by Pastor Mike Middaugh

I think that one of the most compelling and encouraging aspects of our faith is hearing stories about God’s continued work in the world. Sometimes this happens after a disaster and we hear stories of people finding safety and protection that can only be attributed to God’s hand. Other times we hear of a church doing great things in a community, or individual lives changed and renewed by the gospel message. In addition, I like to be reminded on occasion of how God is continuing to spread the gospel to even the far reaches of the planet.

I gave some examples of this in my Sunday message this week, since it was Pentecost. For today, I thought I would share some further some information I dug up with the help of a Pew Forum study. The study itself is already a little more than a year old, so it is safe to see the numbers are slightly outdated, that there are thousands, if not millions of people who have become believers just in the past year. But as of last year, here’s where things stand:

A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries found that there are roughly 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world. This represents nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. Considering Christianity was a belief system that began in a small corner of the globe 2000 years ago, with 120 people gathered as believers at the time of Pentecost I would say this is pretty incredible growth. What we are seeing as well is that Christians are geographically widespread – so far-flung, in fact, that no single continent or nation can indisputably claim to be the center of global Christianity today.

This aspect of Christianity has changed greatly in just the past century. In 1910, about 2/3 of the world’s Christians lived in Europe, where the bulk of the world’s Christians had been for a millennium. Today, only about 1/4 of all Christians live in Europe, but another 25% of believers live in sub-Saharan Africa, a newly Christianized local. The chart below helps illustrate this trend.

The epicenter of Christianity has shifted greatly as well in the past 100 years. In 1910, 93% of Christians lived in the global North and West. Today, over 37% of the Christian population could be found in the global South and East. An additional, harder to track change, is that even local churches, such as those in North American cities, are now able to witness to people from around the globe in their own backyard, as immigrants continue to pour in from all nations.

All told, we are witness to the greatest worldwide expansion of Christianity our planet has ever seen. Through technology, ease of travel, and immigration, there is greater opportunity to tell the story of Jesus than ever before. And yes, there may be times when it feels like “making disciples” is a challenging prospect, I hope we can find joy in the fact that the Holy Spirit is hard at work, bringing the gospel to more people than has ever happened before.

~by Pastor Mike Middaugh

You have undoubtedly heard the term church shopping. It is a phrase that has come of age in the last couple of decades as people’s priorities have changed. In America past most people went to the closest church that was part of their denomination – if you were Methodist, you went to the closest Methodist church and settled in.

Things are different today. More people are moving from city to city, and even nation to nation for jobs or other opportunities. Once there, if one desires to find a church they might spend several months attending worship around the city. Denomination matters less, worship style and programming opportunities often matter more. Just like in every other aspect of our consumer lives, people feel free to shop around.

So where does that leave the local congregation? For a church in a busy area, like Calvary at Georgia Ave. and the Beltway, visitors are to be expected. But as we see people come, stay for a week or maybe two and then fail to return, we may be tempted to think in a couple different, I think harmful directions.

First, we may get discouraged. We believe in our church and know all it has to offer and we may wonder why others who come and go don’t see what we do. We may also be tempted to think that the work we have put into the services, or the volunteer hours we have spent have gone unnoticed. I have been guilty in this area as well, but when I stop and take a step back to think about these feelings, something comes to mind. I am here and do what I do because God has called me to do it. I serve in this church because it is where God has placed me to follow him and serve as he leads. In the end, that is the call on our lives that matters. That being said, we will often find that God does bless our work, and abundantly, but that is for him to take care of.

Second, we may get into a game of “if only” This is one of the easiest places to mentally reside when thinking about the church. If only our building was like that other church building. If only our publicity was better. If only we had more for this age group or that age group, then surely this church would draw even more people. The game of if only is dangerous for God’s people because it has to do with where we put our faith. Are we trusting God to do his work, following him, prayerfully calling out to him, or are we putting our trust in some tangible asset, a thing which can be built and torn down?

Our desire to reach more people comes from a good place. I believe that most, if not all of us here at Calvary deeply desire to reach into the lives of others. We know that church in general, and this congregation in particular, has added much to our lives and we are changed by a gospel that sends us out, we are a people living on mission. And so I would ask you to continue in this commitment. We are where we are as a congregation because so many people have stepped in, given hours and dollars, and sacrificed to make this ministry possible, and I think we find more happiness in serving by knowing it is not really about just about us.

That being said, I do believe that God will continue to work here at Calvary as he has for many years. I also believe that we haven’t even begun to imagine the good future that God has for us in the work we are called to do. His future for us is always greater than the future we could imagine for ourselves. So I hope you won’t get discouraged by church shoppers or by wondering where is everyone on a particularly light Sunday. We are here to honor God in all that we do, and then use all that he has given us to its very best. Beyond that, we call on God and the Spirit to do their work, and know that we are blessed to be used by Him.

For a few weeks at Calvary we are discussing how we are called by God to care for the health of our own body, mind and soul.  The idea is that our lives are a gift from God, to be used in service to Him and to others.  But if I am right, and our own health and well-being do matter, is the church helping to care for each of these parts that make up our whole?  I will take them one at a time.

The Mind

Does church help you care for your mind?  Or, another way to think about this, have you ever felt like in coming to church that you put your mind on autopilot, disengage, that it’s not the place for critical thinking?  If so, then something is missing.  The church ought be the place where the mind can engage the most, where as we explore God’s word and the mysteries of His character and His creation, we are awed by His supremacy and His majesty.  If this isn’t the case for you now, or in the past, then why not?  It is a worthwhile question to explore, and I would definitely be interested in the conversation.

And I would give one suggestion here as well.  Some of us engage the most when in conversation with others.  (No matter how profound the Sunday sermon might be).  This is the place and benefit of small groups.  We have several here at Calvary and I hope more might form.  Small group Bible study and discussion can be an invaluable tool for strengthening community, accountability, discipleship and cognitive exploration.  It is a place where you can ask the hard questions – not always getting the answer – but growing through the process.

The Soul

This one probably seems obvious.  If there is anywhere our souls are cared for it should be the church, right?  Well yes, but I am not so sure that is always the case.  Even in my own experience of the church, which has been pretty much every single Sunday for 30 years, there have been times when I felt my soul or spirit wasn’t engaged – times when even in the midst of worship and praise my heart was dull.  So what to do about this?  One thing that has always helped me is experiencing varied worship.  While some, especially Lutherans, have tended to appreciate the structure and predictability of consistent worship each Sunday (page 5 and 15 anybody?) the risk associated is that we just show up and never truly let God’s word, or our own experience of worship, affect the very depths of our being.

Prayer is one aspect of Christian discipleship that is made for training our souls. If you feel your spirit is idle, spend time in personal prayer (silent or out loud). Time spent listening to God through prayer or reading His Word can get you out of your routines and help you truly tap into the goodness that flows from God’s sustainer: the Holy Spirit.

The Body

How is church at caring for your physical body?  I am not sure we would give very high marks here.  I can remember a church person in my past saying, “If it takes free donuts to get them to church, then we will darn well have free donuts at church.”  A nice gesture perhaps, and I love hospitality (and truth be told, I kind of like donuts too), but I am not sure we have thought this one all the way through.  I don’t think the topic of caring for the body came up on a single one of my seminary classes.  So does this mean it doesn’t matter?

Well, it is true that Jesus didn’t spend much time explicitly exercising with His disciples, but I am going to rationalize on this one and say that since they walked from town to town, village to village, and up and down mountainsides, they got a pretty good workout most days.  In fact, Jesus was probably in pretty great shape.  So, what about church today?  We are living in a culture that needs to take caring for the body seriously.  We no longer stay in shape just by going from place to place.  I think it would be a good challenge to consider how we can encourage good health.  Fair Trade coffee over soda is a good start, but a healthy food option at our gatherings is also worth a thought, as is encouraging people to tap into the fruits of the ground, whether a farm-to-table CSA (community supported agriculture), the local farmers market, or educating about caring for the earth.  It all helps to encourage a healthier whole.

~Pastor Mike Middaugh