{"id":8348,"date":"2015-07-29T22:56:27","date_gmt":"2015-07-29T22:56:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/?p=8348"},"modified":"2015-07-29T23:33:47","modified_gmt":"2015-07-29T23:33:47","slug":"the-future-of-progressive-christianity-what-if","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2015\/07\/the-future-of-progressive-christianity-what-if\/","title":{"rendered":"The Future of Progressive Christianity: What If…?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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What if the people leaving the Church are the collective voice of God to us, the Church, today?<\/em><\/p>\n

This question offered by\u00a0Mark Sandlin in his post<\/a> for our new series on The Future of Progressive Christianity<\/a><\/em>\u00a0sets the tone for a frank, deeply thoughtful, and ultimately inspiring symposium\u00a0at Patheos this week. Mark\u2019s lead\u00a0question, firmly grounded in the reality of the last Pew\u00a0Research Center survey<\/a>\u00a0conceding a\u00a0continuing and steady decline of the mainline protestant church, yet\u00a0still begs a hopeful response \u2014 if one can imagine\u00a0it<\/em>.\u00a0Yes, the Church is losing people. This much is crystal clear. But the \u201cWhat If?\u201d question asks us to squint our eyes a bit to see\u00a0a distant (or is it right in front of us?) horizon. Indeed,\u00a0what if?<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a big fan of the United Church of Christ\u2019s slogan, \u201cGod is Still Speaking.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0I firmly believe this\u00a0to be true; my faith holds that God is in relationship with us now<\/em>, in every moment, continually wooing us into a life of love and compassion and reconciliation. But a relationship with such a love requires response and participation. Am I\u00a0listening, I mean, really<\/em> listening, to what God\u00a0might be trying to say to me, to the Church, at this particular moment \u2026 when people are leaving in droves? Or am I stuck in a rut, grooved deep by decades of mainline Protestant prominence \u2014 a rut that God is trying to punt\u00a0me up and out of (in love, of course)\u00a0to hear a\u00a0new story? And then, if by chance I \u2014 we \u2014 pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off after\u00a0the punt to\u00a0actually listen to\u00a0the new story, what then? That rut was kind of comfortable. Protected from the street, the noise. \u00a0I mean, c\u2019mon God, you\u2019re talking about some major shifts in this thing called Church \u2026 shifts in how we gather, worship, live, express ourselves, tend to the world.<\/p>\n

What if\u2026?<\/p>\n

The Future of Progressive Christianity<\/em><\/a> is our attempt to explore the \u201cWhat If?\u201d question and move with faith and some newfound confidence into an unknown future. And frankly, I\u2019m over-the-moon excited to\u00a0share with you our terrific\u00a0collection of responses from\u00a0some of my favorite Patheos writers\u00a0and other thought-leaders across the web. Here\u2019s just a taste of\u00a0what these wise folk\u00a0are exploring and imagining as they consider the future of Progressive Christianity in America. I dare say they\u2019re on God\u2019s side, helping to kick me \u2014 and you?\u00a0\u2014 out of the\u00a0rut!<\/p>\n