



pastors a year. Only 15 percent of churches in America are growing, and only 2.2 percent of those are growing with new converts.

I'm at a new church plant that began with 47 persons on the first Sunday and we've back the plane into the mountain with a low of 31 yesterday. Just saying.

Now at some point I need to give an answer to the dilemma. Yet, I can't. I'd love to, but I can't at this point. What I do know is that breaking away from the existing church because we don't all agree on all things spiritual simply isn't that answer. It will not attract new persons who need to know Jesus is the answer for the rather fragile human condition. It will simply say to this persons, "We are exactly like you. We fight. We fuss. We fail." So where is Jesus in that?

What we need is an answer. Jesus is the only way, the only truth, the only life. But what that means to the church is what we must answer. Rather soon.

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