Aug 26, 2021
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:15-16)
I’ve been thinking a lot about what church might look like going forward into the future. What will the church look like by the time I’ve finished my work in ministry in 20-30 years? What will it look like when our seminarians finish theirs? And what on earth do we need in our ministry toolboxes to prepare for it?
Obviously, answers on those questions are mighty thin and mighty speculative. The only thing that seems more sure at the moment is that disruption, of the sort we’ve experienced through this period of pandemic, will increasingly become the norm, rather than an exception. We see that in increasing instances of climate crisis, increasing fracturing of forms of belief and opinion, the sheer speed of our tech-driven world these days, and a seeming power-shift happening globally between a West on the decline and Asia on the ascent.
So as the little church of Jesus Christ caught in these cross winds of an increasingly disruptive world, what on earth do we do?
Well: I think Pastor Michael’s pointing to Deuteronomy 4 yesterday was spot on. We don’t need super structures of administration to keep us safe, bulwarks of programs and activities to keep us engaged here (and therefore out of trouble elsewhere), perhaps all we need to do is the very simple things we’ve been called to in the first place. Walking and talking with each other in the way of Christ as we all, together, follow him.
Paul, I think, says a similar thing in this great discipleship passage from Ephesians. He invites us to speak the truth in love: to talk, lovingly about the truth of God with one another in a way that builds one another up in the faith and in our lives. And that talking happens as each of us do the work that God has gifted us to do for building one another up. It happens while we’re serving, working across the week, worshiping together: whenever. In short, it happens while we’re walking the walk in the way of Christ. Walking out our daily lives.
So, walking and talking: regardless of what challenges and disruptions come on our path—these are faithful things God’s called us to that can withstand it all and in fact, build up the body of Christ in the process. Because, here’s the thing: it’s still Jesus’ church. Christ is still the head. And, he is faithful. His church will remain.