The Church That Never Dies

One of my job duties, one that doesn’t get seen by folks, is to be aware of the sociological trends when it comes to the church in our society. In other words, I often ask myself and seek to answer these questions: what is happening in American religious culture and how does what happening effect us as a local body?

Local churches don’t exist in a vacuum. I get asked what can we do to make the church grow? Often, the pastor is expected to have some answers in this regard. But sadly, there are no easy answers. No magical remedy in our day and age. Some churches do a lot right and do not grow numerically. Others don’t try all that hard and grow. There are examples of both. As much as church consultants make a living helping churches to grow, no failsafe, secret recipe for church growth has been found. In fact, studies tell us that church consultants may boost growth a bit initially, long term not so much.

The reason this is so seems clear to me – the cultural shift we are now experiencing is unstoppable. Just this week I read a piece in the U.S. Today titled, “Americans are becoming less religious. None more than this group.” The article, by Marc Ramirez, states, “Americans have been disaffiliating from organized religion over the past few decades… About 63% of Americans are Christian, according to the Pew Research Center, down from 90% in the early 1990s. Meanwhile, the share of those who describe themselves as agnostic, atheist, or ‘nothing in particular’ has risen to 28%.”

But maybe the most alarming stat is what the article focuses on. Up to recently, “it had been males, especially young men, leading these shifts.” That’s no longer the case. As the article notes, “Generation Z women, especially those aged 18 to 24, are less likely than young men to identify with a faith or to believe in a higher power.”

As anyone associated with church life can tell you, take away women’s presence from a church, and watch that church fizzle out. If young women especially don’t take the baton from older women in churches, the decline of churches in America will only get more pronounced.

The cultural shifts in America cannot be underestimated. They affect us.

But I’m here to preach hope. I’m here to preach the good news. And here’s the good news.

There is a Church that will never die, and that is the Church herself, the Church Universal. Just as Christ eternally lives, so will Christ’s church eternally live.

This essential truth of our faith, that as Christ eternally lives so does His church, actually gives us the model for true growth.

To the extent we graft ourselves, as a local church body, to Christ, we will grow in Christ. The Church is only eternal because we are connected to Christ, the eternal One. Let go of Christ, and the collective we call the church will die. Yes, the pews might be full. The preacher might draw personal followers. The group might bring in millions. But if a community is not grafted onto Christ, if a community is not connected to Christ in a real and profound way, that community will spiritually fade away and soon become something other than the Church.   

Want to grow? Want to live forever as a local body? Latch onto Christ. If we are in Christ, if we connect ourselves to Christ, we will experience the eternal life of Christ. This is true individually. This is also true collectively. 

I know Communion, also called the Eucharist, a word that literally means “thanksgiving,” is not until next week, and I also know the lectionary readings have focused on Christ as the living bread the last few weeks, but Communion is the heartbeat of the Church for the reasons we’ve been talking about.

In partaking of Christ through the Eucharist, we graft ourselves to Christ. By the means of Communion, we allow Christ to become part of us, and we him. Communion, the Eucharist, connects us as a Community to Christ.

At the same time, the Eucharist reminds us what the Christian life amounts to. We live in the light of Christ’s eternal life and we experience that life and that light through him. Out of this, true, lasting, spiritual growth happens. We grow individually and collectively in Christ, and we will grow in spirit and as a body.

So, forget this concern about numerical growth. Numerical growth is a fringe benefit of the real growth, the spiritual growth nourished by Christ in us.

To close, I’d like to look at what this means for us in our day to day lives?

What’s the most important thing you as a Christian and as a member of the Christian church can do? It’s quite simple. You don’t really have to do a lot. Simply grow in your knowledge of God.

Volunteering is wonderful. Attending all our events is wonderful. Giving in the ways you can is wonderful. But growing in your knowledge of God, that is the best thing you can do for yourself and for the Church.

How do you get to know God?

Connect, sit and communicate with God, aka pray. Read, study, meditate upon scripture. Notice moments of quiet in your day as God’s gift to you,. If merely for 10 seconds, simply rest in God’s presence, observing the beauty of the present moment. Meditate, contemplate, reflect, practice gratitude. And worship God. Do this individually and collectively. All of these things are examples of you getting to know God.

Growing in your knowledge of God means growing spiritually. When this happens, something kicks in that is quite organic, which shows us why getting to know God is so important for the growth of the church. When you grow spiritually, you naturally, organically share the light you’ve found with others. The spirit is such an overflowing reality in our lives that the spirit flows out of you. You share God’s reality in your life without even trying.

You also naturally want to share it with your community, namely your church community. But it doesn’t stop there.

This kind of spiritual depth and light exuding from you can’t help but to attract others outside the church to you, yes, but also to the community you’re a part of.

This is called organic evangelism. Jesus makes reference to it in Matthew 5:

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone... In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

I close with this – you are part of the church that will never die, the church universal. Yes, local congregations may close their doors. We’ve seen this just down the road with Grace Lutheran Church. But the members at Grace Lutheran, they are still part of the church universal, an eternal movement that will never die.

As a member of the church universal yourself, as well as a member of this local body, the gift you know is infinite in scope. The gift of Christ is a gift you get to know. The gift of the Spirit, you get to know. So get to know God, grow in your knowledge of God, grow in spirit, and true, lasting, and deep growth will be all encompassing.

That’s why we’re here. To grow together in our knowledge of Christ, the one who is the way, the truth, and the life of love.

Amen.