In his landmark book, Tribes, Seth Godin comments on the state of church in today’s society. He asserts, “The congregation shows up every week and does the same ritual it did last week, goes through the same motions and nothing changes. In fact, nothing changes precisely because of the ritual. The tribe exists, apparently, to stamp out change… (and so, as a result) they’re getting the same results they’ve always gotten.”
Question: Is he right? Wrong? How so? Is your church an agent of change or a bastion against the rising tide of change? What is it doing that further entrenches it in the old way of doing things? What, if anything, is it doing to break free? What do you think Jesus would say to your church if he spent a month in the middle of it?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
* Aside: If you haven’t read Godin’s book yet, do it. He’s not a believer but this book in particular changed the way I think of my role in church.