Alan Adams - Return to Simple Church

FUTURE OF CHURCH IN CANADA

Friday, May 20, 2011, prior to our denominational triennial general conference in Toronto, I was invited to answer the question: “What is the Future of the Church in Canada?” What follows was my attempt to answer that question.
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Mr. Chairman, brothers and sisters, friends…I have a dream.

I recently turned 71 years of age. For sixty-one of those years I’ve been a believer in Jesus. There is a variety of ministries listed on my resumé, the most recent and the happiest being 20 years as a Free Methodist pastor. Today finds me within a stone’s throw of a second retirement, but….I have a dream. I’m facing the future clutching this exciting dream for the Canadian church in my heart. So with apologies to Martin Luther King Jr. and John R. W. Stott, I would like to share my dream with you.

I HAVE A DREAM of a Canadian church that is LOCAL – local, rather than institutional. Christians often travel for hours, if necessary, driving past numerous Christian church facilities, in order to find a fellowship that’ll tickle our fancy, satisfy our religious biases, cross its t’s and dot its i’s the way we do. But if renowned Canadian economist Jeff Rubin is right, in his award winning book, Why Your World Is To Get A Whole Lot Smaller, the cost of travel will soon force us to work and shop, worship and get our recreation nearer home. Christians in communities all across Canada will be obliged to gather humbly with their fellow believers right in their own neighbourhoods, worshiping and praying together, honouring Jesus and caring for one another locally. Doesn’t that sound a little like the New Testament – the church in Corinth, the church in Philippi, the church in Medicine Hat, the church in Etobicoke? Friends, I dream of a Local Church.

I HAVE A DREAM of a Canadian church that is ECUMENICAL – biblical, yes! evangelical, totally; Christ-centred, for sure – but genuinely ecumenical. I mean a church where people of all backgrounds, experiences, races, style of dress, and socio-economic levels feel welcomed and valued by the grace of God. Look, we are all well aware that people who believe the Bible, who love the Gospel and are committed in faith and obedience to Jesus Christ, will always have among them varying interpretations and expectations, a multiplicity of different practices and taboos. But just as the spokes of a wheel are closer to each other the closer they are to the hub, so the church I dream about will experience beautiful, sweet unity by coming together around the Hub, Jesus Christ, our true centre, allowing ample lack of unanimity and lots of differences out around the rim or circumference. I dream of an Ecumenical church.

I HAVE ADREAM of a Canadian church that is decidedly EUCHARISTICAL, a church in which the Commemorative Meal, the Lord’s Supper, instituted by the Lord Jesus Himself and enjoyed by the early disciples, is the physical focal point of that church’s major weekly gatherings. The Eucharist is not only a celebration of remembrance, but is experienced as a “means of grace” (to quote the venerable John Wesley). In my dream I see Holy Communion being evangelistic, fully inclusive, conciliatory. The type of bread used, the contents and size of the cup, the formality or informality of the Communion ritual, won’t matter nearly as much as the evident, mystical presence of Jesus by His Spirit in the congregation. Yes, yes! I foresee grace – God’s amazing grace – flowing freely around the outer edges of Canadian society as Christians break bread together, and invite others to the banqueting table. I dream of an Eucharistical church.

I HAVE A DREAM of a Canadian church that is really ECONOMICAL, free of expensive sanctuaries and their corresponding mortgages and overhead. I know from experience in Latin America that the preciousness of Christ’s presence, the gracious fellowship of His people and the earnest, relevant teaching of Holy Scripture do not require sacred facilities. With the tightening of the economy and the potential loss of tax relief privileges for Canadian religious institutions, Christians will be content to meet in any convenient facility: in a restaurant, in a rented hall, in a community social centre, in a private home, even in one of the many abandoned or under-used church facilities. Like Major Ian Thomas said in another context, “Any old bush will do!” so long as our God is there. Another economic improvement will come with the decline of the clergy/laity distinction. The Canadian church I see in my dream does not need a costly, hired, professional, preacher class. Christians will have discovered that the Holy Spirit has endowed their local fellowships with all they need to flourish. They will take seriously 1 Corinthians 14:29-31, “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.” Also Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” I dream of a church that is Economical.

I HAVE A DREAM of a Canadian church that is authentically SPIRITUAL – in the sense that the people of God, in the majority, live in dependence on the indwelling, equipping, empowering, overseeing Holy Spirit. They manifest the fruit of the Spirit of Christ – love, joy, peace, etc., and they exercise the gifts of the Spirit of Christ, not to show off but to nourish and strengthen their fellow Christians and to draw others into the faith. The church of which I dream will not only welcome the ministries of gifted guests or transfers from other communities, but will also be willing to release some of their own spiritual leaders to use their gifts wherever God takes them at home or abroad (remember Acts 13). Oh, I dream of a Spiritual church.

Let me conclude by saying I HAVE A DREAM of a Canadian church that is MISSIONAL – that is, every believer is a missionary, engaged in some practical, Spirit-directed, community-based activity, according to their giftedness and skills. Becoming a Jesus-follower will mean no longer being a consumer, but a practitioner. The church in Canada will depend on every woman, man, teenager and child, being active, bold, adventuresome, with modesty. Christ, and only Christ, must have the pre-eminence. Risk-taking for Christ and His kingdom will be lauded as heroic and prudent, and the lowliest or meanest task done in love to Christ will be prized just as much as the high profile activities.
As missions bear fruit and new local fellowships come together throughout the land, they will NOT be considered competitive, but rather, they will be recognized as additional outposts of Christ’s Kingdom, viable expressions of the Canadian church. I have a dream of a Missional church.

Friends, as you may have concluded, I enthusiastically envision the future of the church in Canada, subject to the grace of God, as bright and full of exciting possibilities. As I am anticipating the next 15 to 20 years of ministry, I’m asking God to lead me to some other Christians whom I may join in the grand adventure – in view of Canada’s future – of working toward a church that is Local and Ecumenical, Eucharistical and Economical, Spiritual and Missional.

God keep our land glorious and free!

Thank you very much!

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