“The Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel. Thus, in language intelligible to each generation, she can respond to the perennial questions which [people] ask about this present life and the life to come, and about the relationship of the one to the other. ”

— Vatican II, Guadium Et Spes

This language, taken from Vatican II, captures in written word what I believe the video below alludes to in spoken word. It speaks to the ongoing mission of the church, a mission that was given by Jesus right before he ascended. With the knowledge that all authority had been given to him, he told his disciples to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). And they were to do so with the confidence and assurance that he would be with them as they did it. 

This mission, though very specific, left a lot of freedom for creativity. Jesus spelled out what he wanted done, but not how he wanted it done. I believe he did it this way because he wanted us to participate with him, utilizing the gifts, grace, intellect and creativity that God poured out through his Spirit, to engage this mission, rather than leaving an iron clad program that we would follow robotically.

At times the church has done a wonderful job of engaging the mission in fresh and creative ways. There have been movements, like the early monastic, Franciscan, and Wesleyan movements, that provided an opportunity for the church to announce the Gospel, “in language intelligible to each generation.” And, as history showed, whenever and wherever the Gospel was announced with clarity the life of God flowed like a lively river, bringing new life to all the dry regions it touched.

On the other hand, there have also been times when the church has not done this, instead they merely repeated the successful efforts of the previous generation because it “worked for them.” When this happened the vision and fire that motivated the initial movement waned and was replaced by a desire to merely uphold the institution. In these days the church may have grown numerically in every conceivable way, but it ceased to be known as the organization that helped people experience heavenly transformation.

These latter times are powerfully illustrated by this story of an encounter between Pope Innocent II and Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas walked into the presence of Innocent II, who had a large pile of money laid out in front of him. The pope said to Aquinas, “We Christians certainly no longer have to say to the world, ‘Silver and gold have we none.’” To this Aquinas replied: “But neither can we say to the lame man, ‘In the name of Jesus of Nazareth rise up and walk.’” In other words, they had gained institutional security, but lost the power that really matters.

I believe this is where the church has been for some time now. I’m not suggesting that novelty is king, or an “innovate or die” approach is best. I strongly believes that the ancient paths that the prophets, the Lord Jesus Christ and many of his friends, have trodden on the way towards a life of holiness and beauty, that leads to sanctification, are still the best paths for us. However, though these paths are ancient, the Spirit may still use them to lead us to places and expressions of the Gospel we’ve never seen. The ocean is also ancient, but still mostly unexplored; so, too, are the unfathomable riches of Christ. So we’ll still need to rely upon the Spirit to do what Jesus called us to do.

What if we don’t? What if we keep on relying upon what worked for a previous age, rather than relying on the Spirit they relied on? In this case the people we are meant to be bringing the Good News to will keep looking for what their hearts long for, and they will find a diluted version of what they seek in stuff the world offers. But since it’s diluted they will keep longing, never satisfied. Meanwhile the church will continue blaming things like soccer matches on Sundays when kids should be in church, or the fact that people prefer the community of CrossFit more than that of the church.

As St. Augustine prayed, “O God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” It is the church that has been given the privilege and responsibility to help restless hearts find their rest in God. It is a wonderful opportunity we have. We must, with the help of God, take it and dare great things, because of a great God!

In the video below I have taken a clip from a larger conversation between Casey Nieuwhof and Simon Sinek. In it they do a wonderful job of capturing these ideas in light of the present opportunities the church has as we emerge from a pandemic. They frame the conversation in terms of existential flexibility. Take a listen and let me know what you think.