As a pastor there were many times when I would have been ecstatic had I thought there were only six tough questions for the church! Obviously, there are many questions confronting the church today but in his book, The Present Future, Reggie McNeal posits 6 very tough and very relevant questions or realities facing the church at this critical time in history. It is his conviction that we must ask the right questions about these new realities in order to be effectively prepared for the future that is rushing our way.

Briefly stated, these new realities are:

1. THE COLLAPSE OF THE CHURCH CULTURE. 1956 is gone forever. The Ward Cleaver family no longer exists and “First Church” is all but dead! According to most data the average church is living on the support of people 55 and over and its future is already decided. The Church of our Lord is not in danger but the church in which most Baby Boomers were reared is living on life support! It is only a matter of time.

2. A SHIFT FROM CHURCH GROWTH TO KINGDOM GROWTH. One of the most powerful religious movements of the last century was the Church Growth Movement. Mega-churches appeared across the land and the race was on. Church Growth conferences begat conferences that begat conferences and so on it went without end. Celebrity status and privilege were accorded the CEOs (pastors) of these mega-churches and growth for the sake of growth became an end in itself. Kingdom values and principles were sometimes discarded as extra baggage. However, with all the growth of the church “clubs” there was little community transformation. It is now the Kingdom of God that must be taken to the streets in authentic Christian communities that impact local communities. Growth is not a bad thing but growth is not the main thing.

3. THE NEW REFORMATION: RELEASING GOD’S PEOPLE. McNeal suggests that the first Reformation was about freeing the church while the New Reformation is about freeing the people from the institutional church. Mission is now front and center! God’s people must be released to serve Him by serving the present age! After Pentecost the people hit the streets with the good news and never looked back! Set the people free from maintaining the “club” and get on the streets once again.

4. RETURN TO SPIRIT FORMATION. The question used to be, “How can we develop good members?” The new question is, “How do we develop followers of Jesus Christ?” McNeal says, perhaps with tongue in cheek, “People don’t want to be assimilated.” People want to be transformed! This is an age hungry for spiritual vitality and authenticity. Jesus said, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32, NIV). To lift Him up is to offer the Source of reality and authenticity to the seekers.

5. SHIFT FROM PLANNING TO PREPARATION. This is my favorite. The emphasis has been on planning. Plan your work and work your plan! If I have heard it once I have heard it . . . . But the Bible makes it clear that what God wants from us is to be ready ~ to be available. We cannot adequately plan for every move of the Spirit of God but we can be available to respond to His every move. Our calling is to pray “Thy kingdom come” and then to respond to the coming of that Kingdom. Find out what God is blessing and do that. Too often we plan and ask God to bless our plan.

6. RISE OF APOSTOLIC LEADERSHIP. “How can we develop leaders for the church?” Wrong question. The right question is, “How do we develop leaders for the Christian Movement?” Our mission must be bigger than the church in which we serve. Our mission must be to take the Kingdom of God into every village and hamlet and city around the world ~ really!

So what does all of this mean to the Church of the Nazarene ~ assuming that just part of what McNeal says is true, how should Nazarenes respond? A small minority will be tempted to stick their heads in the sand and wait for 1956 to return. Still others will reluctantly accept what is happening and grudgingly tackle the work. My hopes are on those who will see these new realities as opportunities for personal and corporate growth and adventure. They will seize this new day that has come with the same enthusiasm with which our founders seized their new day and pressed the claims of Christ upon their generations.

These new realities are no threat to God and they are no threat to the church. God is not surprised by what is happening in our world and He is not intimidated in the least. I am convinced He is looking for deeply committed people ~ pastors and lay persons ~ who are willing to engage these new realities in His name and by His power. It will take, as McNeal says, a “re-imagining” of the church. But the church has been a work in progress since Pentecost and that work continues.

The Spirit of God is moving in our world. My prayer is that “while on others [He] is calling” He will not pass us by. Let us open our hearts to His presence and our minds to His wisdom and our churches to His renewal.

Tough questions? I suppose so. But not so tough that God does not have the answer!

by J. K. Warrick