INTO THE STORM

The signs of cultural change are all around us and the signs of change in the church are just as striking as those in the world. One of the tension points between moderns (that’s me) and postmoderns (that’s my children) is their taste in music (or as this dad lovingly points out to his children, their lack of taste in music).

This past weekend, Carol pointed out to me an article in our local weekly paper about a church that has started in our city just for people 50 and older. It advertises that it has been organized specifically for those who do not identify with contemporary Christian music. This church is not the future, it is a sad attempt to hold on to the past. In fact, in my opinion it is not a church, it is a self-supported Sunday school class.

When I started writing this weekly devotional/editorial several years ago, I wrote an article entitled “The Emerging Church.” The essence of the article was that the church must continue emerging. The church has been emerging for 2000 years and it can’t stop now. To stop going forward is failure; to retreat is failure; denial is failure.

The rate of change in the culture and the church is intensifying. I got my first cell phone in the early 90’s. I got my first laptop computer at the same time. Both of them are so simple in comparison to what is available today that it is laughable. Now we have cell phones with most of the features of a laptop. What’s next? The changes we experience don’t take decades any more. The future is now!

As the changes have dramatically accelerated in the church, many have felt frustrated and confused about what is happening. Gordon MacDonald tells the story of an encounter between a pastor and one of his elderly parishioners who was deeply troubled by all the changes. This led to her outburst, “Who stole my church?” which became the title of MacDonald’s book.

The dramatic changes in the culture are influencing the changes in the church. The confluence of these changes coupled with the rise of militant atheism and other forces are moving us headlong into a stormy period.

All of this begs the question: If we are headed into stormy weather, where is Jesus in all this? Hold on to your life preserver because we are about to find out.

One of my favorite Bible stories is found in Matthew 14:22-33. Let me briefly present this story and perhaps we can see it in a fresh new light.

• Jesus made His disciples take this boat ride but He did not go with them (v. 22)
• A fierce storm struck the lake and threatened the disciples (v. 24)
• Jesus went to the disciples by walking on the water (v. 25)
• The disciples responded to seeing Jesus walking on the water by screaming in fear (v. 26)
• Jesus spoke reassuringly to the disciples and calmed their fears (v. 27)

The disciples never expected to see Jesus in the middle of the storm!

The boat is a type of the church, yesterday’s church, and the disciples are a type of today’s frightened and confused church attendees. Peter is a type of the believer the Lord is calling us to be. At first, when he saw Jesus out in the storm, Peter was frightened and confused. Weren’t he and the other disciples doing what the Lord had asked them to? So how could this storm be happening to them? And then Peter heard the voice of the Lord say to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid!” and a revelation struck Peter. He knew that the safest place in the storm was to be where Jesus was and so he called out to the Lord, “Lord, can I come out there where you are?” (v. 28).

The Lord’s response to Peter is His response to us today. He knows that so many in the church are bewildered by all the accelerating changes going on around us, troubled by the changes that strike close to home, in our churches and in our families. The questions rage within, “How can this be happening? Where is God in all of this?”

Our Savor’s word rings out loud and clear to us as it did to Peter’s question. His call is to “Come” (v. 29), come to Him. The safest place you can be in the midst of a storm is with Him. He is in the storm and He will keep us safe. The Lord is calling us to get out of the boat and come to Him.

Some nitpickers may leap on this article and condemn it, saying, “David, you are telling us to leave the boat, which is a type of the church.” And to you I would say, “That’s exactly right and exactly what I am saying!” You need to get out of the form of yesterday’s churchianity and heed the call of the Lord. When you let go of the form of the past, the real church goes with you! I am telling you to get out of the boat of yesterday’s ideas and follow Him. I am telling you to get out of that which is manmade and can easily be destroyed in a storm and cling to that which cannot sink or be destroyed, because He is eternal.

The church is not found in tradition or buildings or institutions, no matter how old and magnificent they may seem. The real church is where we are and when we are with Him.

Where is Jesus? In the middle of the storm, exactly where we thought He would never be.