For at least a decade now, the prevailing message from most mainline denominations has been that the church is dying. That message was amplified as churches returned to worship following the COVID-19 pandemic but the pews were even more empty than before. It is no secret that church attendance is down and that Christianity in the United states is no longer the religion of the majority. But is the church really dying?
I just returned from two weeks in New Orleans, LA for the triannual ELCA Youth Gathering that brings Lutheran youth from all over the country (and some international students as well) for a week of service, worship, learning, and fun. Each night, we filled the Smoothie King Arena with 16,500 youth who sung loudly, worshiped, listened deeply, and celebrated the life that we find in Christ. Sitting in that arena, I can 100% confirm that the church is NOT dying! The church is alive and well with voices of joy and excitement, pain and sorrow, hopeful and faithful.
Yes, more and more churches are closing their doors. Yes, there are fewer people attending churches BUT this is not because God has abandoned the church or because younger generations don’t believe in God. It is because we have created an idea of what church has to be and have hinder (and in some cases eliminated) the movement of the Spirit to create new ways of being church!
For those two weeks in New Orleans, church looked like dance parties, Tik-Tok dance moves, and crowd waves in an arena. It looked like deep truth telling, experiencing the uncomfortable, and confessions of harm. It looked like pyrotechnics throwing fire to the sky, rock and roll guitar riffs, and loud rumbling bass hits. It looked like t-shirts and shorts, robes and stoles, jeans and hoodies. It was a 10 minute processional with dancing, photos and videos shared, and phones being used to fill the darkness with light. It was freedom to express the movement of the Spirit without judgement or hindrance to be our authentic selves. IT WAS CHURCH! And IT WAS ALIVE AND WELL!
What is dying is not the church but the old ways of doing church that so many hold onto for comforts sake and an individualistic view of the body of Christ. The church as we know it is at an impasse. We can either cling tightly to the “way it has always been” and watch that way slowly wither or we can release it to the next generation to take the foundations that have been laid, listen to the Holy Spirit, and create something wholly new. I can tell you after my weeks in New Orleans, if we do let go, the church is in tremendous hands and what can and will be is unbelievably exciting and a lot of fun!
