Chris Scott is a pastor and Mission Network Facilitator for Emerging Faith Communities. This post was originally published August 9 on his blog, Missio Menno.
Maybe people aren’t leaving Jesus. Maybe they are leaving churches that talk about truth but struggle to live it.
It is easier to cast blame elsewhere — on the culture, younger generations, worship styles, social media, politics or the simple fact that fewer people seem interested in church these days.
But maybe we should stop making excuses.
Maybe people are not looking for a cooler church. Maybe they are wondering whether the church actually believes what it says. Because people can smell religious performance from a mile away.
They hear “everyone is welcome” and still notice who ends up on the margins.
They hear sermons about loving our neighbors while watching Christians treat some people as problems to be managed, debates to be won or enemies beyond the reach of grace.
Y’all, people are not asking whether our churches have better coffee. They are asking whether we actually mean any of this.
Jesus tells a story in Luke 10 about a wounded man on the roadside. Religious people walk past. The one who finally stops is the last person anyone expected to be the hero.
That story still bothers me because the question Jesus leaves us with is not simply, “Who is my neighbor?” It is, “Will I become a neighbor?”
That is a different question. And it costs more.
I keep thinking about The Bear television series. Everyone wants the beautiful dining room and the perfect plate. But the show keeps dragging us into the kitchen — where people are exhausted, frustrated, wounded, hopeful and learning how to work together.
Maybe our churches do the same.
We have spent years worrying about the menu, music, branding, the building, the website and the number of people in the seats.
But what if the real question is whether we are willing to get into the kitchen?
Whether we will forgive each other.
Whether we will tell the truth.
Whether we will share what we have.
Whether we will make room for the person who makes us uncomfortable.
Whether we will love somebody when there is nothing in it for us.
The future of a church will not be secured by making the church more attractive. It will be secured by making the church more honest, more courageous and more like Jesus in public.
That is harder. It is also more beautiful.
I do not think people have stopped longing for God. I think many have stopped trusting institutions that talk about God while hesitating to practice the way of Jesus.
So perhaps a church does not need another strategy. Perhaps we need repentance.
Perhaps we need to become the kind of people who can say:
“We got some things wrong. We hurt people. We cared too much about being right and not enough about being faithful. Come sit with us. Forgive us. Let’s try again.”
Not because a church is the answer.
Because Jesus is.
And maybe a church becomes believable again when we stop asking people to believe our words and instead, offer them a community they can trust.
