For an upcoming Leadership class, we had to read The Present Future by Reggie McNeal. McNeal presents how the culture is changing and how the church needs to think differently in order to be effective. Because of space I will only tackle a few issues he raises.

Issue #1: A Spiritual Church?

McNeal writes, “A growing number of people are leaving the institutional church for a new reason. They are not leaving because they have lost faith. They are leaving the church to preserve their faith. (p. 4)” He calls them “post-congregational” Christians and the World Christian Encyclopedia estimates 112 million “churchless Christians” worldwide. Later he writes, “We don’t need God to operate the church … the culture does not want the powerless God of the modern church (p. 6)”.

In my experience, there are many who feel that way. They feel the church is filled with self-help talk and pastors who view themselves as “spiritual CEO’s”. I wonder how many people in the pews feel their spiritual leaders are spiritual. Do they have a deep well with God or are they trying to just grow the church? He writes later, “The north American church is not spiritual enough to reach our culture. (27)” Is that true? I am not sure about that but I do agree that we are not smoking what we are selling enough?

In Organic Church, Neil Cole quotes Sir Walter Moberly from his book The Crisis in the University. Moberly was a non-Christian who studied what evangelicals believed and their behavior and why they were unable to penetrate the university campuses. Moberly wrote, “If one-tenth of what you believe is true, you ought to be ten times as excited as you are.”(xxviii). This should sting. Unfortunately in most of our churches, churches that I have been a part of, this was true.

In addition, most contemporary churches value highly being real, being authentic, accepting people as they are but I do not know how well we are moving people along spiritually to holiness. In the trip to Houston, I heard several ministers use “edgy” language (meaning on the edge of profanity). In my experience, I have heard several ministers curse, usually not in sermons but on one-on-ones. I don’t want to be prudish but want to call us up in our attitude and walk with God. There are other important issues like justice and mercy rather than just language but should we seek holiness in all of our lives?

Issue #2: Taking it To the Streets

McNeal referred to a church that was lamenting the fact that they did not have enough Sunday School space, yet within two miles of the church they had over a dozen restaurants that did not open till eleven o’clock on Sunday morning. He suggested putting Sunday School classes in those restaurants. He shared about a campus ministry that shifted almost all their activities to public settings. They found more spiritual conversations and conversations happened at WhatABurger than at their space.

My understanding of a missional church has greatly expanded during this Beeson Year. Church does not have to happen just on Sunday mornings but at all times during the week. We all know the church is not a building but a people. Yet too often we spend most of our time in meetings in the church building rather than be the community of God in the community. I wonder what impact it would be like to have bible study groups and board meetings in a restaurant rather than at the church. Sure, it would cost more but it would force the church people to get out of the church and to go where the people are.

Issue #3: Turning Members into Missionaries

McNeal comments that most of the spiritual gift discoveries are designed to get people to do church work (44) and that our focus is to turn members into ministers. He says that many don’t want to be involved with institutional work. To them, “church ministry is just an add-on to an already overcrowded life” (48). He thinks we need our members to see themselves as missionaries in the world where God has called them.

While I agree with McNeal, I see two problems: 1) how do you do that besides by preaching and teaching about it?, and 2) there are many vital ministries the church needs to do day to day and week to week (i.e. facilities, children and youth ministry, small group leadership, Sunday school) that cannot just be dropped. If we did that, many important ministries would fall apart.

Finally, I did like one idea McNeal had of a minister who formally asked his congregation to release him into the community for two days a week (p.64). He is on the front lines trying to build bridges of relationships and networking. This may help me model to my church members the importance of being out there beyond ministering to the larger community.