Losing the Old Makes Way for the New. A crisis like Covid-19 that pulls the rug out from under an organization like the church should not be treated as a defeat — but as an opportunity for renewal.
When the supports and resources that we always thought were there for us disappear — it forces us to rethink our assumptions and reassess those practices we always assumed were time-tested ways of working. That’s fertile ground for re-inventing ourselves and rethinking what the church is supposed to be doing — an opportunity for renewal.
Self-examination was afoot. Churches were already at a crossroads when the plague hit.
They were being left behind by social changes that were transforming how people interact with their community — indeed redefining the very meaning of community. Over time, the congregation diminished. Where’d everyone go? The church felt sidelined, in decline — declared to be on the outs.
Churches were already facing a moment that called for dramatic change when the pandemic lockdown upset everything. Inviting a lost flock back to church when there’s still a congregation to welcome them — that’s hard enough. But attracting them to an empty building is a tough one. It was do or die. Either embrace a new normal and use it as an opportunity to examine how the church has lost its way — build a revitalized church on an old foundation made new again — roll with the punch and land on steadier feet — or go down without a fight.
Fortunately there was a movement already in progress since the 1990s to turn the challenge of the modern church on its head — forge a different kind of leadership for a different kind of church that turns adversity into growth. We were already starting to get back in the game with the tools we were already developing.
That movement goes by some catchy names — Fresh Expressions of Church, Café Church, Messy Church and others — which have programmes already in place around the world. We’ll learn more about those shortly.
Some call it a new mission — a new way of being missional. It also involves stepping up our stewardship — which is set to take on a greater role in the church.
We are all stewards of creation, of society, of our neighbourhood, of our churches, of our backyards, of our homes, of our families. We look after them — we nurture them — we support them — we love them. A steward is someone who cares, and takes care of God’s people and God’s creation.
Stewardship is that mission of caring. We express it by giving generously of our time, talent and treasure — by being loving disciples — by bringing that commitment into our mission.
So let’s take a look now at what’s been changing, who’s been getting pushed aside, how disciples are changing the game, and how a new pandemic age is opening up new possibilities.
Click on → below.