Friday comes before Sunday

From covchurch.org

During Holy Week, I have found myself reflecting on this Easter truth: There is no resurrection without death.

Yes, God is in the resurrection business. Hallelujah! Jesus is risen! Let’s all stand up and cheer!

Not so fast. Friday comes before Sunday.

For many Christains, the theology of glory has eclipsed the theology of the cross. In other words, we want Sunday without Friday. Resurrection without death.

This kind of thinking is true for many established churches. Wanting Sunday but not Friday, many churches believe they can grow without change and change without pain. But this kind of thinking does not fit the timeline of Holy Week, nor does it fit the timeline of revitalization.

What has to die in order for your church to become a healthy missional church? Maybe it is a program, pride, a mindset, an aversion to risk, an elephant in the room, a power struggle…

What needs to die in order for your church to live?

And please, do not settle for incrementalism.

Or denial.

It reminds me of what one superintendent wrote to the churches in his conference:

“It is the nature of congregational decline to deny the decline as long as possible, to underestimate the decline, and then to under-respond. Declining congregations ignore the congregational cold, treat congregational pneumonia with aspirin and embalm with penicillin. Resurrection does not follow denial – resurrection follows death. The questions are: What needs reenergizing? What needs renewing? What needs rehabilitation? What needs to die? What needs to be let go of?”

There is hope for churches that courageously ask these kinds of questions and follow through with the significant steps, no matter how painful or “cross”- like.

But for churches that want Sunday without Friday, they simply will not experience the abundance and fullness of new life in Christ. In these kinds of “play-it-safe” churches, bold decisions constantly get blunted in the name of “Covenant niceness.”

Jesus calls churches to a different path: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed; but if it dies it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24)

In his commentary on the Psalms, theologian Walter Bruggeman puts it this way:

“The dominant ideology of our culture is committed to continuity and success and to the avoidance of pain, hurt, and loss. The dominant culture is also resistant to genuine newness and real surprise. It is curious but true, that surprise is as unwelcome as is loss. And our culture [and maybe our congregation] is organized to prevent the experience of both. If we try to keep our lives we will lose them, and that when lost for the gospel, we will be given new life (Mark 8:35)”

So here is my Easter prayer for your church:

May the loss of Friday and the surprise of Sunday shape the character and mission of your church, both now and forever more! Amen.