Should we celebrate when churches die?

July 23, 2008

       Churches die. That's a fact. Yet, many of us have bought into the idea that our church was meant to last until Jesus comes. That is simply not the case. Too often churches struggling to stay alive pursue the search for the fountain of youth. Many believe that if they can’t find that fountain of youth, the doors will close and they will be considered a failure. While we may mourn the passing of a great work, I think we need to correct our ecclesiology.

Understand that there is a big difference between "church" with a small "c" and "Church" with a capital "C". The Church (capital C) is eternal and will never die. But, the local church (small c) is community of believers. Those involved in these local community of believers age, move away, and eventually die. Churches have life-cycles. Some last longer than others and some are churches for a season.

If a church closing is a failure, then all of the churches of Acts were miserable failures. Realize not one of them exists today. However, what we do have is the legacy they left. The churches of Acts were springboards, stopping off points in history for the spreading of the gospel. They served as the foundation for future works. Your church is proof of that. Your church exists today because the churches of Acts were sending bodies that did not think about self-preservation. Rather, they thoughts about the multiplication of the kingdom and the spreading of the good news.

    No church was intended to be around forever. The problem rests in the fact that many congregations see their church as a castle to protect, instead of a small part of God’s kingdom-building process. We are not called to be castle fortifiers, but kingdom builders. We need to come to terms with the fact that many of our churches will not last for another 15 years, but they might be a stepping stone in the history of God’s multiplying and spreading kingdom. Instead of fighting to keep a church on life-support, let's celebrate what God has done. Let's have proper funeral and throw a party for their faithfulness.

    Can you imagine what might happen if churches fighting to stay alive, where celebrated, closed and the assets where used to plant another vibrate, growing church? What kind of a legacy could that church leave for future generations?

    Why even talk about such a fatalistic issue? Why bring up such a difficult subject? Because the Church in America is in a severe crisis. Watch this video from David Olsen. If the video peaks your interest visit The American Church and order his book.

Posted 7/23/2008 in Stephen Gray

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