Church of Tomorrow
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TABCOM's Board of Directors had a retreat at OceanWood more than a year ago. We looked at how God worked in various historical eras. We concluded that the form of the faithful community moved from tents, to tabernacles to shrines, to the Temple, to synagogues, to house churches, to caves, to parishes, to cathedrals, to meeting houses, to cottage meetings, to big steeples, to campuses, to...well, hopefully, you get the point. The form through which we respond to God is as variable as human need and societal structures! If that be true, then we should ask less, "What is the correct form?" and ask instead, "What form works for the people we are called to reach?"

Recently I had a long conversation with a faithful, committed, retired pastor. He was quite upset. His church had deliberately called a younger, outside-the-box thinker as its new pastor in order to reach new people. The new pastor was making many changes. People were offended; people were leaving. Why, "we no longer say the Lord's Prayer!" The pain was evident. Yet it might have been more helpful to ask these questions: "What form (and format) is God calling us to embody here and now in order to obey the Great Commission?" and "What should I do, as a committed Christian, when the form of my worshipping experience changes and I no longer feel the satisfactions that I have become used to?"

If we can separate what works for me from what God wants now, we will go a long way to fruitful obedience. It amazes me that we worship One who was crucified and yet we want to follow the Crucified One painlessly!

Yet, having said that, it pains me, too. I would rather sing "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder," than a never-ending chorus. I would rather listen to a monologic sermon, follow a known order to worship, and benedict in one hour. And, depending on the piece, I even enjoy organ music! All of that is familiar, comforting, non-anxiety-producing; It's easy, safe and calming. But none of those qualities make it Christian. If Christ is calling us beyond that, let us figure out a way to deal with our grief and then get going!