Proper Focus

We’ve all seen the images in the media from such appeals as from the Christian Children’s Fund of people living in squalor, of slums in foreign countries that we would not see as fit for livestock, of the elderly sitting in doorways doing nothing more than watching the world outside and waiting to die, of human beings so desperately emaciated that we can count virtually every bone through their flesh, of children waiting in line for not much more than a handful of gruel which may be the only meal they get for the day … or for several days, with their little bellies so bloated and distended but yet with every other part of their fragile bodies bone-thin.

The images are intended to shock us, to propel us into action. These images are designed to appeal to our sense of decency and justice, to the emotions within us that cannot stand to see needless suffering. The problem with media is that it is easy to turn away or turn it off. It is only when there is one certain image that hits home when we may finally come to appreciate the magnitude of the poverty which exists in this world. That image finally hit me right between my eyes.

Last week I was confronted with a photograph that had been taken in 1993 for which the photographer, Kevin Clark, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. The photograph was taken in the Sudan during that country’s overwhelming drought and famine. It was of a child around 5 years old who was struggling to walk to a nearby feeding center to get some food. She was bone-thin except for her distended belly. On the way, however, she simply collapsed in the road and lay there face down. In the background of the photo standing nearby was a vulture that seemed to know – or hope – that his dinner would soon be forthcoming. Haunted by this and so many other images and perhaps unable to shake the magnitude of the abject poverty he witnessed first-hand, Mr. Clark took his own life in 1994 shortly after having been presented with his Pulitzer Prize.

About the time I began writing this, a report issued by the United Methodist General Council on Finance and Administration came across my e-mail that gave some numbers about church attendance, membership, professions of faith, and giving. Overall, I suppose, the numbers were pretty positive though I took exception to a few of the statements. The final statement made, however, is the one that got my attention and caused me to wonder about what we think we know about salvation and our proper focus on mission and ministry. The statement read, “41% of US churches (presumably UM) did not have a single new member by profession of faith or restoration.”

It was also reported in Saturday’s (4/28/07) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s “Religion” section that the Southern Baptist Convention fell short of its stated goal of 1 million baptisms in 2006 and actually saw a slight drop in baptisms. Does any of this suggest that the Methodists and Baptists failed or that people are turning away from American Protestantism? Not necessarily though I do have my concerns about our focus and where we think we will go from here.

Not to take away from the overall mission and ministry of the Church as a whole to share the Gospel and “make disciples” which is important, but I cannot help but to wonder if part of the reason for an overall decline in church attendance might be due to the Church’s lack of focus on things that really matter to the “least among us”. I know many will blame the preacher, blame the politics, and blame the “hypocrites”, and anyone or anything else we may use to justify our absences. In America, persecution is virtually non-existent and no one needs fear for their lives when trying to attend church. We also cannot say that there are too many in this country who have not heard of the Lord or do not know where the nearest church is.

This is not to say that our ministries should not still reach out to the unchurched, but we must also finally acknowledge that these are largely unchurched due to their own choice; they just don’t want to be with us on Sunday. For whatever reason, the unchurched do not want to be a part of our gathering and in this country they are free to make that choice. So how much of an emphasis should we place on reaching out to those who have most likely made a free will choice to stay away? And is the focus of ministry based upon convincing someone of a need that they cannot or will not appreciate, or should our focus be on someone like the child in the photograph who lay dying in a dirt road?

She may have seen or heard of some Christian preacher or missionary or had heard of some “savior” named Jesus, but what would have been so compelling for her that she would care to hear more? What about Jesus would enable her to ignore the excruciating physical pain of quite literally starving to death; to find out that she can be “saved”? Saved from what? Hell? This child was in the big, fat middle of Hell on this earth and in this life.

If the Church is not bold enough or potent enough to make a difference in the lives of children such as these, what can they appreciate about the world that is to come? The relevance of the Gospel in these children’s lives – and so many others who are still alive and suffering just as profoundly – is where the “rubber” of Christianity “meets the road”. For her, Christianity and Christ and spiritual salvation were likely the furthest things from her mind as she lay dying on a dirt road. The salvation she so desperately needed was physical nourishment.

The Church needs the physical strength of numbers to do the work that needs to be done. It seems to me, however, that the Church has lost a great deal of its natural and spiritual appeal because we have become too engaged in mass marketing and have lost our sense of who we are and what we are about. The ministries we seem so focused on are causing us to be segmented and anything but unified in strength and purpose. This is not to say that children and youth do not need or deserve our attention, but do we know what we are trying to teach them?

The reality is that there are far too many who do not presently attend a church and likely never will. It is their choice, a choice that is guaranteed them by US law. So why do we spend so much of our time and precious resources trying to convince them otherwise when there is such an overwhelming need “out there”?

I think perhaps Christ and His holy Church will be better served when we stop the foolishness of trying to “modify” or “enhance” the worship experience in our vain attempts to be all things to all people. It may be that people will be more apt to join us when they see that we are serious about what being a church is all about.