Now, don't get twitchy on me - I'm not suggesting that the church expires. On the contrary - the church goes on getting progressively stronger. The bride is being sanctified and the gates of Hell can't prevail. But if we believe that local churches, and para-churches, and even denominations are planted to reach a specific people in a particular time, then we have to be ready to EITHER remake it when the people or time change, OR pronounce the thing dead and plant fresh.
Contextualization matters. And when we fail to recognize this fact our churches, para-churches, and Denominations go through stages of decay: (Special Thanks to Larry Osbourne - who I am totally ripping off right now!)
Movement: Fresh Theological Vision to reach a particular people at a particular time. Marked by innovation and compelling gospel witness. People feel they are part of something that God is doing - and they talk about what they believe God could do through their gospel efforts. Risk taking is "normal"
Institution: Defined programs that have been a staple for reaching the lost with the gospel. Marked by a sense of pride in a well-oiled machine. Things seem to hum along and people add themselves to the attractive ministry in slowing, but still growing sort of way. People talk about what God is doing through the ministry.
Museum: Programs run even when no one volunteers to do them and no one shows up to benefit from them. In-fighting is rampant and people splinter over programmatic minutia - as their efforts are no longer used in cooperation for gospel ministry (if they could even agree on what that terms means). Old timers (as they're now called) talk about the good old days when God really moved. Roots of bitterness, long untended, have created deep divides amongst former friends. Young men and women have flocked away (drawn up by movements) because their seat at the children's table was beginning to feel cramped in their late 20's or early 30's. The power brokers have one hand on their wallets, one hand on the wheel, and both feet on the brakes. Risk aversiveness faithlessness is called "stewardship", and "missions" is understood to be the thing we do when we ship people or money out of our community.
You can be a part of a Church, Para-Church, or Organization that is dying and not know it. But one way to tell if something has gone bad is to sniff it. If it smells dead or dying, it probably is. And if you're consuming it and it makes you want to vomit - it's probably already expired.
