A Trend I am Part of And of Which I Approve

It was in the Chicago Tribune.

Last Sunday was the last Sunday for the Lutheran Church on Austin next to Oak Park. Demographics have changed. People who now live in that area no longer are interested in what the Lutheran Church (ELCA) has to offer. The church offered ministries including a food pantry and after-school program. African-Americans living near the church were invited to attend, but the hymns remained the same ones favored by the old-timers, and few stayed.
So the church has closed.

Wisely the synod president (who I lambasted for other reasons recently) has done the right thing. They gave the building to another thriving congregation. Since forming in 1987, the ELCA has steadily lost members, dropping from 5.3 million to 4.8 million in 2007. Empty churches have closed or consolidated with other congregations.

They could have sold it. Lots of church buildings are sold for condos, nightclubs, restaurants or torn down for a new McDonalds. They rather did what they should do. They continued to preserve the building dedicated to the Kingdom of God perhaps a hundred years ago and allow it to fit the culture that changed around them. The liturgical style [of Lutherans] is not friendly to Africans-Americans and the way they worship," Legania said. Many feel once they walk in the door they're told to "leave your culture at the door and pretend you're someone else."

In my ministry I am part of this trend. The church plant of which I am a part has just recently moved into a covenant church building. We are now larger in attendance than the home congregation that was there. I suspect the end of the story looks more like the story of this Lutheran church in the news story than not.

I have a dear friend who lives in Minnesota. He is a licensed minister who travels. I sort of "Came Up" with him. He was appointed as the interim pastor of an ELCA church who needed a pastor. The ELCA Lutheran Church often uses pastors like me or Mike when they don't have any seminarians to fill the vacancy. It's hard work and low pay. Something a seminarian with lots of student loans doesn't want to hear about. When he took the church over it was running fewer than 50. As pastor he built it to 300. People loved it. They reached the community. They built and addition. Money came in. Debt was paid off. Mike was paid. Then the synod spotting a successful church where failure had been before decided that Mike, who was not a seminary grad ordained Lutheran (just a really good pastor) wasn't what the church really needed.

So, in their infinite stupidity they installed a seminary grad ordained Lutheran pastor. Now the church is failing again. Back to 50. They have become irrelevant once again. I don't think Mike is going to take it back even if they ask him.

Another friend of mine who was a pastor at the Assembly of God Church in Fargo, Pastor Curt, is now is head pastor at a thriving Lutheran church about 40 minutes from Fargo. Dying it was before, now it's thriving. I suspect if he really succeeds it will become another pension plan opportunity for an ordained Lutheran seminarian to kill off.

I have a relative, Pastor Jeff Redlin in South Dakota who pastors a few small ELCA churches. He has been pretty successful. I know because he plays lead guitar. That's kind of a joke but in relevance to the culture it made sense when I first walked into his church and saw him wailing away on the guitar before he preached. I thought, this is relevant. What are the people he is trying to reach listening to on the radio, watching on TV, humming in their head? I'm guessing more Metallica than Mozart. More Bob Dylan than Bach. More Faith Hill than My Faith Looks Up to Thee.

Is it any wonder? Last Sunday in Church Pastor Barry said something about which I agree. No music is of itself holy or unholy. Pure or impure. If you played a song for me and I didn't know the words perhaps I might think it was unholy or maybe not. Opinion. I happen to think that Stairway to Heaven by Lead Zeppelin is the perfect worship song. The words are not but in style format it's the perfect song. I wish the Church would adapt it like they did Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" which has nothing whatever to do with Jesus or God or anything. It's a pagan song redeemed with better words. We can do that with Stairway.

There are thousands of these dying churches around Chicagoland. Thousands of buildings that are coming available. Thousands of budgets that aren't being met and decisions need to be made. Thousands of staff members not being paid. This is a trend that is not going to change any time soon. We have the solution but it will take courage and commitment.

If I could wave the magic wand I would say to the leaders of these stagnant churches, let us in. I no longer believe you can change these dying churches to become relevant to reach the culture. They must die and new life emerge. The traditions, rituals, sacraments are fingernails on a chalkboard for a person seeking truth and purity in Jesus. At best they are irrelevant and time consuming and at worst they are off-putting. Although the congregation at North Austin Lutheran was not unfriendly, Legania said, the Sunday service retained its European flavor. African-Americans who came for help at the church were welcomed at the food pantry, but rarely felt at home in the church's pews on Sunday,

I have many good pastor friends ready and willing to take that over that empty church building and plant a church that will fit the needs of your community in the 21st century. The culture, white, black, Hispanic and Asian has changed and is changing all around us. If the church continues to fail to discard it's irrelevance it will simply fade away.

The good news is there is an army of the Lord ready and willing to step in and blossom. Now if we can just keep those dying congregations from destroying the heritage they built up in a building out of spite and just selling them off we can have real church where those dead and dying congregations used to be.

Let's let the old die and start with what works. Incrementalism is no longer relevant. The best thing for most dying churches is to fire all the staff, dismiss all the board, dis-member all the membership and then say, "We now going to have a real Christian Church here on the site formerly occupied by the old dead church, you are welcome to join us but you join like everyone else and we are starting all over with or without you." The dead wood will leave. The offended will be more offended as they stomp out the door. The traditional will sulk off. The power hungry will try to impose power but after a couple of attempted coups will depart. What you will be left with will be hungry people looking for more of Jesus. The impact will be that others who watched and waited will gravitate toward you and new life will return to the body of Christ." Resurrection!!

If you think I'm being harsh or kidding I know of a real life example in Western Michigan. A Dutch Reformed church that was dying was reborn. A new pastor came in and said if you want me to rebuild this church I must be free to do what I know to do. They said ok. He said, "If you trust that I know how to this, you must do what I say for the next year." They said OK. They were at the point where they had to do this or die. They were ready to agree to anything.

With that approval he closed down the church. No services of any kind were held for a month. The doors were locked. He repainted the building, tore down the old sign, changed the name of the church from the something Dutch Reformed to a fresh new name. He took out the pews and the religious stuff in the sanctuary and filled the room with chairs, inspiring banners and lots of light. The place was bright and inviting as people didn't sit in darkness during church. He cleaned up the altar area. Took out all the religious gobbeldy gook that confused people. He covered the old pipe organ, brought in a live band, guitars and all.

He dismissed the staff and the board of any leadership position. He said, "I must select the team I'm going to work with". They let him. That was very smart. He cleansed the membership rolls and told folks that they were welcome to join the new church but he understood if they didn't.

Today it looks like many contemporary charismatic churches in America. Here's the rest of the story. Today the congregation that was down to 40 is 400 and growing every Sunday. Most of the original 40 are gone. New life has come.

If you write me I'll put you in touch with this pastor. But, unfortunately too few pastors, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Covenant, Reformed of dying congregations have the courage to do what needs to be done. Most pastors face this terminal disease as if the church needed a new hairstyle or perhaps a cavity filled when in fact the church needs major brain surgery. This is a Heart Transplant. We have too many pastors trying to do a few little tweaks here and there and hoping it will take. None will. This takes major surgery to save it.

That's good news for my fellow pastor friends. We need your building. You're not using it anyhow. Sorry to sound mean but it's the truth and know it.