Down But Not Out

St. John's Church, Sarnia

Last night I attended the "de consecration" of one of the Anglican Churches in our city.  Consecration is the act of setting something aside wholly for sacred purposes and this can be done for any number of things.  We can even consecrate ourselves to set our lives apart for sacred purposes. So the act of de consecration is the act of declaring that which was once set aside completely for sacred purposes is no longer set aside in such a way.  It was sad to see a grand old building that had been the place of worship and of sacred passages such as baptisms, marriages and funerals for so many generations be de consecrated.  It is not the only church (Anglican or otherwise) to have met such a fate in recent times.  There are, of course, some congregations that are thriving and growing, but in North America at large there is no question that the number of people attending church Sunday by Sunday is declining.
But ultimately this story is not about decline.  It is about a Christian community that has had the courage to admit the the old way of doing things is not working.  It is about a Christian community that has had the courage to let go of things they have held dear in order to find new ways to witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is about a Christian community that places its hope in God to bring about a new and exciting future. In this particular instance the community I am speaking about has had the courage to amalgamate with two other congregations to create one congregation that has the critical mass to face the future in new and exciting ways.
Many Christians are facing similar situations.  In fact, even if you are a part of one of those communities that is thriving you need to learn lessons from what is happening.  If we simply sit tight, hang on to what we have and hope for the best we will die.  God is doing a new thing.  I am not disparaging for the gospel.  It has survived for two thousand years and the Christian church globally is larger than it has ever been and is expanding rapidly.  Let's not get in the way of the God's Spirit.  Let us submit ourselves to God and get on with what he is calling us to do.  May Jesus Christ be praised.