Diana Butler Bass, author of Christianity After Religion (my review), recently wrote a piece about hope in the fall 2012 edition of Reflections, a magazine of theological and ethical inquiry produced by Yale Divinity School. She writes:
I wonder if hope and courage will join hands to forge a new sense of the common good. But hope comes not through political campaigns. Rather, lasting hope will spring from a rebirth of courage in faith communities, when God’s people prophetically act on divine intention for a world transformed.
So What?
Butler Bass isn’t an idealist; she is an important prophetic voice that must be heard in all congregations, but especially in the declining congregation that wants to grow toward health but has found no success in its efforts to date. These congregations are often places where “the Sunday school is empty, people are arguing about the issue du jour, and there is little money to pay the pastor.”
- Is your congregation growing or declining? How does this influence your overall congregational perspective on mission and ministry?
- How would you rate your congregation as an agent of hope working for the transformation of the world?