Mother Theresa once said, “We are not called to be successful - we are called to be faithful.”
I really think these are the two ends of the spectrum that a lot of Christians get wrong.
Let’s begin with “success”. We have very possibly seen the peak of megachurches, who work hard to make the Gospel accessible to a materialistic culture. Megachurches often design worship to be like going to the movies on a Friday night, except with free childcare, free tickets, and free parking. They might remove controversial religious symbols from the walls and make the service as slick as a late night talk show. Denominationalism is left at the door, and gift-centered ministry takes center-stage, an approach that emphasizes the gifts and interests everyone has to build community and share the good news. Ultimately, it does make going to church easy. You don’t have to think too hard, and there is really something for everyone.
I don’t think megachurches are all that bad. Certainly, there is a challenge for Christians and the church to make sure their faith is accessible and visible. We need to be aware of the barriers that can keep someone on the outside - and we need to address the issues that are making people uncomfortable. But does that mean make church like McDonalds though? Does that mean watering down the Gospel up front, so you can give the “hard sell” later on? Does that mean not asking difficult questions? Does that mean worshipping the god of success, over the God of faithfulness?
And the other side of the debate - the “faithful old churches”. These are your denomination based congregations with strong history, order, witness, legacy, and so on. There are bylaws and constitutions. There are committees and leadership roles. Here, subtle improvements to worship services and new auxiliary activities like bible studies are the programs of change. There is a tremendous amount of shared power at stake, and the congregations themselves work through a variety of methods to come to a resolution about some pressing issue. Some congregations are dying, having dwindled membership from their heydays of the 1950-60s. They did not change or respond well enough to the shifting of their neighborhood. Others are struggling to be revitalized, but it seems like a mysterious process that may or may not ever work. Some are doing okay, but their future has still a fog of uncertainty.
These churches might describe themselves as being “faithful” - steady rocks in the sea of change that is American culture. But does faithfulness mean unchanging? Does faithfulness mean not willing to do a new thing? Does faithfulness mean not willing to get up, move far away from home, and start over? I would argue that many of our “old yeller” churches have distorted their view of faithfulness and have missed out on numerous opportunities to drop everything and follow Jesus.
There is a middle way - a way that relies upon God for whatever success that may come, but a way that ultimately is faithful unto the One who calls us. Following Christ is about faithfulness - but it is about being willing to take the risks, to leave everything behind. Our worry should not be whether or not it is successful - our focus should be on serving and loving God’s children. In the end, whether or not we reach hundreds or thousands or millions, whether or not our church grows or expands its ministry, the question will be of our faithfulness - what did we do with what God had given us?
