The Church of Yesterday, Today or Tomorrow?

The world around us keeps changing. That has always been true, but today, it seems to happen at warp speed. We can’t just blame technology. If anything, technology helps us become more aware of the changes. Cell phones record violence in neighborhoods far away or the generosity of people lending a hand after disaster strikes. Both of these have the potential to become our local news. It is up to the people who live in the community we serve to decide what will be our reality. The church can play a critical role in that decision making process.

A church of tomorrow can help maneuver a community’s future by the work its people take on as important and life-giving. In a world ripped apart by violence triggered by racism, either real or perceived, the church can provide a voice of healing and reason. It can prompt conversations on race and racism by holding a mirror up to community leaders…and maybe even world leaders. It can point out, not only areas of injustice that must be fixed, but it can lift up and celebrate those areas where God’s people work together in beautiful harmony in spite of their differences.

A church of tomorrow can provide help where there is great need: offering food where there is hunger, clothing to the naked, shelter to the homeless, comfort to the grieving, healing where there is suffering and hope where there is despair. But that church can also be a beacon of light pointing out the systemic issues that cause food shortages, poverty, inadequate or substandard housing, and the root causes of suffering and despair.

A church of tomorrow can provide space and guidance for those seeking a better life, or striving to live this life better. The church can be a source of strength and hope when it supports 12 step groups, offers money-management programs, leads healthy living educational programs or grief support groups, and supports organizations that mentor children and youth into adulthood.

For a church to become a church of tomorrow, it must also be a church of yesterday and today. A church of today is one that knows the church of yesterday, its historical heritage and continually gives credit to those visionaries who laid the foundation on which the church of today stands. The church of today looks out into the world and seeks justice where there is none. The church of today acts in love and compassion where there is human need. The church of today trusts fully that the future is held by God and seeks to live into the call to be instruments of God’s justice, love and mercy in a hurting world.

The church of yesterday was once the church of tomorrow, for those people looked to the future and understood the important role the church plays in shaping the community it serves. They provided all those things we seek to provide today…and they likely thought the world was changing at warp speed back then, too. They did not hide from the challenges the world presented. They became the catalyst for change in areas of social justice and reform: leading the charge in the abolishment of slavery, education reform, changes in city infrastructure to help eradicate diseases, civil rights and equality in the workplace, safer work environments, and lead the marches of peaceful protest when the rest of the world responded in violence.

Are we the Church of Yesterday? Today? Or Tomorrow? Or all three?

Blessings,
Tracy