15 Theses (revised)

The 15 Theses for a New Reformation by Wolfgang Simson makes some interesting suggestions about how to help the Church grow. (Thanks to New Wineskins Blog for the link.) It has some flaws, but many of its suggestions are right on the money.

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that there are some problems with the history used by Simson to justify his suggestions. It's irrelevant to whether or not the suggestions themselves are good, but it's there. In other words, I am advocating several of the suggestions and rejecting a few others, not accepting the idea that the entire church from top to bottom needs shaking up.

In particular, I like the idea of focusing more on small-group interactions aimed at deepening faith and engaging parishioners. Simson reminds us that Christianity does not consist of meetings, but is rather a way of life. We have to remember that the earthly church is merely a tool, merely a human community. This suggests a different approach to witnessing, too, which cannot be centered on the physical church building or hidden behind a mass of parishioners.

Similarly, the sixth thesis is spot on. The pastor cannot be the sole leader of a community's worship life. My vision of an effective pastor is as a counselor and a spark. When parishioners need support in a difficult situation, the pastor should be there to work through the problem. When the church's members lack direction and drive, the pastor should be there to inspire them to action and direct their activity to useful ends, where that is appropriate. However, a pastor should not take it upon him or herself to organize and lead every worship service, every bible study, every charity event. Not only is that an unfair expectation to have of a pastor, it does harm to the congregation in terms of its ability to witness independent of the pastor. Give a man a fish and all that.

I disagree with Simson's judgments against the clergy and church bureaucracy. It is extremely useful to have professional church workers in charge of coordinating activity on a large scale and directing the support of the church at large toward mission projects and so forth. Provided we keep in mind the human (and therefore ultimately temporal) nature of the structure, there is no reason it need interfere with organic growth and the reintroduction of religion into the home. We need not revere bishops simply because they possess a title, but we may recognize the good work they do on our behalf and avail ourselves of their support. This does not require us to leave the Church (capital C) to their hands.

I am not sure thesis 14 belongs in this list of excellent recommendations, however. I am nervous about the idea of Christians as professional martyrs, and I am not sure the only road to truth lies through persecution. This mindset already exists in the Christian Right of today's America, and it only leads them to be more insular, less apt to interact with the unchurched, and more reactionary against anything they perceive as threatening. We as Christians should be prepared to endure ridicule for our beliefs, and we should stand up for them even in the face of death, but I am not convinced we must follow the plan laid out by Simson, which seems unhappy with religious liberty and dedicated to war with humanists and other non-Christians. It is important to remember that Christ did not battle the polytheistic Roman theology of his day, but instead challenged the chief priests and teachers of the law—members of his own faith. We Christians have plenty of work in taking on our own Jerry Falwells and Fred Phelpses; I remain unconvinced that the battles to which Simson calls us represent a necessary witness right now.

The overall message is good, however: decentralize the Church (but rely on the various human churches as resources), seek out faith as a relevant force in private life, and remain energized as agents of change in our own society. (More on the last point soon.)