As we approach Resurrection Sunday – a question posed by Rev. Colin Pritchard during the Elder training has lingered. He asked: “What would you be willing to give up so that the next generation of Christ followers felt welcomed?” I know that's not a comfortable question. And I'm not asking it to unsettle you, however, because I believe it is – at its heart – a resurrection question. It is the kind of question that God seems to ask communities of faith at particular moments in their life together. And I think this might be one of those moments. Some of you have been part of this congregation for decades. You remember the full pews – Sunday school classrooms full of active children – programs that felt like they would go on forever. You love this church. You have poured your lives into it. And yet – something feels different now – quieter. The world outside these walls has changed. And the question before us is not whether things have changed – but rather – how we will respond.
The Text Speaks
Paul writes to the church in Rome – a community that also knew tension – that also felt the pull between old ways and new calling – and he says this. Listen carefully. "I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:1-2). Notice what Paul does not say. He does not say: protect what you have built. He does not say: keep things exactly as they are. He does not say: your comfort is your calling. But rather – he says: be transformed. Be renewed. Offer yourselves – not your preferences – not your programs – not your past – but yourselves, as living sacrifices.
That word Paul uses – transformed — in the Greek is metamorphoo. You recognize part of that word. Metamorphosis. It is the language of deep, structural change. The kind of change that does not just adjust the surface but reshapes the whole. Paul is not asking the church in Rome to simply tweak things around the edges. He is asking them to be renewed from the inside out. To stop being shaped by the pressures and familiar patterns around them, and to start being shaped by something far greater.
Resurrection Is Not Resuscitation
Resurrection is not the same as resuscitation. Resuscitation brings back what was. It returns you to the condition you were in before. And it is temporary. Resuscitation buys time. Resurrection isn’t about returning to the way things were – but rather – is about becoming something new. Something the old form could never have contained.
When Jesus rose from the dead, he was recognizable, and yet different. The same – and yet gloriously and fundamentally transformed. The disciples had to learn to see him with new eyes. So, when we talk about new life for this congregation, we’re not talking about recreating a decade from the past. We are not talking about filling the sanctuary with the same faces or the same programs and the same rhythms we remember fondly. While those things were good – they are not the destination. We are talking about something the Spirit wants to bring forth that we may not yet have imagined. Purpose – not preference – is the catalyst for this transformation.
The Dying Church That Chose Purpose
Congregations decline. That is a painful truth that can’t be dressed up. Across this country, churches are facing this reality. And when faced with this reality – they tend to make one of two choices.
Some choose to preserve – using their remaining energy protecting the institution as it is — keeping the programs running – the traditions intact – the doors open just long enough to say they kept things going. And slowly, quietly, those communities fade. But others – and this is what inspires me — others choose purpose. They ask the harder questions. They ask: “What does this community actually need from us? What has God placed us here – in this place – at this time, to do? What are we willing to let go of, so that something new can live?”
And those communities — even when they are small – even when they are aging – even when the budget is stretched and the building needs attention – those communities discover that God is not finished with them. That is not a promise of packed pews next Sunday. It is – however – a promise of faithfulness. It is the difference between managing a slow decline and actively participating in resurrection. The question for this congregation is not whether we have a future. I believe we do. The question is whether we are willing to let God shape what that future looks like – even when it looks different from what we have known and loved.
As you prepare to celebrate the risen Christ – I want you to consider that you are not simply a congregation trying to manage the end of an era. You are bearers of the image of God, called to be the full embodiment of God's light and love in the world – right here – right now – in this particular place. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is alive in this community – and that Spirit does not call us backward. That Spirit calls us forward — into transformation – into renewal – into purpose. Paul says: do not be conformed – but rather – be transformed. Be renewed.
So, the question remains – “What are you willing to let go of, so that something new can live?” I am not asking you to abandon what you love. I am asking you to trust that what you love — this community, this calling, this gospel — is far bigger than any one form it has ever taken. Remember in whose image you were created. Remember to whom you belong. And remember what you are called to do. May God give us the courage to offer ourselves – not as monuments to what was – but as living sacrifices to what is yet to come. Amen.
Blessings, Pastor Lynda
