Much discussion has been made in recent years about how the church is dying. A recent front page article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune highlighted this very subject. You can read it here: As Minnesota Churches Close A Way of Life Fades

And while it is undeniably true that our culture is moving away from active church attendance and membership, it doesn’t mean the church itself is dying. If we primarily think of the church as a building people go to, then the future can seem rather bleak. If however, we understand the church biblically as the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12), we can find see all kinds of new life. Plus, I tend to find these types of articles to be heavy on diagnosis and light on prognosis. It is all so dire and no one seems to know what to do. But God’s mission is alive in the world and we can be part of it!

The Body of Christ is wounded in Western culture. People no longer feel compelled to attend or belong to religious institutions. The rise of secular influence, church scandals, hypocrisy, and judgment have all given the church a bad name. But the Holy Spirit constitutes and sustains the church and has done so for 2,000 years. The church has seen persecution, martyrdom, wars, inquisitions and is Not Dead Yet. God is not done with the church and the church is not dead! The church may not always look like the church we used to know and love, but perhaps this is a good thing. I like to think that the church has suffered merely a flesh wound, but it is Not Dead Yet.

With an openness to the Spirit and a heart turned to God and neighbor, struggling churches can find new life. When church institutions struggle with loss of members and financial strain, they tend to turn inward. Their focus on self-survival ironically precipitates their demise. The church is the church when it exists for the world. When God’s people turn their attention outward to the neighborhood they can find new life. There is a reason the Spirit saw fit to plant your congregation where it is, and it still exists because God is not done with you yet! We must fight our need for self-survival and seek the faithful path of serving the neighbor. Not Dead Yet exists to journey with you; to discover the part of God’s mission you are called. The Body of Christ may be wounded, but healing and wholeness is possible. The Spirit is willing and waiting.