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CHURCH DEVELOPMENT Discovering The Church For The 21st Century - Part 2 By Dr. Montfort C. Duncan Jr.
Executive Director of Church Development
What must today's church look
like to be an effective church for the 21st century?
Breaking
with the past. Lyle Schaller reminds us that most of our churches are getting ready
for 1957. It is a real awakening for churches to discover that even though God’s
message does not change the methods for sharing that message in 2001 must change. Many
children and grandchildren today choose not to attend the same church or denomination as
their parents. To reach this current generation, we must break with past methods of being
the church in order to be effective in making disciples of Jesus Christ.
Leading through transition. The church is now living in
a post-Christian period. Our understanding of what it means to be the church is changing.
Our culture is in a time of shifting values. Laity and clergy together must enter into a
dialogue of what it means to lead the church and our culture through this time of
transition. We must move from dialogue to leading. To ignore the responsibility of
leadership is to surrender the mandate that is ours.
Hearing the gospel again. Many places in the gospels
refer to “you.” We have tended to read that and translate it into the singular
you. When in reality what we have read should have been understood as you plural — a
community of faith, a gathering of faithful followers of Jesus Christ. To reach this
generation, the church needs to rehear the gospel — that it is not an individualistic
faith, but a community of faith.
Shaping a new identity. Will the church be shaped by
the future, or will the church help shape our future? What will be the identity of the
church in the 21st century? With signs of a church crisis on many sides, how will we shape
our new identity as a church for a new day and a new age? I would suggest that we become
proactive (shape the future), instead of reactive (respond to the past).
Finally, practicing missional community. To be an
effective church for this century means that we must once again move toward touching the
heart of people’s longings. There is a longing to move toward the “mystery”
and a desire to encounter the sacred. People don’t need more things to do in the
church; they need a way of life, a community, that is clearly defined in scripture. The
church and its leaders must once again call people into this way of life. We need to
rediscover our call to be a missional community. The church now requires leaders who will
commit their passions and lifelong habits to developing and living into these contours.
As we begin new communities of faith, we need to be relevant to this century. Our methods must be effective. Our outreach must be targeted. The incredible life-changing story of God’s love in Jesus is at the heart of this venture as we are molded by God to be the 21st century church.
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