2. Decline, Recline, then Incline

I decided to do some research on the population trends of the Pony Express district recently. I found a few surprieses.

It wasn't surprising to find that the 13 counties that comprise the district have a declining population. What surprised me was when the decline began. Was it the farm crisis of the 80's, or was it the beginning of the demise of the family farm in the 60's? Turns out it was neither.

Since 1900, almost every county in northwest Missouri has had a population reduction in almost every decade. With a few exceptions, we have been losing people on a continuous basis for more than 100 years. Wow! That is a staggering statistic.

After that little discovery, I began looking at the history of our congregations. I haven't completed an exhaustive look, but so far I have found only two congregations that were started in the 20th Century (one of those was actually a merger of two congregations started in 1869). For all intents and purposes, every person who has spent their lifetime in our district has never seen a successful church start, and at the same time they have watched their church decline as people moved out and/or died.

Those are the kind of stastistics that make one want to recline at table and eat doughnuts while waiting for the sky to finish falling. However, that really isn't the reason I share them with you. While it would be easier to take our ease and assume it is just a matter of time until no one is left, I hope we might be spurred to a different response.

In order for us to change reality, we must first name it and claim it. The truth is that we have gone from 350,000 as a population base to 200,000 during the past 100 or so years. That still leaves 200,000 people, though, and there are signs over the last 20 years that the decline is bottoming out. The good news is that our towns and communities have plenty of space to put new people. That is an interesting thought: Almost every town in our district, and every church in our district, was designed to be bigger than its current population. All we need is people!

So, what does this mean for our congregations? I am still trying to figure that out, but here are a couple of hints. First, we have to think differently about how we do church. When we meet in sanctuaries that have the sense of being empty, old, and dilapidated we exaggerate the feeling that the end is coming. Perhaps we need to consider going back to the old concept of the house church. We might need to create more small groups that meet in smaller spaces. A living room filled with 15 people creates energy while a sanctuary with 15 sends new people running for the exits. In spite of the decline in population, a great majority of our small churches could double in size by starting a couple of small groups designed for new people that meet in homes of church members. ( Note to self: I plan to write more about this in a future blog.)

Second, we need to remember that the world is our parish. I am suggesting that we have to become community leaders who bring ideas for developing a stronger economic base to the places where we serve. It may be something as simple as recreating hope and stronger self-esteem among our people. It might require more intense work such as brainstorming about new businesses and jobs that might be appropriate in our towns. Quite honestly, we are serving an area that is filled with good people who unconsciously assume that there must be something wrong and unattractive about their towns (and their churches). Maybe it is time for the prophets of the return from exile to speak and act!

We have reclined long enough. Incline your ear--I am sure that had a positive connotation when Jesus said it. We have been called to this time and this place in order to restore hope to God's people, those in and outside the Church. We have a great challenge before us, and we won't meet it by simply doing things the way we have been doing them. We may not be able to meet it by staying within our buildings to do the work. I am beginning to suspect that we won't even meet it by changing from traditional to contemporary or emergent or whatever form of worship is named in popular workshops. Rather, I believe we may have to be the pioneers of a style that fits rural life in the 21st Century. (It makes me wonder how Jesus worshiped with the 12 disciples--but that is a different blog.)

I value the ideas of others. Post a comment if you have some thoughts.

1. The Bush Still Burns

Several years ago, I wrote a bi-weekly column for the Missouri West United Methodist Review. I titled it "...After the Burning Bush" for a couple of reasons. First, I recognized that I have been chasing after burning bushes, as in the bush that burned for Moses in Exodus 3, throughout my life. It is sometimes hard to know whether God started the search with a bush that was burning for me, or if I started it because I was looking for God. The starting point is pre-memory for me, and it probably doesn't matter since it has been a dance ever since. One bush burns when I don't expect it, then I go looking for another bush to burn when I can no longer see the last one.

Second, the title was an attempt to answer the question, "What do we do after the bush has burned in front of us?" The instructions and expectations were clearly stated to Moses. They have not always been as clear for me; however, I have always known that I don't get to stay on the hillside and enjoy the view. While it would be nice to sit down and muse about the greatness of one who can burn with out wilting, that would be missing the point. God did not pay a visit to Moses in order to impress Moses, but to spur Moses to action. The same is true for me.

So, the original newspaper column was designed to help me both search for and respond to the burning bushes in my life. This blog will serve the same purpose, though for a different audience. While it is fine for anyone to listen in, my focus will be on the pastors and lay persons of the United Methodist churches in northwest Missouri. That is because one of the more recent bushes called me to this place and these people. We do have a Phaoraoh to confront, some plagues to avoid, and miracles to behold. Perhaps there will be some others who journey with me through this blog. If so, welcome!