The Church in 2020

by Bruce Larson

The church of 2020 will have a new identity. Rather than Christians, we will be followers of Jesus. When the word Christian was first used in the New Testament it had no negative history. It meant followers of Jesus and that's all it meant. Two thousand years later, the name carries a lot of baggage, much good and some bad. As men and women are enlisted as followers of Jesus, they will be separated less into denominations. This could be our new banner. To offer the world a relationship with the Lord of Life that does not require defending 2000 years of church history.

God's message in the Bible can be summed up in six words, "I love you. Don't be stupid." God loves us without limitations, restrictions or conditions. That message of love runs throughout the Biblical narrative and climaxes in the Cross, the ultimate price God paid for our redemption. He has also given us rules for living, not just the Ten Commandments, Proverbs and the Beatitudes, but incorporated throughout His word. Follow those rules and we will be fulfilled. But if we don't, He still loves us. This part of the message of Grace, that God loves us no matter what, is often overlooked.

The agenda for the church of 2020 may be empowerment, rather than enlightenment. We already know more than we are doing. May the church of the future empower, enable and engage all its people in active ministry. Beyond teaching and preaching, people need to be guided into participating personally in the ongoing Gospel story --- to become a part of it.

I hope we will be proclaiming the Gospel in a way that requires a decision. Preaching theological ideas usually evokes a largely passive "true" or "false" response. A proclamation of Jesus' living presence requires a "yes" or "no" response.

I hope we will lead rather than manage. Nobody wants to be managed. We want to be led. A true leader is a true servant. Mother Teresa is our model. She carried on her world-wide ministry with no secretary. She did not tell us what to do, she showed us.

Imagine never again having a stewardship campaign or a collection plate. Imagine never asking for money again. Today's churches are sending out one of two messages. Growing churches proclaim, "Do what the Bible requires and become a tither.'" Struggling churches say, "Support our budget. Pay your share." Growing churches practice tithing as an act of faith and responsibility. When we throw out our stewardship campaigns and pledge cards, we give people the responsibility for financing the Church's mission. The message is not to be more generous, but to live by faith.

I believe the church of the future will not be structure-centered. You can always rent a building. Building, maintenance and remodeling buildings are expensive, time consuming and limiting. You don't have to own buildings to grow a community of faith.

People need to participate in worship --- with their bodies, minds, spirits, voices and hearts. Listening to music and a message doesn't cut it. Worship is meant to be an awesome experience. There is not Christian architecture or Christian music. Appropriate the music people understand and put Christian meaning to it, as General Booth did, complaining that the devil had the best tunes. The barrier to the Gospel is not the Gospel itself, but the culture we wrap it in.

Further, I hope we will start training ushers to be pastors. Their job is not helping people find a seat and giving out programs. The church is not a theater. Ushers are the front line troops that make others feel welcomed and loved.

What business are we in? What is the end product? Transformed lives! We are in the business of turning out people who are followers of Jesus. We need to show off those end products, to make time in service to showcase witnesses who can tell of changed lives and their transformation in Christ.

Seminaries have lost their way. Primarily the Christian life is taught, not in classrooms, but by mentoring. From the workplace to the mission field to the local neighborhood, seminary training could take place for all the people in the church of 2020 every day. I predict the church will produce its own evangelists, prophets and missionaries. The seminary of 2020 and the church of 2020 could be synonymous.