Here is one for you. As I run around the Church doing my thing, as I run around our culture and listen to what people are really saying, I am here to report that the future of the Christian Church is stronger than it has ever been in my lifetime. And I’ll tell you why.

First of all, people are hungry for an authentic relationship with something they may vaguely call God ---- something that transcends their existence. I hear a lot being said when people say “I don’t believe in God.” Lest I be accused of authoritarian narrow-mindedness, many are asking to see the God you believe in. In other words, “tell me about God, I really want to know”

Secondly, we are learning very quickly from people who study congregations that the people who come to Church today are there because they want to be there, not out of guilt or a sense of duty. “Show me,” “I would like to see Jesus,” “What is the Resurrection all about,” “What’s behind the life of this group of people because I feel drawn to it,” are just a few questions people are asking. And it is a fact, that when the economy weakens and people’s 401ks start loosing value, the issue of meaning and what is really important begins to surface. People drift back to Church in recessions.

Thirdly, and I think the most interesting, has to do with the younger generation. In a conversation with our Youth and Family Ministry coordinator, I was reminded of something I myself have observed. Many of our younger folks will tell you they are Jesus followers rather than a member of any particular denomination. How exciting! While I am a Rector of a congregation (how institutional can you get) I have to tell you, I think this shows great faith in the God whom Jesus came to reveal. Belonging, however, will not be to a denomination but to a group of Jesus followers who may (or may not) be part of a larger denominational whole.

Make no mistake. The media may like us to think the faith of Jesus Christ as shared by Christian faithful people and communities is dead and gone.

 It Isn’t..

Happy Easter,
Ev