It's all a Rerun

Have you heard the phrase 'ancient-future' being kicked around church circles lately? If you have read anything at all about anything even slightly religious or spiritual you must have. It is THE catch phrase of the day. It's all about going back to the ancient desert fathers and translating what they said into modern vocabulary so a new generation will understand these ancient truths. It's not a bad concept or in actuality I don't suppose, though one does get tired of the repetitious use. Like 'out of the box', remember that? Didn't you wish you could tell someone to stuff it back into the box after awhile? Makes me think of an interview I saw once with Cal Thomas who said we could all begin meeting in all those closets that now had so much space since people kept coming out of them.

So I am reading and really being amused and quite frankly reassured that the crisis I perceive we are in as a church and a community of faith is not at all new. In fact it has been dealt with before and will be dealt with again. There is nothing so deadly for an institution than the luxury of success. It seems to create a sort of lethargy and a relaxed mindset that somehow or the other leads to a total loss of vision and purpose. Dr Michael Henderson in his book "A Model for Making Disciples" says this about the church in England during John Wesley's time: "However. as the Church continued to develop through the centuries, outside influences began to dilute and diminish it's impetus. The tight focus on 'making disciples' was lost, and many other activities gained priority. The task of maintaining Church institutions began to usurp the role that was originally assigned to making disciples, and the once-dynamic Christian movement began to fossilize within."

With declining numbers in every mainstream denomination, I feel compelled to ask, does this sound at all familiar? Ancient-future-ish even? Is it possible that we have lost focus on what our purpose is and allowed ourselves in our prosperity to neglect the Great Commission?

I am aware I am not the only person having this epiphany or apostrophe depending on your perspective. Willow Creek is addressing this in the life of their own church, perhaps wrestling with the same issue George Whitefield once wrestled. Having failed to develop a system that lead to development of disciples, he is quotes as saying this: "My brother Wesley acted wisely-the souls that were awakened under his ministry he joined in class, an thus preserved the fruit of his labor. This I neglected, and my people are a rope of sand." It's expressed differently, that ancient-future stuff again, but isn't it the same sentiment? Are we simply awakening souls or are we preserving fruit?

I heard recently that we are into our third generation of a growing non churched populations. I don't know exactly why this horrifies us so, I would hope it would motivate us. I would think this means there are sheep to be gathered in for goodness sake! When I was at a leadership institute last year I heard we needed to move towards reaching out to non and nominally Christian folks because otherwise all we did was trade people. I totally agreed with this statement and still do, but I also felt like saying....duh! Well, of course!!! I cannot tell you how it saddens me that we need to be told this stuff, but we do. And I realize we are hardly the first generation that had to be told. I am quite sure we follow in the footsteps of the greatly confused, the messed up masses, the terminally clueless. Is there any wonder Jesus cried over Jerusalem. He must have been thinking of the many times, many, many, many times the Trinity would be untangling the knots, straightening out the curve balls, cleaning us up and sending us out again.

I am reminded of Josiah tonight and the rediscovery of the Covenant. Josiah is a great hero, hears about the law, calls the people together, they recommit to the law and he cleans house. It's a great story and I am inspired by it. Only you know what happens a couple hundred generations later....and again and again and again. It's a rerun, folks, the 'teacher' was right, there isn't one thing new under the sun.

So where is the hope? It lies in the Father who never tires of reclaiming His own, in the Son who created the bridge that cannot be destroyed and it lies in the Spirit who is continually calling, continually courting, continually leading those who have ears to hear to truth, to life, to wholeness. It lies in the promise that in the end, and there will be an end, God wins and we are lost no more.

Until then, the ancient-future remains the same. It's our turn to rediscover the covenant and read it before the people and clean house. May we do so with the same dedication and passion that Josiah did, and every other reformer who has gone before us. And perhaps one day we will stand with all the saints who have gone on before and enjoy the fruits of our labor. As God wills.