From Baptist Roots to Methodist Fire (Part Four of Four)

Trading Symbols, Finding Grace:

The Church Is Still Alive—Even If It Looks Different

I am now back in the work of traditional church. At this point you may be saying, hey Travis, didn’t you say that you were right 20 years ago when you were sounding the alarm about the traditional church facing a sharp decline? Now you are back in and you think it is different? No, I don’t think it is different. The statistics are still clear, the traditional church is overall declining. Within this year alone, over 15,000 churches will close, which is the highest closure rate on record.¹ So you may be asking, what in the world are you doing?

Here is the thing, the church will never die. God is using the church to accomplish the loving works of grace in the world. The truth is the stained-glass structures that used to be filled at 11AM on Sunday may very well be reduced and some will go away. That is not the church. The church of the New Testament was agile and did not have the overhead that we have created over the last 2,000 years. Church can take place in coffee shops, bars, homes, restaurants, dog parks, and other third spaces. God does not need a large brick building to house a group of people who believe that love and grace in Jesus Christ is life-transforming.

From Pews to Pints: Where Church Is Headed Next

That is part of why I am an United Methodist. We are realizing the reality of the situation and we are looking for innovative ways to move forward. That is part of the focus of my doctoral work. I believe the church’s future is one of mixed locations and methods. It will be pockets of Fresh Expressions, like Sacred Ale, that keep going. Sure, they will be small but they will continue to operate on little overhead. How will we fund these new expressions of church? That will depend on a variety of next steps. The traditional church as a whole is declining, but the property that it possesses is worth a lot of money. That is on top of endowments and larger reserves that some churches have. Perhaps we can use these to further this new work that God is moving in?

I won’t get into all the stats, but even if the funding happens from traditional sources of ministry, it will not last forever. I dream of the possibility that the church can be resourceful and find new innovative ways to sustain expenses all the while serving the community around itself. Many of the traditional buildings are in areas that are highly sought after for office space and other commerce needs. Could we use our buildings to serve the needs of our neighbors, yet also use some of the funding for the work of the church? I think the answer is yes. There are many other innovative ways we can look at the future, and I am excited that the UMC is thinking about this, and I hope it will be on the front lines of the future church.

The Future Church Needs a Holy Imagination

I am excited to be part of this movement. As I said, the church will continue, yet it will look different for some of us in the days ahead. Remember when I said that I realized that a person with a religious studies degree and a Master’s of Divinity was not sought after in the business world? We are not, and now I am close to adding a doctoral degree in the same subject! A friend of mine said, Travis, why not get a doctorate in cursive writing, it seems about as relevant these days. My friend wasn’t being unkind, rather he was saying in jest what many of us are feeling. I would say we are not without hope. No, I think this is an exciting time to reinvent the church and to reclaim our place in having a voice of love and peace and lay down the hateful megaphone of the past.

I am called to be a pastor, not a leader of a Fortune 500 company. I am called to focus on the love and grace-filled, life-changing message of Jesus, not to build a portfolio in the business of “Church.” I believe that we have to be wise, we have to be innovative, yet we don’t have to be in despair. I don’t know how much longer I have to serve the greater mission of the church, but I look forward to what time I do have serving alongside my brothers and sisters in the UMC. I hope the direction and movement of the denomination continue to look toward innovation and continue to look toward including all people into the loving family of God’s church.

**So, I don’t publish frequently enough to have compensation but I have decided to add this option, Buy Me a Coffee. This is a small way to contribute to some creative projects I have in mind. Feel free to contribute or ignore, you are loved either way :)

1. https://www.philanthropy.com/commons/churches-close-community-revitalization

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I leave you with a song from one of my favorite artists, the Avett Brothers. The song February Seven is a song about beginning again, redemption, and coming to terms with reality. Fun fact, the Avett brother’s grandfather was a United Methodist Minister. You can read about Scott Avett’s reflection on his grandfather, Rev. Clegg Avett, here.