When I was younger I heard someone tell me that you can speak yourself into feeling. Let me explain.
If you are feeling down, you can simply walk around and say, “I feel so happy. I feel so happy.” The idea is, that at some point, you’ll start to feel happy, even if at first you aren’t happy.
There was one point I thought my family should try this. So when someone said they were tired, I said, “You mean… I’m so awake. I’m so awake.” It was quite funny after a while.
After a long night finishing up some work, in the morning, I would walk around the house reciting, “I’m so awake. I’m so awake.” We all knew, all I needed was some extra sleep. I wasn’t awake. I was dead tired.
I think the church in the west is in danger of walking around reciting, “I’m so awake. I’m so alive. We’re so fruitful.” Though the reality is, the church in the west has been in decline for some years.
What the research shows
McCrindle research, with some data taken from the Australian National Census, shows that church attendance has remained stable:
2006 – 17% of the population attended church regularly
2011 – 15% of the population attended church regularly
2016 – 16% of the population attended church regularly
Though more broadly across the spiritual landscape of Australia we see a steep decline in those who affiliate with Christianity:
2006 – 64% said they were Christian
2011 – 61% said they were Christian
2016 – 52% said they were Christian
The increase of those labelling themselves as “no religion” has skyrocketed over the last decade or so. The Census data shows:
2006 – 19% said they were of no religion
2011 – 22% said they were of no religion
2016 – 30% said they were of no religion
I’ve heard the pundits are predicting that the 2021 data will show numbers further decline in relation to affiliation with Christianity, but time will tell.
In Revelation we read in chapter 3, verses 1–2, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains… I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.”
They are gut-wrenching, challenging words. They compel us to take a closer look at ourselves. Who is coming to Christ? Who are we reaching with this beautiful message of salvation? Who are we discipling? Who are we mentoring? Are we raising up the next generation?
Two challenges
One of the challenges the church has across the western church is credibility. Too many Pastors have been stood down because of spiritual abuse, or sexual misconduct, or even in some instances charges related to child abuse.
If we’re honest, the church stinks from the perspective of the world around us. Well meaning Christians have been lumped in with far-right conservatives who shout outside abortion clinics and think Trump is the best thing since sliced bread.
A few years ago, we were arguing over same-sex marriages. Even now, the church is divided on its stance towards vaccines.
We know the Scripture in John chapter 13, verse 35, that says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
We just have trouble living it out. We need the Lord to help us with this credibility problem. We want people to see the beautiful grace that is found though Jesus Christ, and the forgiveness and hope found in his name.
The second challenge we have is an ‘ecclesiastical’ problem.
We do the same thing, week in, week out and wonder why we aren’t getting different results. I would suggest, some are so caught up in how much they love their own ways of connecting with the Lord, that they haven’t stopped long enough to consider whether that actually connects with someone who doesn’t know Christ.
Others are caught in church practices that are repetitive and repetitive and repetitive, but meanwhile the culture around us has shifted so dramatically, our ecclesiastical structures haven’t kept up.
We need brave followers of Jesus, who are willing to start a church in a pub, or get a bible study happening in a local café, or connect at the local table tennis club and shine the light of Jesus. Leaders who are brave enough to preach the gospel on TikTok or start a yarning circle with indigenous elders, or start a chapel service in an op shop.
God is birthing something new in the church in these days. We pray God will awaken in us what we need to do to partner with him.
Celebrating the stories
We celebrate the stories of faith that are permeating the church community, where new shoots of growth are springing up.
Locally we’ve witnessed a new Bible study starting up, where a few adults are getting together to read the Word of God. There’s a fresh sense of unity occurring across our church. There’s a passion emerging to make a difference in the world. Followers of Jesus are looking at how they might be able to start new faith expressions that lead people to Jesus.
Though our deeds are unfinished. But it’s exciting. God is awakening us to the potential of his Kingdom rapidly expanding across our city. Let’s partner with what the Lord is wanting to do in these days.