Themes Rising - Part 3 (Others)

The third theme that seems to me to have been rising in our study, conversation, and reflection is the need for First Lutheran to be a church for others. Perhaps I should find a way to say this more precisely or articulately, but let me just be plain for now.

Of the three themes that I've blogged about in this strand (including also church of substance and church of generations), this is the one that I think represents both the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity for us. At one level, of course, you have to ask, "Who doesn't want to be a church for others?" It sounds so obvious. But is it something that we're really ready to do?

First Lutheran has known decades of "success" and growth by being an excellent church to come to. We've had years and years of solid preaching, top-notch music, innovative children's and student ministries, and a whole plethora of other attractive programs and opportunities. Anyone looking for a good Lutheran church in the White Bear Lake area would have to think seriously about attending FLC. And, in some sense, much of this was done "for others." It was done to attract others to "our church," though one could be forgiven for wondering how often the "others" have been very other.

In 2008 much is still the same but much has also changed. Among the biggest changes is that the number of people who could be described as "anyone looking for a good Lutheran church" has gone drastically down. It is no longer enough to be a very "attractive" church when fewer and fewer people are interested in church at all - not if you want to reach non-Christians with the good news about Jesus.

Somehow we will have to grow from being a place people come to into a gathering of Christians that goes to the people. We'll need not only to speak Jesus-words in our pulpit and on our campus, but we'll need to live Jesus-lives in our communities and on our streets. In the 21st century, Christians have an awful lot of credibility to re-earn and we won't be able to do it talking to ourselves. (See also the comments, btw, on my church of substance post from a few days ago. Thanks to my readers for pushing on today's topic, and particularly on the importance of seeing this happen not just in church programming but as also as the spontaneous outworking of the lives of the Christians who call First Lutheran home.)

We have a lot to learn and probably a lot of experimenting to do as we figure out how to do this best, but I suspect that this issue is much more a matter of "how" than "if."