I'll meet you there

Dan Allendar said one time that in his years of counseling, he has determined that the only way someone breaks through an addiction is when they finally get bored of it. Addictions serve a purpose, and humans are not as stupid as they are just shortsighted, and as soon as the addict realizes he is not getting where he wants to go, then opportunity for change can be initiated. It appears to me that we are at similar kind of crossroads with the Church As We Know It. From where I stand, many are leaving it behind because, like any addiction, they’ve simply grown tired of it. It is not delivering what it promised. And since addiction is the exchange of control for the promise of reward, many are taking back the control of their spiritual lives that was given to the Church and finding that this new way of living brings more of what they had hoped. This movement is part of the journey toward The Church of the Future. It is a shift that will result in a more effective, but maybe not efficient, expression of community, healing and wholeness. It is this germination process that I am fascinated at watching while out at night on the wall. On the other hand, Our Culture As We Know It needs to keep going in the opposite direction. The further away it gets from the Future Church, the greater distinction there will be between the two. As it is, Culture looks too much like The Church As We Know It. I don’t see a whole lot of difference. Both seem to have little power to make effective change. So Current Pastor, if you are wondering why men are leaving your Church, ask yourself what you are giving them? Is it really worth their time? Be honest with me, and more importantly, yourself. Do you lay in bed at night worried about it? Let’s hope so. You’ve got to give them something that is Powerful, not Cultural. Do you know what I mean by this? Power flows from a source, and if you’ve lost a sense of that in your own life, its high time you do whatever it takes to get that back. This may include leaving your position. It may be sucking Life out of you instead of injecting you with it. If you are bored with what you are offering men, can you imagine what they might be saying when they leave your men’s meeting and go down the street to a sportsbar for a few beers and really talk? Future Pastor can, because he will be there with them.