Lent: A stimulus plan for The Church
“You’re sounding a bit apocalyptic today,” my mentor said between bites of chicken at Buffalo Wild Wings recently.
Truth be known, it seems as if we are on the edge of an Apocalypse — and that’s likely a common feeling today.
Barely an hour goes by during the day without our receiving another disastrous economic report concerning layoffs, foreclosures, and the subsequent Wall Street plunge.
Federal bailouts and stimulus plans swirl around with mind-boggling numbers approaching a trillion dollars. Billions have been poured into the War on Terror, and newly inaugurated President Barack Obama is now upping the troop ante in Afghanistan.
What prompted my munching mentor’s response was the question of whether the Church would be up to the challenge of being the Church if the economy continues to fall.
“If we did plummet into a 1929-style Depression, would the Church answer the call to house the homeless, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked?”
To me, it is more than a rhetorical question.
In the past year, those of us working with Family Promise of Blount County have struggled to find enough Blount County churches who are willing to step up and either house homeless families for one week every three months, or support another church that is willing to do so. This is astonishing, given the fact that can you hardly throw a stone without hitting a long-established community of faith and it seems new churches are cropping up nearly monthly.
OK, so maybe the stone throwing is a poor analogy given that this could be taken as high criticism of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Believe me when I say it is not my intent to throw stones at my Blount County brethren, because I believe it’s merely a reflection of the Western Church at large. Let’s be honest, which of these building programs are you more likely to see in church newsletters across the nation: Family life centers and sanctuaries for the flock, or shelters for the homeless? If this is any indication, are we the sheep or goats in Matthew 25?
The mentor and the mentee munched on some more chicken, then the mentee the posed the question: If the economy continues to fall, sliding into a full-blown Depression, would the Church in USAmerica be there to serve those outside of the confines? Would the multitudes who flock to consumer Christian churches (sometimes referred to as “attractional,” or “program” churches) be willing to turn the massive resources that point inward to an outward focus? If the pastor at an attractional church were to stand up and say, “Sisters and brothers, the amenities that you have for so long enjoyed will no longer be available to you. We must now turn our entire resources to serving the least, the last and the lost outside of these walls.” Would the cost of discipleship be too high for most of the flock? Or, would the Church itself be in need of a stimulus plan?
Maybe it’s in need of one now.
Maybe the Holy Spirit is getting ready to write the check.
We’re less than 24 hours away from Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, the ancient Christian tradition of engaging in 40 days of prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial leading up to Resurrection Sunday (Easter).
What better stimulus plan for the Church?
Grace and peace ...
Truth be known, it seems as if we are on the edge of an Apocalypse — and that’s likely a common feeling today.
Barely an hour goes by during the day without our receiving another disastrous economic report concerning layoffs, foreclosures, and the subsequent Wall Street plunge.
Federal bailouts and stimulus plans swirl around with mind-boggling numbers approaching a trillion dollars. Billions have been poured into the War on Terror, and newly inaugurated President Barack Obama is now upping the troop ante in Afghanistan.
What prompted my munching mentor’s response was the question of whether the Church would be up to the challenge of being the Church if the economy continues to fall.
“If we did plummet into a 1929-style Depression, would the Church answer the call to house the homeless, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked?”
To me, it is more than a rhetorical question.
In the past year, those of us working with Family Promise of Blount County have struggled to find enough Blount County churches who are willing to step up and either house homeless families for one week every three months, or support another church that is willing to do so. This is astonishing, given the fact that can you hardly throw a stone without hitting a long-established community of faith and it seems new churches are cropping up nearly monthly.
OK, so maybe the stone throwing is a poor analogy given that this could be taken as high criticism of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Believe me when I say it is not my intent to throw stones at my Blount County brethren, because I believe it’s merely a reflection of the Western Church at large. Let’s be honest, which of these building programs are you more likely to see in church newsletters across the nation: Family life centers and sanctuaries for the flock, or shelters for the homeless? If this is any indication, are we the sheep or goats in Matthew 25?
The mentor and the mentee munched on some more chicken, then the mentee the posed the question: If the economy continues to fall, sliding into a full-blown Depression, would the Church in USAmerica be there to serve those outside of the confines? Would the multitudes who flock to consumer Christian churches (sometimes referred to as “attractional,” or “program” churches) be willing to turn the massive resources that point inward to an outward focus? If the pastor at an attractional church were to stand up and say, “Sisters and brothers, the amenities that you have for so long enjoyed will no longer be available to you. We must now turn our entire resources to serving the least, the last and the lost outside of these walls.” Would the cost of discipleship be too high for most of the flock? Or, would the Church itself be in need of a stimulus plan?
Maybe it’s in need of one now.
Maybe the Holy Spirit is getting ready to write the check.
We’re less than 24 hours away from Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, the ancient Christian tradition of engaging in 40 days of prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial leading up to Resurrection Sunday (Easter).
What better stimulus plan for the Church?
Grace and peace ...
Labels: Devotion
posted by Pastor Buzz at 3:39 PM
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