![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/396\/2019\/03\/IMG_1544-277x300.jpeg\")
<\/a>The Church is dying.<\/strong> Specifically, Christianity in Western countries is rapidly diminishing. 7-8,000 churches close their doors every year in the U.S<\/strong><\/a>. \u2013 about 150-200 every week. In 1966, there were 600 Catholic seminaries in America. 189 remain. 1000 Southern Baptist congregations close every year with half of them predicted to close by 2030. More and more churches are seeing fewer people participating in worship services and the ones who do are attending less frequently. Sure, there are a few exceptional congregations here and there, but they are outliers and those too will be declining within 10 years or so. Some say way we need to reform Christianity. Some say we need to do church differently. Some say we need to revise the language. Some say we need to jettison Christianity and the Church that conveys and enfleshes it all together.<\/p>\nFrom moderate to radical, my colleagues Reverends Mark Sandlin and Greta Vosper, respectively, recently wrote essays conveying such calls to action in their recent columns on Progressing Spirit<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Here is how Sandlin closed his essay<\/strong><\/a>,<\/p>\n \u201cWe must recognize that we are now perfectly set up to not attract young adults and middle-aged folks. We are perfectly designed to get the results that we are getting. It\u2019s going to take doing some things in radically new ways to turn the tides. We\u2019ll have to embrace technology and social media more deeply than ever before. And, we will have to be intentional about breaking out of our routines. We will need to be deliberate about finding new ways to positively interact with younger folks. Nobody else can do it for us. There are no magical books or seminars that can make this easy. This is simply about the Church (remember, the people are the Church) breaking out of its safe routines and dogma, and deeply and lovingly engaging the community it is in.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n And her is how Vosper ended hers<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cThere are good reasons not to resurrect participation in Christianity, most of which go to the troubling reinforcement of the prejudices of the Christian right through the continued use of the language of belief by the Christian left. But there are far more and better reasons to create or resurrect communities that act like church. We are not e.v.e.r. going to return to the kind of participation we enjoyed half a century ago; we shouldn\u2019t even want to. But wherever we let our eyes linger, we see the need for work to be done that might make life more bearable for those in our own families of faith, our communities, our nations, and our world. We who do church know how that work can be done. With that knowledge, however, also comes the responsibility to do it.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Both writers offer little in the way of concrete how tos, or specific \u201cdos or don\u2019ts.\u201d<\/strong> There\u2019s wisdom of course in being vague \u2013 as each congregation is in a unique context and setting. What may work in one community may not work in another. That said, I feel called to attempt to pick up the baton where they left off.<\/strong><\/p>\n I too have offered vagueness in the past as I\u2019ve observed these matters. Here\u2019s the transcript of a talk I gave (and video) at the Christianity 21 Conference<\/strong> <\/a>held in Phoenix a few years ago. You\u2019ll note that while I convey a spirit of enthusiasm and hope, I offered little in the way of how the transformation of the Church will take place or what it might look like.<\/p>\n The Christian Church is profoundly diverse with some 20,000 different denominations and even more independent expressions. It will always remain a fact that different segments of our society will be at different places<\/strong><\/a>, embracing different perspectives. Thinkers such as James Fowler<\/strong><\/a> and Ken Wilber<\/strong><\/a> remind us of the many different ways people show up in their human and spiritual growth and development. There can be no \u201cone size fits all\u201d kind of church \u2013 let alone Christianity.<\/p>\n That said, I would submit that the primary reason people are eschewing so many churches \u2013 isn\u2019t so much that they are rejecting all forms of \u201cbelief\u201d, or all forms of Abrahamic monotheism, let alone all forms of theism. Sure, many educated, modern and post-modern minded people are understandably rejecting supernatural theism<\/strong>, but that is hardly the only form<\/em> of theism within the faith. For instance, many progressive Christians embrace panentheism<\/a>,<\/strong> and\/or some form of process theology, openness, creation, or liberation theology. Most Christians, including many (and I think most) \u201cspiritual but not religious\u201d identified persons embrace some extent of an \u201cI-Thou\u201d \u2013 that there is a God, and we, while in truth are divine, aren\u2019t the fullness or entirety of the Divine. That we aren\u2019t all of God. That there is a certain something more that is greater than us, some holy Mystery, that is part of our reality \u2013 if not Is-ness itself. Now we might quibble about what degree of personhood, personality, aseity, agency, or volition this sacred deep reality may have, but most of us find value in prayer<\/strong> \u2013 even in the less \u201cvocal\u201d forms of prayer such as centering prayer, walking a labyrinth or out in nature, or meditation. Many if not most of us do those things with a profound sense of doing them \u201cIn the One in Whom we live, move, and have our being\u201d<\/strong><\/em> (Paul, Acts 17:28). We aren\u2019t alone in our efforts to be present to Presence.<\/strong><\/p>\n That said, traditional\/conventional churches have errored in overly emphasizing the transcendent<\/strong> aspects of God \u2013 \u201cGod\u2019s wholly other, up there, in the sky\/heaven far beyond us\u201d \u2013 to the point where they have utterly forgotten the immanent<\/strong> parts of the Divine that are fully infused in all of Creation \u2013 including within each of us. The truth is, we can be awed<\/strong> by both<\/strong>.<\/p>\n I suggest that at least one major thing that the Church can and should be doing to be relevant to today\u2019s Western society is to help people to experience God directly, to commune with Divine<\/strong>, and as part of that \u2013 to know and experience their own divinity<\/strong>. The following are 10 ways that churches can help foster environments that help facilitate this potential experience:<\/p>\n 1. Adjust the Words so that The Word might be heard.<\/strong> Let\u2019s face it, far too much of what is said in far too many church services is jargon that is unfamiliar to many people -and even offensive and off-putting. If people only hear God referred to with \u201cHe, Him, His\u201d pronouns \u2013 this turns many completely off from even being willing to hear whatever else may be said. Too many of the traditional creeds employ archaic language and assert frankly unbelievable things if interpreted in a wooden, literal manner. So, if we do employ personified pronouns to refer to the Divine, let\u2019s be willing to say \u201cShe, Her, Hers\u201d at least as frequently. Or, let\u2019s drop the gendered pronouns and simply say, \u201cGod\u2019s love\u201d etc. Let\u2019s use alternative creeds and more contemporary affirmations of faith such as the Statements of Faith of the United Church of Canada<\/a>,<\/strong> or of the Korean Methodist Church<\/strong><\/a>, etc. Let\u2019s even be willing to \u201cChange the Lord\u2019s Prayer \u2013 Again.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u201d And for goodness sake, let\u2019s be willing to shed churchy terms such as \u201csanctuary, chancel, narthex,\u201d etc. and refer to them instead as \u201cworship center, stage, lobby,\u201d etc. We don\u2019t need any more stumbling blocks and barriers than there already are.<\/p>\n And if we do continue to use litanies, let\u2019s use ones that are more relevant and on point with today\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s also consider making the worship center less archaic and intimidating. More and more congregations are removing some or all of the pews and replacing them with comfy couches and cushioned recliners!<\/p>\n 2. Put the Communing Back into Communion<\/strong> What might work better is to not truncate and reduce the sacrament of communion such that it\u2019s merely handing out tiny wafers of pinches of bread and token amounts of juice\/wine. How about including foot-washing \u2013 or hand washing (or smartphone browser scrubbing) \u2013 each time we commune? That was just<\/em> as much a part of what Jesus taught his disciples as the bread\/wine. In fact, engaging such meaningful, intimate service may arguably be even more important than sharing the bread and juice. How about helping people to humbly tend to each other in a loving, intimate, and very present way?<\/strong> How about dropping all of the institutional \u201cGreat Thanksgiving<\/a>\u201d call and response, and just do as Jesus did \u2013 in the course of a meal (Agape Love Feast<\/em> <\/a>anyone? Can you say \u201cDinner Church<\/a>\u201d?). Sometimes less is more. Most times.<\/strong> It isn\u2019t the fancy and long-winded verbosity of the Great Thanksgiving or the eloquent wording of the \u201cwords of institution\u201d that are mysterious. I suggest that what helps people to experience Mystery is to say as little as possible and get right to the experience of people feeding each other broken bread and cup. Perhaps simply have someone rise and say in a down to earth, conversational way:<\/p>\n \u201cFriends, on the night that Jesus was betrayed and arrested, he first met with his disciples, those closest to him, people who\u2019d journeyed with him for 3 years, walking all over that country, witnessing him heal all sorts of people, and teaching them how to love deeply.. He shared a meal with them. He took some bread and he raised it, thanked God, (pregnant pause), and then he broke that bread saying \u2013 \u201cTake. Eat. This is my body, broken for you!\u2019 He then took the cup and gave thanks. Pause. And this too he shared with them saying, \u201cThis is my blood, my life force, my very essence, poured out for you. It\u2019s the wine of a new covenant, for you and for many. It\u2019s how much I really love you!\u2019 Sisters and brothers, let us now serve each other in this great love. Let\u2019s tap into that Cosmic Christ spirit and energy that surrounds us and connect, and commune, and tend to each other. This experience symbolizes how God turns brokenness into wholeness, and how we are to care for everyone out in the world all the time. All of our lives are called to be a sacrament. All of life is holy. Not just these few minutes at church. May we be reminded of this deeply as we commune with each other now\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n 3. Drop the Exclusivism and Churchyness.<\/strong> ..and also drop the informal (but still very real) culture and ethos of which people are truly welcome at this church \u2013 and which ones aren\u2019t. A felt sense of Exclusivism<\/a> is one of the main reasons that many people are avoiding church these days. Incorporate wisdom nuggets<\/a>, and parables, etc. from other faith traditions. The people showing up are already doing it, we may as well work with this and help people to connect the dots and get the most out of it.<\/p>\n 4. Make space for Silence.<\/strong> The late, great Fr. Thomas Keating wrote that, \u201cGod\u2019s first language is silence. Everything else is a translation.\u201d<\/em> <\/strong>If this is true, we\u2019d do well to shut up more and let God speak. We do well to help people to \u201cbe still and know that God is God.\u201d (Psalm 46:10). We do well to make space for intentional silence<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 centering prayer, meditation, or just silence for it\u2019s own sake.<\/p>\n 5. Free the Pulpit!<\/strong> Move away from preaching at people in a lecture hall, designated, guru manner, and instead seek to elicit and welcome the Shared Wisdom of the people participating! Doug Pagitt\u2019s Solmon\u2019s Porch<\/a> congregation in Minneapolis (one of the first to get rid of pews and replace with couches) utilizes an organic, pop-corn style experience instead of a traditional sermon. There\u2019s still a role for clergy, but the clergy need to let go of control! Controlling and controlled environments are off-putting to many people today. Sure, a certain amount of setting boundaries and expectations helps provide a healthy container that allows people to feel safe, but too much of that is dysfunctional and most people are allergic to it. Consider dropping the 3 point sermon, or expository preaching, and instead embrace poetry as sermon!<\/strong> Here\u2019s an example of a poetry-sermon: \u201cWakey-Wakey!<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n And here are two short spiritual poems I wrote that might be read in worship: (art by Tara Turner, \u201cThe imagination of trees\u201d)<\/p>\n If writing poetry isn\u2019t within your current skill set, reading poems by Rumi, Gibran, John, O\u2019Donohue, David Whyte, and Mary Oliver often works perfectly.<\/p>\n 6. Incorporate and Embrace All the Senses.<\/strong> It really helps to have people not be sitting in one place for an hour or more. Instead, create worship services and rituals that have people moving to various worship stations to light candles, ring a bell after lighting them; writing in sand \u201cwriting their sins\/dysfunctional patterns they wish to shed, and then practice wiping them away\u201d; writing prayers on a chalk board; lighting incense (mild forms preferred as some people have asthma or other sensitivities; provide drums and rhythm makers for people to play along with for a song or two. Offer Communion every week and have people serve each other \u2013 very tactile. Provide coloring books with sacred art for people to draw on during the service, and perhaps post the created pieces they\u2019ve colored onto an erected panel or wall before the final song is sung so people can enjoy who others helped co-create the shared experience!<\/p>\n 7. Get people in their Bodies.<\/strong> Yes, you shouldn\u2019t have to check your brain to enter a church, but there is merit in getting out of our heads some and more into our bodies. Invite people to drop in and feel the truth. Begin by having people feel their breath. Guide them in a Breath Prayer<\/a>. Guide them in a Body Prayer<\/a>. Guide them in a guided Meditation \u2013 \u201cnoticing your body, what you sense, where you feel tension, welcome it, send love to it,\u201d etc.<\/p>\n 8. Modify the Music<\/strong>. This can mean singing the same hymns in the same way (organs, etc.), but many churches are experiencing great success in switching things up and singing them in bluegrass or Dixie styles. We can also change the lyrics to hymns to drop bad theology (all that blood!<\/em>), and expand to more inclusive gender pronouns. Perhaps employ less organ, and less electric guitar; and instead use a harmonium and acoustic guitar. And, consider singing more a cappella<\/em> \u2013 what a concept!\u00a0 More chant might be desired by many younger people \u2013 and fewer \u201cJesus is my boyfriend\u201d songs. Chant could take the form of the repetitive \u201cpap\u201d of many contemporary praise songs often sung in big box mega churches, but it could also be more like the Taize style chants in Latin (Dona Nobis Pachem, Ubi Caritas<\/em>, etc). or the more Sanskrit chants praising the various names of God \u2013 or do them in English such as Krishna Das\u2019 \u201cJesus on the Mainline<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u201d<\/em><\/strong> or \u201c<\/em>By Your Grace Jesus<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 9. Incorporate Nature.<\/strong> Live plants, cut flowers, flower petals, live trees instead of artificial. Incorporate the elements<\/a> of Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Metal. We are animals and we sense our surroundings first before we think about them. We feel before we think. <\/strong>We may not all know this, or think that we sense\/feel first, but in truth we do. Reminders that we are on planet earth, that we are on familiar territory, a sense that we know this terrain, helps us to feel safe and welcome. I\u2019m not going to get all feng shui<\/em> about it, but you can go there if you\u2019d like. Similarly, we can include reminders of the integral importance of being good stewards of the beauty, glory, and majesty of God\u2019s Creation \u2013 and our blessed home within it \u2013 planet Earth.<\/strong><\/p>\n 10. Remove national flags.<\/strong>\u00a0 See more about this suggestion by going to the original article<\/a>. I appreciate that some of these suggestions may feel uncomfortable or a bit too much to some folks. I have a purity bone in my body so I can relate \u2013 \u201cThis<\/em> is the way things are supposed to be. And that<\/em> is not!\u201d As a yogi I understand yoga primarily as an aide to help people be able to sit for long periods of time in meditation \u2013 that\u2019s it\u2019s purpose! To the extent that it\u2019s in any way about \u201cmoving on a mat,\u201d I view it as training to help people be with themselves <\/em><\/strong>\u2013 in silence with their angst, their monkey minds, and their hurts and traumas (similar to silent meditation). As a result, I am not a huge fan of the trends in yoga studios lately \u2013 such as pumping in music on PA systems with play lists full of groovy tunes that distract us from ourselves and doing this important work. And then, there\u2019s the trend of doing yoga in breweries (yoga is about detoxifying, not imbibing in toxins right afterward. Sheesh!<\/em>), and then there\u2019s the fad of doing yoga in the company of frolicking, rambunctious baby goats<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 yep, it\u2019s a thing.. : I<\/p>\n But hey, whatever works<\/em><\/strong>! The people go where they go \u2013 and they don\u2019t go where they don\u2019t. That\u2019s reality. I do well to relax my need for control, surrender my sense of \u201chow things are supposed to go and look like.\u201d I can love the Church and it\u2019s goal to reach people who may not know God\u2019s love through Jesus \u2013 more than my love of past traditions.<\/p>\n What if more of us followed the Apostle Paul\u2019s teaching to \u201c<\/em>become all things to all people so that by all possible means we might save some. We do all this for the sake of the gospel, that we may share in its blessings\u201d<\/em>? (1 Corinthians 9:22-23)<\/p>\n It\u2019s been said that \u201cDoing the same thing and expecting different results \u2013 is insanity.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> (These words are often attributed, but not likely said\/written by Albert Einstein. It\u2019s kinda like the some of the things attributed to Jesus\u2026 but that\u2019s a whole \u2018nother matter \u2013 \u201c<\/em>16 Ways Progressive Christians Interpret the Bible<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n Bottom line: Let\u2019s do what\u2019s sane.<\/strong><\/p>\n XX \u2013 Roger
\nSome may say, \u201cthere\u2019s already the sacrament of Holy Communion that\u2019s part of many church services!\u201d Yes, however many churches only offer that once a month, and, while some of the faithful truly experience divine connection and grace in that sacrament, too often the possibility of feeling true connection is blocked \u2013 blocked by too much liturgy \u2013 a garble of (while perhaps beautifully written) rote words that are uber churchy and read dispassionately; and the sacrament is being offered in a perfunctory, institutional, and almost sterile manner. People dressed in suits and dresses, distributing stuff with an air of, \u201cNext!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\nI. All Love
\nYou yearn and burn and twist and turn<\/em>
\n contentment always seeming just out of reach<\/em>
\n Drop in.<\/em>
\n Drop into the deep ocean of yourself<\/em>
\n You\u2019ve already got what you think you\u2019re needing<\/em>
\n All Love is there, it\u2019s yours<\/em>
\n as warm and nourishing as the blood pulsing through your veins<\/em>
\n as inspire-ing as the air you breathe<\/em>
\n as comforting as the song you hum as you fold the clothes<\/em>
\n All Wisdom is within you<\/em>
\n to sense as you need it.<\/em>
\n Breathe deeply. Listen to your body. Embrace your animal. Trust your instinct.<\/em>
\n Knead your paws into the lap of your soul<\/em>
\n Take your time, relax,<\/em>
\n and rest in the beauty of your kingdom.<\/em>
\n Share it with others when you\u2019re ready.<\/em>
\n Let them enjoy their kingdoms that they see in yours.<\/em>
\n They are one.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/396\/2019\/03\/49827695_2489216664441056_7795891307582324736_n-218x300.jpg\")
<\/a>II. The Real You. You, the real you, knows the truth.
\nThe Truth is you aren\u2019t the things
\nthat have happened to you..
\nYou aren\u2019t the things you\u2019ve done..
\nYou aren\u2019t the things you failed to do..
\nYou aren\u2019t your wounds or the ones you inflicted..
\nYon aren\u2019t your regrets..
\nYou aren\u2019t in any way a should have,
\ncould have, or would have..
\nYou are fully human and fully divine
\nYou a re the very incarnation of God.
\nNo not the only one, but no less than one.
\nThe unique prism of your life reminds us
\nof who we are too.
\nThank you for your colors.
\nThank you for your light.
\nThank you for being
\na stain-glass window picture story of glory<\/em>.<\/p>\n
\n\u2014\u2013
\n11. A bonus<\/em><\/strong> suggestion:<\/em> Encourage <\/strong>(but don\u2019t force) people to touch and hug each other.<\/strong> Our society is increasingly touch-deprived<\/a>. Many of us hunger, and flat out need, more touch in our lives. Church, at its best, can provide safe space to have this need met. We can have moments during worship where people are invited to hold hands, shake hands, hug, etc. People can be empowered to communicate if, and how, they wish to receive physical connection. Perhaps, as with optional prayer stations, blessing stations, candle lighting stations, etc., there might be a \u201choly hug\u201d station that people can choose to partake in. Digital\/virtual church can\u2019t meet this need. Only the incorporated\/enfleshed Body of Christ can do this. This is where we feel, and maybe even begin to believe, that we are really loved<\/strong>. And that\u2019s<\/em> what this whole Church thing is ultimately all about.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>
\np.s. This is an adapted and expanded version of an essay published at Progressing Spiri<\/a>t.<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/396\/2019\/09\/roger-wolsey-headshot-237x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Rev. Roger Wolsey is an ordained United Methodist pastor who directs the Wesley Foundation at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and is author of Kissing Fish: christianity for people who don\u2019t like christianity <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n