Have you heard? People are leaving the church. It seems that every year a study is released that shows Christianity is shrinking and “non religion” is the fastest growing religious category. We analyze surveys to figure out way, we write blogs and books to explain it and make recommendations about how the church should change.
And that is a right conversation. Certainly if the system is broken we should engage and invest in figuring out what is going wrong so we can fix it. Maybe it doesn’t just have to do with economic systems, political viewpoints, demographics or other cultural trends. Maybe it has to do with me.
While we’re analyzing all the trends and trying to figure out how to fix the system, we shouldn’t lose sight of our own hearts.
Perhaps we lack faith. Our problems seem bigger to us than our God. Our wants are bigger than our God. Our fears are bigger than our God. The threat of peer pressure is bigger than our God. Our own projects are bigger than God’s call (see the book of Haggai).
I think we all know that something is wrong with American Christianity – our Christianity.
I think we all yearn for an authentic expression of Christianity and church – our faith and our church.
I think we all know something is broken… and the question I’m asking myself is, “Do I have enough faith in my own life for God’s call and presence to be bigger than the sum total of all my issues, insecurities and selfish desires?”
…I’m praying that I can be fixed. That I’ll lean into God and look for his guidance in this situation. I’m doing my due diligence, but I’m trusting God and hoping in his plan for me and his people.
