Is the Church Dying or Being Transformed?

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I wonder what people mean when they say that church is dying? Somehow I don’t think they have really thought about what it means. As people of faith what do we believe about death? That it’s the end and we cease to exist? Isn’t death a form of transformation? The biggest question is: isn’t death/transformation inevitable? Isn’t it a part of life? Doesn’t everything die/transform?

You have probably been through a metaphorical ‘death’ in your life. When life changes and everything is different; a parent passes, you are fired, given a life threatening medical diagnosis, or gotten a divorce? Many of us have had a number of these things happen within a short period of time and the life you knew ceases to exist. I love the stories of people who go through a big transformation and end up talking about what a blessing it was. I remember seeing a show about a man who loved running, but when he was paralyzed he took up hang gliding. He said the horrible accident had helped him find his true passion. Many of us walk through the pain of divorce to find a life that is bigger and more meaningful than before. Losing all of our worldly possessions can transform us into knowing what is truly valuable. Most of us can look to a very difficult ending/death and see that we can come through to the other side as better people, with richer lives. 

What would it mean for us if we thought of church as being transformed, instead of dying? How would it shift our experience? What can we think about as we face—the transformation of church?

What assumptions do we hold about why this is happening?

We can think of the transformation/death of church in two ways.

One; that this is all about failure: Church is dying because we have done something wrong. If we just had better pastors who could give more powerful sermons then this would not be happening. If people were not moving away from God and weren’t so bad, then church would still be the same. If young people would just come to church then we would be ok.

Or two; God is calling us forward into a new life: We could assume that God believes that we are capable of more and is working through us to create a ‘new’ church. When we get to the other side we will know that we have experienced a miracle! The church in our future will be more than we can imagine right now.  It can be the place that we dreamed of but didn’t expect to be possible.

Which of these assumptions we hold might well define the outcome. I have come to choose to believe that each metaphorical death in my life is an opportunity to experience a richer, deeper life with God, and in my experience, it does.

There is a lot to feel as we transform.

I experience a lot of emotion as a part of transformation. Change is really hard. Letting go of things I love is anguishing. Even when I know a transformation is going to be a blessing in the end, I still have things to feel.

As church is transformed we will be having some big feelings. People have feelings in different amounts and of different types. This means that the people around us will have different experiences. Some of the ways we can love and support ourselves and each other are:

  • Accept that feelings are to be expected. Accept that others will experience more or less emotion than you will and that they might have different emotions than you have. We can feel anxiety or anger as well as sorrow.
  • Talk about the emotions. The thing that helps us move through and let go of emotion is having someone to witness it for us and not judge or attempt to stop us from expressing it at all. When we know that we are not alone and that others are also feeling things then we are comforted. 
  • Support each other in the healthy expression of emotion. I tend to enjoy being a bit of a martyr myself and look for sympathy. A little is good, but too much just lets me enjoy the role longer than necessary. So I need someone to reign me in at times and help me move on. In healthy community we love each other enough to; witness each other’s emotions, and help them to not get stuck in them, or express them in ways that hurt themselves or others.

Transformation is hard and messy.

The scriptures tell us many times that our faith journey can be hard. At times I have gotten angry that the walk is so difficult. I have used the passage of Mark 14: 22-33 to remind myself that I was not told it would be easy. In the passage Jesus calls Peter to get out of the boat and walk to him across the water –water that is being tossed by a boisterous wind! Jesus calls to him, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” I note that the story does not take place when the sea is calm and the sun shining. No, Peter is asked to walk across rough, stormy water. I get to remember that the water can be rough but Jesus knows that I am capable and can do it with good cheer and courage. All of us use different passages to remind ourselves what a transformational journey looks like. Find those that help you keep your faith and share them with your community.

When we look to the natural world that God created, we can see that death/transformation involves a stage of chaos and re-organization. The tree dies and its cells reform so that they can become a part of new growth. The caterpillar makes the chrysalis and every cell of its body turns to jelly as they shift around to form the butterfly. Change requires a time of chaos. Consider that when we try to stop or control chaos, that is when we are not giving the transformation process the freedom to make us into what we are being called to be.

Faith is a choice to trust that when life is messy and difficult God is working in and through us to create something new.

Walk within a community of faith

Nothing is more important to us in times of transformation than our community; to remind us of who we are, to witness our emotions and to call us to its healthy expression, to be by our side and remind us that they are on the journey too. One thing that we all may be starting to realize is that there is a lot of change ahead of us, and it will be scary and difficult, but that we are not meant to walk alone. 

A community can keep us focused on the fact that we are being led by God. Our community can help us dream and imagine the promise of what is coming from the transformation. When we know that we are being “called to his purpose” we can know that “all things work together for good” Romans 8:28. Together we can have conversations about the messages scripture gives about change. I love that Moses questioned God and told him that he wasn’t the one to do the work. We get to question and feel lost.

Community can encourage us to live our faith and remember what that means.

Faith in transformation.

In the times of my life when things are stable and unchanging, living with faith hasn’t been that hard. But in the times when I am walking across rough water and my life is being transformed I find faith more difficult. Because then having faith means that I have to make the choice to believe in my faith. I have to make choices to do things that take great courage. I have to let things go that I love, when I don’t see why letting go is necessary. I have to make the choice to believe that the death I am experiencing is only a transformation into something more beautiful.

Years ago I saw a great cartoon in Family Circle. Dolly is at her Grandma’s knee and she is asking. “Do caterpillars know they are going to be butterflies, or does God surprise them?” May we hold this vision as we move through the transformation of church; let’s expect God to surprise us.

Diane Rheos has a 35-year business management career and her masters in Whole System Design, but more important is that her faith journey has always been at the center. She is currently engaged in the transformation of ‘church’ from the bottom-up by changing the structure being used. Her communication framework creates an adaptive and participatory system. She is currently writing an organizational self-help book through her blog postings at www.DianeRheos.com.