It is commonplace to say that mainline churches are declining. Probably there are some declining churches out there that still think they are unique, the only ones declining. But we are becoming increasingly aware that this is a general and widespread trend. The ELCA is typical of Protestant denominations. National and Synod infrastructure and staff have experienced substantial reductions recently, due in part to controversial social positions, in part to income shortfalls related to the recession, but in reality, mostly due to the fact that the Reformation has simply run its course. And local churches pretty much know the organizational structure is experiencing decline, as well as many individual churches.
Let me say that again. The Reformation has run its course. I thought that would be a pretty controversial thing to say in a typical Lutheran church, but I have been running versions of that sentence past numbers of people in my local church for a couple of months now. And so far I haven't gotten much of a negative reaction from anyone. It even seems to sort of resonate. 'Yeah, what's your point' would be typical.
It may be that members in the pews are out in front of church leadership on this point. My sense is that at national and synod levels, the gut feeling is, how can Protestantism be ‘saved’, despite all the financial and membership declines. Somehow Protestantism is facing its great challenge, and the task at hand is to rise to the occasion, despite reduced resources, and restore the movement to its former glory. Try harder. Dig deeper. Be more creative. Maybe even pray more. Fix it!
If I were an administrator at the national or synod levels of a denomination, having to work through the pain of the present downsizing, I probably would tend to feel the 'fix it' sentiment eating at me too. But I think it would be healthier to just accept the fact that the Reformation has run its course. It has reached its natural end. It wasn't a bad thing. It wasn't wrong and misguided. It has kept us going for 500 years, and impacted countless lives. But it is over. We should be clear and up front about it. Time for what Phyllis Tickle calls the 500 year garage sale, and what many recognize as a repeating cycle of religious upheaval at about 500 year intervals, even extending well back into ancient Israel.
Now, saying 'it’s over' is a big hill to climb. It seems like just giving up, failing those who have gone before. But what 'it's over' it really does is open a door that needs to be opened. Until you can say 'it's over', you are not free to say 'what's next'? But when you can live with 'it's over', then 'what's next' becomes . . . logical. Thank you Spock. It becomes the obvious question on which to focus.
A lot of us are at 'what next', phase one. Forget about theology and deep meaning. Just let the old metaphors and symbols alone. But do something relevant. We can still be Protestants in theory and culture, but just add something relevant and contemporary to attract people. In the mid-sixties I was involved with a community youth organization as a ministry of a Lutheran church. At the time the Jimi Hendrix song 'Purple Haze' was all the rage, so the kids decided to call their new storefront hangout The Purple Haze. By divine providence, or maybe just chance, there was a small pottery in the community manufacturing toilets, and there were a lot of defective ceramic rejects sitting out in a field. We were able to acquire and use them as seating in The Purple Haze. We spray painted them all purple. It was cool. And we had some meaningful conversations sitting around tables together enthroned on purple.
My point though, is that while purple toilet seats were appealing to a certain youthful demographic at that time and place in the mid-sixties, they probably weren't ever going to be the impetus to a new Reformation, something that would carry us all through the next 500 years. We do need relevance. We need, desperately, to appeal to new faces. We need fun, and meaning, and creativity. We need all that, but built on a new foundation. Faith. Grace. The Authority of the Written Word. It is that old Protestant foundation that needs to be revisited first. It is faith, and grace, and the source of our authority, that need to be rethought, not just the frills that give body and expression to that core meaning.
There are many churches today that are all about perfecting the frills. But they are trying to build on the old core. Though mainline churches might envy their growth and success, at the bottom are a lot of purple toilet seats and not much else. How can we get beyond purple seats, and get to 'what next', phase 2? How can we dare to tinker with the foundation? We can dare because faith, and grace, and the source of authority are simply out of whack today. They have been perverted into religious gimmicks to manipulate people.
Five hundred years ago also was a time when there was a whole lot of misplaced authority floating around. And illegitimate claims on peoples' lives. And manipulation of any decent sense of a god. All for gain and power. What challenged the whole enterprise then, was a rediscovery and a reinterpretation of Paul and his writings. The time was right, and Luther rethinking Paul was the spark that ignited the blaze.
The time is right again. I am trying to suggest that declining mainline churches might have more to gain by rethinking Paul than by painting toilet seats purple, or any other color. In fact, scholarly studies of Paul are generating a substantial amount of academic interest currently. And his image is undergoing a radical facelift. Consider the following. Paul was not a Christian. Paul, the political and community organizer. Paul, the man who advised Jews to stay Jews, and Gentiles to stay Gentiles. Paul, the man who carried his Jewish, Pharisaic identity faithfully through all his life. Forget the Paul of the Damascus Road conversion experience. These are some of the things being said, quite convincingly, about Paul.
Where are we getting such unorthodox ideas about Paul? Actually from a careful rereading of his letters. Yes, actually reading what he wrote. There are a lot of theories about Paul and what he stood for, a whole lot of theologizing from pulpits, but there aren't a whole lot of people who know how to read him, or who take the time to actually read him seriously. When is the last time you said to yourself, gee, I think I will read one of Paul's letters today? And not just a 30 second sound bite out of context?
I am facilitating an adult discussion group, 'Not Your Father's Paul', reading Paul again. The task is a whole lot easier because a refreshing, understandable, yet scholarly translation of Paul's letter has just been published. And we are rereading Paul together specifically in hopes of renewing, reforming actually, our own particular declining mainline congregation. What could be more Lutheran? The publication is titled 'The Authentic Letters of Paul'.
I plan to blog about the general drift of our conversations as the group works its way through Paul's letters. I will talk about what we think the letters might have to offer declining churches, working through their own present day issues. The next blog will deal with how to read Paul, which is not as straight forward as you might think.
