I recently took my Lutheran pilgrimage. Once in every Lutheran's lifetime they have to go to the holy land of the Midwest, where all things Scandinavian still prosper, where the sacraments are happily discussed on a Tuesday morning in a coffee shop. The Midwest is in many ways like an entirely different world than Southern California. Denominationalism still runs strong there. There are 29 Lutheran churches in Bismarck, North Dakota. 29!!!!
That's why I was so schocked to find such a holy discontent in many of the Pastors, worship leaders, and lay-people from Bismarck to Minneapolis. Now - let me be clear - this is a HOLY discontent because it is not negative name-calling of the church. It is a clear understanding that the world has changed but the Church has refused to speak to the world in terms it can understand. There are so many Christians who are tired of seeing the world through the eyes of the 16th century, and we are desperate for the Church to come together and find a way to BE the Church the world needs in the 21st Century.
So I am heartened to see a holy discontent is alive and well even in the heartland. One leader in a church said that this is God's refining time for the Church - letting the dead parts die off so something new can rise up in its place. We are starting to "get it". God is up to something new. Let's pray even more fervently, study with more missional eyes, and give our very lives so that we might be a part of God's ongoing mission in the world.
God's peace, Rich
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