Mark 10:13 And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." 16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.
There are two types of people that the church should be listening to for the church to survive. Why should the church be concerned about survival? Just look around your communities. Churches, in general, are not healthy. Yes, there are some large churches in your community that are doing quite well. However, the vast majority of churches are dying, especially the mainline churches. The decline in church attendance and membership began around 1958 and continues to slide.
Consultants have said that if the 1950s culture returned, churches in the United States would flourish. The 1950s culture is long gone and will never return. When the church understands this and accepts reality, it may remove itself from the grave that it has dug for itself. I have heard pastors say, "the church will survive, and we don't have to worry about it," and "God will save the church." The church is not a God invention but rather a human institution.
Face it, folks, the church is a human institution. If you don't believe me, just read the Gospels. Where in the Gospels did Jesus say, "build me a church?" Jesus wasn't pushing for churches in his name but rather a reformation of Judaism and the removal of the human devices, especially greed, that seeped into it. Some of you are saying didn't Jesus tell Peter that upon him the church will be built? That passage is taken out of context. Jesus was not referring to Peter, but instead to the location, they were at. They were at the Shrine of Pan, the lord of Hell. This was a reference to the reformation of Judaism that Jesus wanted.
Are you puzzled about where this church idea came from? You don't have to look further than the Book of Acts. Yes, dear Paul, who turned from persecutor to supporter of Jesus, created the church that we know today. Paul was also kind to give us bishops. I am being sarcastic because the hierarchy is one of the main reasons our mainline churches are dying today. The church leaders are straddling the local church with so many rules and regulations that they have a difficult time doing what must be done in their communities to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Notice that the independent churches in your community are flourishing.
What is this passage saying about the children? Children do not have the church's paradigms as adults do who grew up in the church. Once the paradigms of the church are ingrained in the hearts of the children, they grow up wanting to keep the church the same as their ancestors did. I was appointed to a country church that was getting ready to celebrate its 175th anniversary. The church historian went into the archives to find photographs of the church. One of the things he discovered were pictures from 1955 of the annual community church picnic. What the images demonstrated was that the picnic fifty years later looked identical to the one in 1955. The people looked different, but the stands' layout, food, and schedule for the day were similar.
The church historian found bulletins from 75 years ago. The order of worship was identical to what the church was doing that day. No changes were allowed in the church. A young man asked if the worship time could have one modern worship song. I was not experienced in the ways of the church yet and said yes because, according to the United Methodist Discipline, as the pastor, I controlled worship. Yes, it did not take more than one day to learn that I was not in charge of anything in that church. Needless to say, one modern worship song was never sung again, and yes, the young man left the church. The funny thing to me was that everyone in the church except my bride and I was blood family. The family rejected one of their own instead of having a 3-minute song that they did not want. That church is close to dead today.
Let's stop for a moment and look at the narrative as an allegory. By doing this, the children are a symbol for anyone new to the faith. Therefore, it is not just talking about children. The narrative is also talking about adults who are new to the faith. Consequently, they are children in the faith.
Adults who come to know Yeshua and join the church are not saddled with the traditional church paradigms. These are the adults that the church desperately needs to listen to reach people who have not come to know Yeshua. These adults can tell the church which paradigms they needed to break through to develop a faith in Yeshua and join a church. Unfortunately, many of these adults discover that the church is inflexible to change. The tombstone of a former local church should read, "We will never change." There are functional paradigms that the local churches have that are necessary and should remain intact. However, there are many paradigms that the local church needs to rid itself of. Church, listen to these newly baptized adults and learn from them. They are the best resource to discover the changes necessary for the church's survival.
How long will dying churches wake up? I have heard every year for the past twenty-four years that this has to happen immediately. If the church is going to continue to have bishops, we need bishops who are trained and have shown expertise in leadership. Lately, the church is more concerned with appearance than electing bishops who can make a difference. I pray that the church wakes up and seeks out the best souls to lead the church out of this downward spiral. It will soon be too late to make a difference. If the church dies, God help us all.
Bring the children forward and let them run the church. The results will be astonishing because the fruit of the church will grow once again.
