A friend lent me a book entitled "The Purpose Driven Church". I have been reading it through my wife as an interpreter - i.e. she's been reading it in bed and telling me when an interesting bit crops up. This probably says something about our marriage, but let's not go there for now!
Much of it makes me squirm, but the thing that strikes me most is the assumption that the purpose of a church is to grow. I can accept that my faith in God is a good thing and would love others to have a good thing, especially the most important good thing, however the thought of a church planning all its activities in the light of growth causes me to recoil.
I suspect that the theory is wrong, but I also suspect that the practice is wrong. The theory because once a church gets beyond a certain size (50? 100?) it becomes impersonal and much effort needs to be expended to maintain the structure and artificial means are employed to make people feel personally cared for. These structures all tend to have the hidden (or not) agenda of growth and the purpose subtly changes to supporting the structures. The practice (at least in this country) is suspect because I just don't see the growth coming from people without a church background. I suspect that even though there is the growth agenda it is actually aimed at people who are culturally pre-conditioned to church structures.
So what? you say, and I might agree with you. The thing is I have a heart felt desire to be part of something where the purpose is to be, and to celebrate being - to be what God has made me to be and to see what happens. To wonder at the diversity of what he has made others to be, to love and to be loved, to do the things that seem right, however apparently radical and to accept the result. To wonder and be surprised.
Ah well!