Missional Church Network

“The church sits as the only institution with the resources to transform the face of planet Earth to a place of justice, peace and equity, a place without suffering. We have the message (gospel), we have the leader (Jesus), we have the example (sacrifice), and we have the power (love). The church has nevertheless lost its way. On the one hand we are capable of so much, and on the other hand we are accomplishing so little.

We are like a great warrior who has gotten lost on the way to the battle and been gone so long that he has forgotten what he set out to do. All that remain for the warrior are remnants of the original journey. Hanging over the fireplace is his old sword that stayed close for many years but now just hangs, shield is safely stored there, because the lost warrior no longer needs protection from anything; his life is all comfort. This may be why he never got back on his way; he found such comfort in his lostness.

This is the story of the church. Sent by Jesus himself to subdue evil, to destroy all the works of the evil one, to proclaim freedom for the captive and good news for the poor, to declare and establish the triumph of God, we never got there.

We stopped in the city of mediocrity and moderation, and there in the decadence of that city we have forgotten that the city of God is yet to be built. While the rest of the world is wasting away under the tyranny of sin, and hell is having its way with our children, and the poor are sacrificed to the god of material wealth, the church is growing weak and its great weapons — the Word of God and faith — have become sermon titles and concepts relegated to the realm of self-help and personal inspiration.

We have lost our way, and worse, we have forgotten to care. The battle yet rages.”

Brain Sanders in Life After Church: God’s Call to Disillusioned Christians