Why efforts to renew the church are often misguided

This post is from the defunct blog "Dying Church"

By Brian McLaren, found through Jordon Cooper:

Could it be that the church is as it is in so many places not because of a lack of effort or a lack of sincerity or a lack of spirituality (or even a lack of money, commitment, or prayer), but rather because our sincere efforts, passionate prayers, and material resources are all aimed in the wrong direction - the direction of self-preservation, self-aggrandizement, self-improvement? What if saving the church is a self-defeating mission?... It has been said that the greatest obstacle to the coming of the kingdom of God is the church, preoccupied with her own existence. Could our preoccupation with making better churches rather than better blessing the world be the heart disease that plagues us? And could our Clause-A theological systems be the high-fat cause of that heart disease?

Comments

[Lucy]

amen. why keep ploughing resources into a failing structure? Everyone knows church attendance is dropping, but following God isnt. Lots of efforts right now to make services more attractive, but what people are really crying out for if you listen hard enough is real relationship with each other, which a new style service isnt going to remedy. The gospel is for the poor and outcast. I really believe all church structures, services, etc attempts at self preservation are worthless in the sight of God. Lucy