It is always right to do right. You exist for a reason, and your light cannot be hid under a bushel. You are not helpless, because you reflect God. And God is not helpless, God is not dwindling, God is not dying. I’m reminded of a couple of things. First, Mary Baker Eddy’s definition of the word “church”:

CHURCH. The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle.

The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick.

Church is not merely a physical church edifice. An edifice is something that can come and go and be sold on the market. Church is the state of mind that you bring with you everywhere you go. CS lecturer Evan Mehlenbacher wrote a piece awhile ago titled Worship in the Church of Spirit where he discussed many of these same concerns, and I’d recommend you check it out.

I’m also reminded of this statement: Honesty is spiritual power. It is not wrong to be honest with people, especially when your motivation is right. There is no Church Manual imperative that says you have to wait a year of probation before joining a branch church, and I think there is probably a gentle way to express to the dedicated members of this church that perhaps they might want to consider some changes to their own church by-laws before they reach a point where they no longer have any.

But regardless, I would focus on the qualities of church that you can already express right now. You can heal. You can love. You can comfort. You can inspire. Focus on living those qualities in your daily life and you will bring church with you wherever you go.

Hey Tyler,

Saving a church isn’t about saving a church building. And sometimes being focused on saving the building prevents you from focusing on church. Not really “saving it” but more like living it.

I love that you care so much. And I get the concerns. Sometimes I have them too, especially when I think about the future. But I’m working on knocking that off. ;)

I was shredding some papers that brought the point home that worry about the future is a huge waste of effort. I had tons and tons of papers connected to my dad’s will. He’d been married multiple times and each time, at least, there were changes made. Sometimes changes had to be made mid-marriage. I had lots of copies. Each copy represented effort and cost. And preparation for future scenarios that never ever took place. My dad outlived or divorced every wife. And then Madoff took all of his money anyway so there wasn’t anything to leave behind. All that energy, all that money–wasted.

I’m not saying not to have a will and not to be wise about preparations for the future. And I don’t know that I’d tell my dad to do anything differently if I could travel back in time with the knowledge I have because it’s not like he was reckless. ;) I’m just saying that I’ve been thinking about how you can spend your time worrying that things aren’t going to work out and working to prevent that (no more church!) or you can expend your energy in more productive, positive ways.

Church is not about buildings! Selling the building cannot impact what Church is all about!

Me and some friends started an informal group with about six people a year ago. Now we’re a society and have over double the number of members. We’ve never owned a building and are SO happy to not be burdened by having to care for a physical piece of property. It allows us to dedicate more of our time and our funds to reaching out to our community.

We meet in a park when the weather is nice and in the community room of a bank when its not. The room is a perfect location – right on the main street and very public. And having church in a park is a great way to connect with the community. We co-sponsor a youth open-mic each month with the local Baptist church. We’re having our first lecture this spring. We’ve had people who are completely new to CS attend our services and others who had drifted away from CS end up joining our church. Here’s our website if you want to learn more about us: http://jpchurch.com/

We’ve definitely seen that you don’t have to own a building to fulfill the mission of Church. And in MANY situations, it can be extremely freeing! Sometimes its the perfect impetus to adopt new ways to connect with the community and share CS with others.

I remember hearing about a church in London that was in a similar situation – huge church and very few members. They ended up changing a lot of their by-laws. One in particular was removing ones that restricted membership and certain roles to only those who had been attending for a certain amount of time. They expect those who attend regularly to join and once you join you HAVE to be an active member, serving on committees, the board, reading, etc. Its given them a whole new perspective. In the process, their membership grew and, more importantly, with the influx of more people and more ideas, they were led to change a number of things that made the whole experience a lot more welcoming to newcomers.