04-26-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
​April 26, 2023
Yesterday, I wrote about the cost of doing business as a church… literal costs. As I write this Etching, my desk is a mess. And so many of the items sitting in front of me are brochures and advertisements for some newfangled software to help organize church ministry or an online video library that would be available at the press of a button or a new high-tech children’s curriculum that will put a smile on every face or a fog machine that will make your worship even more cool than it was before. There are moments when I sit at my desk looking at these advertisements, whether delivered by snail mail or emailed, and I say to myself, "Jesus would be embarrassed at what we have done with his vision." Now I’m sure I sound like an old cantankerous minister who is reflecting, with great nostalgia, about the good old days. But where do we draw the line? When is something helpful for the Jesus movement, and when does it actually undermine our purpose? Different people are going to have different answers, in part, based on what is defined as that purpose. Some will argue that the purpose is conversion at any cost, using whatever method is necessary. Others, and this is where I find myself, would argue that the ultimate purpose (goal, objective) should be embodied in the process. If love, justice, simplicity, and mercy are some of the things that are central to that purpose, then all those things should be part of the process. How you choose to get there will determine where you actually arrive. I sort of wonder if how we (using the pronoun broadly) are currently doing church is determining our destination, which in fact is not very close to where Jesus was hoping we’d go.

What am I doing? Am I currently being helpful to you and to the work you set forth in Jesus? I make this request, O God, as I am serious about aligning how I am doing ministry with what you desire ministry to accomplish. Amen.