Replacing ourselves?

A letter to the senior parishioners of

the church of St. Anywhere...  

When I pick up the Anglican Journal, I always read the letters to the editor first. They are the unofficial barometers of church life. 

“I was recently horrified to hear a younger clergy person say that he regularly asks his seniors what they are doing to replace themselves! How is that their problem? Why blame the people who are there for the people who are not there?”

The “Featured Letter” for the December Journal describes what might be the parish of St Anywhere, Canada.  I have no doubt that the seniors of the congregation are faithful Anglicans, the sort of people who “work so hard and are so generous in order to keep the place going.”  So then, the author of the letter writes, “How is it now their job to make sure there are others coming up to replace them?”

Let me emphasize that my thoughts are not so much directed against the letter, as they are sparked by it.  In an aging church, who is 'responsible' for bringing in (new) members?  Or to put it another way, do you ever retire from the Great Commission? 

One of the marvelous charts we didn't have a chance to address at the last General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada dealt with the steady decline of church membership.  It was a graphically beautiful and simple piece of art--just a black-diamond ski-hill covering forty years of descent.  There was not even a blip during the so-called "Decade of Evangelism" (anyone remember that?). And at the recent synod of Montreal, the bishop, Barry Clarke, made special mention of the dismal statistics of his diocese over the past number of years.  Slowly but surely, we need to face the reality of declining membership, and intentionally begin to act in the face of those facts.

So who is “responsible” for those who are not in church? Plainly speaking, it is you and I.  We are responsible.  Perhaps it would help if we reframe the language of the question into something, well, something more "Gospelesque."  To suggest that members need to “replace themselves” is, as the writer of the letter points out, the wrong approach.  It hints that the purpose of the church is to perpetuate itself as an institution. Rather, we are called joyfully to help others into a reconciling relationship with God through Christ, and then to encourage one another to live out a life in the Spirit.

"How is it now their job to make sure there are others coming up to replace them?"  It is never our job merely to replace ourselves (that criticism is correct), but it has always been our job to make disciples. “Go therefore into all the world, and make disciples.”  This is not simply the call of the Apostles, but is part of the vocation of ministry for all the baptized.  It is part of every Christian's call to present the Gospel to those who are unaware of Christ.  One never retires from the Great Commission, just as one never retires from the Great Commandment.  Sharing the joy of Christ has no age barriers. 

I can sympathize with the author’s description of her parishioners.  They are faithful Anglicans who “work so hard and are so generous in order to keep the place going.”  One of the catch-22 moments of church life comes when we realize that we are working hard to keep the place going. This is very tricky, but I think we need to look at such a situation carefully and thoughtfully.  If we focus our efforts on making new disciples, won't that answer the question?  In the long run, a church which does not have an emphasis on evangelism will of course find itself working hard (and harder) just to “keep the place going.”  On a purely practical level, a membership which does not actively seek to make new disciples will find itself with dwindling human and financial resources, and will at a certain point find itself unable to continue the good ministries it has begun.  However, a church which seeks to make new disciples will be able to share the same tasks of ministry among a greater number of people.  That church will not only keep going but will do even more.  Ten hands can do this much to serve the poor; twenty hands can do that much.  “Even greater will you do,” as our Lord once said.

So can a senior bring others into the Church?  Let me just say that I am amazed at the enthusiasm with which my parents (both well into the senior category) can, on a moment’s notice, and with the slightest of excuses, bring the topic of grandchildren into an almost unimaginable array of conversations and social settings.  They will produce pictures, recite stories and introduce you to this person whom they love.  And isn’t that just it: we introduce others to the ones we love, or in this case, the One we love.