A few years ago, I met up with a friend who had just moved to Columbus because of a job opportunity, and part of that transition was finding a new place to worship (and more!). He had been a part of a non-denominational church, and that pastor gave him a list of several other churches, which he considered to be relatively similar to their respective ministry. As my friend checked them out, he didn’t necessarily agree. In his mind, they were all “fluff.” They were just “potatoes” with “no meat,” no substance. No small groups with theological connections with the Sunday message, like he was used to with the previous church. They were, instead, more like social hours, just to hang out.
Of course, all of us mainline-Protestant readers react: “Well, yeah! That’s what we’ve been trying to say for [x-amount] of years about those ‘up-and-coming’ gargantuan monstrosity megachurches! Why don’t you come check out how true church is done at our place?!?” Except such high-and-mightiness about ourselves serves as the perfect breeding ground for those “other” churches. I didn’t see it as my place to tell him to check out a local ELCA congregation or any other mainline-Protestant or denominational-identity churches. That wasn’t what shaped his faith at that time in his life, and that’s perfectly fine (yes, it actually was and is perfectly fine!).
Around that same time, the Lutheran church was in the midst of its worldwide 500th Reformation anniversary celebration. There seemed to be this relatively minor emphasis on the whole ecumenical thing: with our Roman Catholic siblings in Christ, along with Communion partners, and more. It almost felt as if we put those seemingly fine-print mentions on websites, church newsletters, and whatever communications just to make ourselves look good. But no matter how much we tried to remember that united body-of-Christ-front, we still celebrated Lutheranism/Martin Luther/Small Catechism/anything else that related to…us. We were and still have our moments (especially with Reformation this upcoming weekend) of rah-rah Lutheran us.
And yet, I hope we don’t forget to remember that united body-of-Christ-front. I hope we can gradually move past the competitive mindset that has infiltrated the church from capitalism/success/business models 101/anything else that…well, drives us away from the original body of Christ formation for the sake of the entire world, including across all denominational identities and even those without any identity (yes, the cross, actually, had that universal clause built in well before any Luther/Lutheran or any denomination came along). I hope we can move past coming up with new menu items to, hopefully, bring in more consumers for whatever “meat” we offer, all the while trying to subtle-ly slip in an un-written expectation for costs to be covered by official members in our joint ministry/business-model.
There’s obviously nothing wrong with trying new things. Obviously, the whole Reformation thing is based on newness (even though Luther pretty much stole Jesus’ material, but minor detail). But we’re not in this ministry of newness (new life, new outlook, new identity in Christ, etc.), to somehow better another operation down the road. We’re trying new things for a new world out there. We’re trying to meet the needs of humanity just as our One Lord called us to do, and that will, indeed, involve change with evolving culture, technology, language, and on and on we could go.
In the end, however, we’re all working from the same Source. We’re all working from and in the same body of Christ, the same body of Christ that God thought was a divinely essential idea to give to the world, the same body of Christ that God thought was a divinely necessary idea for the church to embody for the sake of all children of God on all stages of the faith journey. Regardless of whatever menu list of worship/outreach opportunities or website design or architectural display or seating arrangements, we’re all in this to feed the world…yes, sometimes, quite literally, but also spiritually, emotionally, and more. It’s God’s mission for the entire body of Christ that we ought to take quite seriously, but not to the point of beating out another in wins-and-losses over customer bases for increased profit margins. We have something (actually, some One) more important to focus on: the God who not only sets up shop inside any ministry operation, but throughout the whole universe that God still says is more than worth dying and living for then, now, and forevermore. Thanks be to God!
In Christ,
Pastor Brad