Today’s Lectionary Readings: Psalm 146; Ezekiel 43:1-12; John 9:1-17; 2 Corinthians 11:7-15; Psalm 47
There are lots of ways of talking about different kinds of churches. You can talk about churches based on their size (big church vs. small church), their theology (conservative vs. liberal) or their style of worship (traditional vs. contemporary). Today’s reading from 2 Corinthians reminded me of yet another way of thinking about churches. Some folks talk about churches as either being a high-demand or low-demand church. Let me explain the difference between the two. High-demand churches are churches that actually ask something of their members. For instance, they don’t just expect their members to just show up for worship on Sunday morning; they often have other things during the week (i.e. spiritual formation classes, missions projects, etc.) they expect their members to participate in that will help individuals grow their faith. Low-demand churches are different. Their goal is to make everything as easy as possible on their members. Over the last couple of decades many mainline churches have adopted a low-demand approach toward their members – fearing that if they asked much of their members they would scare them away. Ironically, the less they began asking of their members, the quicker their declines occured (both individually at the spiritual level and corporately at the membership levels). While some have interpreted these membership declines in this age of low-demand membership as proof that nothing we can try will work in terms of attracting new members, I have come to the opposite conclusion. I believe the declines show that folks are no longer interested in low-demand approaches toward ministry that make their faith as easy as possible. Instead, I believe folks are hungering for a mature faith that engages them and makes them grow – not just during the Sunday worship service but 7 days a week! Which kind of faith are you seeking? A low-demand approach like the folks in Corinth that is as easy and painless as possible, or a high-demand approach that spurs you on to new growth and intimacy with your Creator? Til next time…
There are lots of ways of talking about different kinds of churches. You can talk about churches based on their size (big church vs. small church), their theology (conservative vs. liberal) or their style of worship (traditional vs. contemporary). Today’s reading from 2 Corinthians reminded me of yet another way of thinking about churches. Some folks talk about churches as either being a high-demand or low-demand church. Let me explain the difference between the two. High-demand churches are churches that actually ask something of their members. For instance, they don’t just expect their members to just show up for worship on Sunday morning; they often have other things during the week (i.e. spiritual formation classes, missions projects, etc.) they expect their members to participate in that will help individuals grow their faith. Low-demand churches are different. Their goal is to make everything as easy as possible on their members. Over the last couple of decades many mainline churches have adopted a low-demand approach toward their members – fearing that if they asked much of their members they would scare them away. Ironically, the less they began asking of their members, the quicker their declines occured (both individually at the spiritual level and corporately at the membership levels). While some have interpreted these membership declines in this age of low-demand membership as proof that nothing we can try will work in terms of attracting new members, I have come to the opposite conclusion. I believe the declines show that folks are no longer interested in low-demand approaches toward ministry that make their faith as easy as possible. Instead, I believe folks are hungering for a mature faith that engages them and makes them grow – not just during the Sunday worship service but 7 days a week! Which kind of faith are you seeking? A low-demand approach like the folks in Corinth that is as easy and painless as possible, or a high-demand approach that spurs you on to new growth and intimacy with your Creator? Til next time…
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