The Subversive Pattern of the Gospel

God is not dead in Europe!

It's official. It has to be because the Wall Street Journal is reporting this news. And it is Page One news, meaning it is a vitally important development in our world.

This story explores the reality that the established church in Europe is pretty much a corpse--dying or pretty much dead for many years. But something interesting is occurring. Christianity is making a comeback outside of the walls of the established church. The WSJ makes a nice attempt at hooking in the "supply-side" economics theory to explain this phenomena.

Bottom line-the established church has failed to deliver on the real spiritual needs of the people in Europe. Note the following quotes from today's story:

• "The state undermined the church from within," says Stefan Swärd, a leader of Sweden's small but growing evangelical movement."

• "The Church of Sweden, the Church of England, the Catholic Church in Italy and France, state-funded churches in Germany and others lost their de-facto "monopoly" status to other denominations over a century ago. But they retained their ties to the state and economic privileges.
  Grace Davie, professor of sociology at Britain's Exeter University, compares them to "public utilities" -- institutions that people look to for basic services such as weddings and funerals but that don't demand day-to-day involvement. The Church of Sweden, for example, has a near-monopoly on death. Its broad property holdings, gathered since the 16th century, include most of Sweden's graveyards. The state still pays it to oversee funerals, even those involving Muslim rites. Around 75% of Sweden's nine million people are nominally members of the "state church" -- though few ever worship and around 10% are avowed atheists, says Jonas Bromander of the Church's research unit. Sweden's evangelical churches, by contrast, have only 31,000 members, but they worship regularly and are growing, slowly, in number."

• "A big impetus to the return of faith is fear of the future, says Elisabeth Sandlund, editor of Sweden's main Christian newspaper, Dagen. In Sweden and across Europe, old moorings are coming loose as cradle-to-grave welfare systems buckle. "People want something solid to hold on to," says Ms Sandlund. While working as a financial journalist, she started sneaking off to church and in 1999 eventually told her husband she believed in God. "He was not happy," she says."

We should not be surprised by the "news" in this story.

Jesus subverted the establishment to bring the Gospel to us. He essentially proclaimed the state-sponsored Temple outdated and offered a New Covenant to mankind. Yes, the Temple was state-sponsored. The Chief Priest was appointed by the Roman government in Jesus' day, and the Temple coffers were re-directed to support the ruling government.

Working outside the Establishment is the pattern of Christ. He focused on those outside looking in because their needs were not being served by the established religious structure.

I agree with the argument that we must resist the urge to "commoditize" Christianity, but this "supply-side" line-of-thinking is somewhat compelling. Compelling because it is the pattern of Christ.

Humanity is in great spiritual need. If the Establishment is not adequately meeting that need, effective alternatives will form.

God is working outside of the walls of the church. For those of us consumed with finding God in the four walls of the church, at our favorite, cushioned pew--we should be mindful.

Have we become the "establishment"?

I don't want to be part of an establishment that has a monopoly on death and rituals.

As Henry Blackaby says (paraphrase)--we need to find where God is working, go there, and join in......