Dear Rose Park,
A few weeks ago I wrote a letter to you all naming the obvious dynamic that the world, and particularly the worlds relationship with the church, has changed. Fifty to seventy-five years ago, when a family would move into the neighborhood not only would they look for the local church but they would also look for a particular denomination of church. Fast-forward to today and we’re lucky if that same family is looking for a church at all. This shift is for a variety of reasons and at some level, can be disheartening, but at another level this shift in culture can be the stimulus for renewal.
As you’re reading this, I’m in London on the second half of my European travels for my doctorate through Western Theological Seminary. The main focus of our time here in London is to meet with Sam Wells. Sam is the vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. In his book, Humbler Faith Bigger God: Finding a Story to Live By, Wells begins by holding in tension this cultural change between the story of Christianity and the story of human secularism:
I do not lament this change. I believe it’s largely good for Christianity. Why? Because many, perhaps most, of the criticisms the rival story levels at Christianity have been accurate, appropriate, and acute; and far more than most people realize, they’re made up of arguments that had their origin in Christianity itself. So rather than treat the rival story as hostile and disrespectful, failing to honor Christianity’s rightful place in society, I see the rival story as stimulus to the renewal of Christianity, drawing it closer to its core tenets. This refiner’s fire strips away wrong steps and unwise accretions, revealing what Christianity should have been all along: radical, courageous, and vulnerable, yet glorious, thrilling, and true.
Secularism, and the critiques of secularism against the church, is not the enemy. In fact, as displayed throughout the history of the Israelites and the New Testament Church, more often than not the greatest enemy of the Church is the Church itself. Meaning, somewhere along the lines we forgot about who we truly are at our very core. We wandered away from core tenets in order to pursue short-sighted happiness, popularity, and notoriety and in that pursuit we realized the very thing we were pursuing is now causing a lack of trust from the next generation.
This is all to say, I have great hope for the future of Church. It might look and function different than what we had anticipated, but it might also be closer to what Christianity should have been all along: radical, courageous, and vulnerable, yet glorious, thrilling, and true.
Grace & Peace and I can’t wait to see you all,
