Can These Bones of the Fallen Church Live?

Bombarded with headlines lamenting the declining membership of mainline denominational churches and watching as the hairs on the heads of church goers become more white and bald, many people find themselves in despair over the state of their congregation. Remembering the past times when children abounded in Sunday School classrooms and committees never experienced a lack of people willing to step up and take on projects, people of faith wonder if their churches will become relics of the past.

In the story of valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-14, the decaying bones of the whole house of Israel, the faith community of the past, lament, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely." (Ezekiel 37:11b) That same despairing cry now resounds from too many in the institutional church today. "Our funding streams are dried up, and our hope is lost; we do not have enough people to get by and no one comes to our events and worship services. O, woe is us!"

Not phased by the complaints of the dying and deceased, God asks the prophet Ezekiel, "Mortal, can these bones live?" Looking around at the endless pile of dry and sun-bleached bones under the blazing hot sun in the middle of a valley of death, Ezekiel hesitates a bit before replying, "O Lord God, you know."

From the looks of everything, there appears little hope. Despite all attempts to quickly remedy the presence of decline and death, nothing seems to be working. More members disappear from worship. Families take their children elsewhere. Funerals greatly outnumber all other events. Is there any chance for growth, or at least can the church last until my time comes to an end on this earth? Some of the people trying to carry the large load of responsibilities and expectations of other members of the church start to falter and wonder if the task is too great. Should the fight to prevent the inevitable from occurring come to a stop?

But then the Lord speaks. "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath into you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD." Death is not the final outcome! God will not let God's people come to an end!

Do we not have a God who can raise the dead? Did God not take on human form as Christ Jesus, die the most agonizing and humiliating death, and then rise on the third day? Is our God not that strong to win the battle against death? By no means!

Instead of lamenting about all the things from the past that are no longer, let us prophesy to the church and boldly shout, "Let the church arise! Let the church breathe in the Spirit of the Lord, the breath of God that blows from the four winds." Let us deeply breathe in the Spirit so that we may rise and live fully. Just as God promised to restore the whole house of Israel, God promises to continue to work in and through the church.

Times are changing, but instead of dwelling on the past that is no more, let us look to the present and the future and see how we can continue to be God's hands and feet for the world. While we can stand upon the traditions and experiences of the past, we are called to new ventures not yet trodden or unknown. The shape of the institutional church may change, but instead of fighting shifts, let us embrace the opportunities that await us.

Our mission has never changed, for we have always been called to love God and love our neighbor through faith in action. Our calling will always remain the same. Let us open ourselves to moving in whatever way the Spirit guides us, even if it takes us outside of our comfort zone and our cherished memories of the past. God is making all things new. We have the choice to decide whether to wither away like dry bones or to be the sinews and flesh of the ever-evolving kingdom of God.