I have been reading a fascinating book by Fritz Kling titled, The Meeting of the Waters: 7 Global Currents That Will Propel the Future Church. He has spent the last decade, as a foundation executive, traveling through villages and cities in every corner of the world. He as worked alongside both high-level leaders and grassroots workers, getting an insider's perspective on the changes occurring in the global church.
Kling's experiences have shown him that the same cultural shifts that are making church ministry in the United States so challenging, are changing the way that the Gospel must be presented in the global church. The globalization of the world, primarily through technology, has made for some interesting scenarios. This globalization was made very real to Fritz at a leadership conference in East Africa. A Kenyan pastor complained that "the expectations on him were unreasonable! I am but one small pastor in a tiny church in Africa, but the challenges are getting greater and greater!" His frustration was coming from the fact that a number of his parishioners told him that they prefer the sermons of T.D. Jakes. That Kenyan pastor, who lacked formal training, a library, an assistant, or compensation, had pushed himself to work harder and harder to deliver sermons that were biblically truthful and culturally relevant. Suddenly, he found himself in a classic twenty-first -century bind. He was a Kenyan ministering to Kenyans in Kenya, but he had been unwittingly thrust into a global, cross-cultural dilemma. He had not gone to another country as a missionary. Rather, another country (America, in this case) had come into his church-and his church would never be the same. America was not the problem: His parishioners could just as easily tune in to televised preachers from South Korea, Australia, or Germany.
In the US, pollsters tell us that approximately 40% of the population attend church regularly. Other pollsters tell us that those numbers are exaggerated. Regardless, since 80% of Americans say they are Christians, we have a big gap, that is getting bigger. While most of us understand that our culture is changing rapidly, we have been slow to accept the fact that the way we "do church" must change. Just like the world has been affected by globalization, we in America, with all the technology that we have, have been greatly affected. Hanging on to our traditional ways of trying to reach people are resulting in frustrated pastors and lay leaders. Dave Olson, director of church planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church has collected exhaustive reporting on church attendance in America and his findings show that churches with attendance of 50-299 are generally declining, as are churches that are 40-180 years old. This comprises most of the churches in America today.
Kling's response is that global cultural change is unavoidable, and staying the course without responding to change will steer the global church straight into a turbulent future. The greatest danger is that the valuable treasure carried by the church-the best news the world can ever hear-will be risked because leaders lack the stomach, mind, or heart to engage the changing times. I would add that seeking the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and depending on Him for creative engagement of our culture is absolutely essential! Imitating other's success will only result in frustration. Isaiah 43:16-19 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
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