Questioning
by Greg Funk (Senior Pastor of Manheim BIC)

I have a question (well maybe more than one)

I am on a journey that is raising more questions than producing answers. You would think that after 29 years of ministry, I would be able to sort most of this out. I admit, I can’t. In fact I have more questions than ever. I have an overriding concern about our American version of Christianity and what we call the Church. It appears to me that we have this self guiding, self deluding philosophy that keeps us from the truth about ourselves. This philosophy is stated more in economic terms and perceptions than reality. Over the past 30 years, all the polls coming back from Barna and others keep telling us that we approximately have lost 50% of our influence (48%-24%). Influence, being solely defined by how many people attend worship in a regular basis.

At the same time, we have built some of our largest Churches that we have ever seen in America. We have “super-sized” our product. We have created a “Christian” economy from music to books to conferences that is unparalleled. But I agonize over the reality that our influence keeps moving towards the cellar. Add to this that we now have become a culture of imitation in our Churches. Those who have built very large ministries, other Churches simply take their “stuff” and reproduce it and attract large crowds doing so. So what is my point? All this noise we are creating seems to have little impact. Yes there are some minor changes going on. We think if we just do things differently in our barns, then they will come. In terms of transformation, it has almost become a lost mythical experience. We are getting better at doing things for ourselves but have still not captured the art of influence in terms of those living outside of the Kingdom. Part of the problem is how we define and measure influence. We want programs and pre-packaged stuff, modern and post-modern, that will increase our influence. We fail to realize it is a long joyfully difficult journey. It is a journey filled with gratitude and outrageous generosity. It is a journey where life is the classroom.

We live in the most free, privilege, educated, wealthy country in the world. This world needs us at our best! When we are at our best, Jesus says that not even the gates of hell will be able to withstand our mission. I find it interesting that in Scripture, hell is on the defensive. Hell built the fortress. Hell has the gates. The Father of lies has convinced us to build fortresses. Christian subcultures measure everything that goes on inside the fortress. Every once in a while we send some brave soul outside the walls and call them missionaries. They come back with stories of transformation and we quietly long for the same. What an incredible opportunity we possess. We have the authority and the power of God who guarantees our success. We need people who are willing to say – time to crash a few of hell's parties.