A Life-changing Event

I was walking in a parking lot in Florida a few weeks ago and saw something I had never seen in my life.

It was early morning. Sprinkler systems had shut off fairly recently and the pavement was puddled but drying. About a foot from the grass was an earthworm. He was stranded on a dry patch of pavement, wiggling slowly. Death was not far away as the sun rose, the temperature grew warmer, and the moisture disappeared.

Suddenly, the worm jumped! Yes, it leaped about an inch off the ground, springing closer to its grassy goal. With a mighty contraction, the worm got some air. Unbelievable.

I’m not sure if the worm made it back to a moist and muddy haven, but this was an unusual action for an earthworm. Trying to free itself from certain shriveling, dehydration, and death, the worm was pushed to go where no earthworm had gone before. It was a catalytic occurrence in the life of that worm. It was a life-changing event.

The church is being ignored more and more. Fewer people are deciding to go to church. The reputation of the church is suffering. By some it is considered boring and irrelevant. By others it is viewed as corrupt and cliquish. The organized church, it seems, is like a worm on drying pavement.

Mind you, the Bride of Christ is alive and well. Christ’s body will advance so that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. But the outward organization and expression of the church is hurting. My questions are: Will it jump, and where will it land?

Will the church lay down and die or will it spring into a catalytic, life-changing event that renews its relevance, outreach, and vigor?

Will the church leap from dry outmodedness into the living water of Christ crucified, risen, and reaching a lost world?

What will that jump look like? Where will the church land? Will the church be less building centered and more community saturating? Will the church be more servant focused and less consumer driven? Will the church release people for ministry instead of controlling a group for maximum uniformity? Will the church rejoice in Biblical truth instead of watering down its uniqueness and blending with the culture? Will worship services be means of celebration, refueling, and encouragement as believers are sent to their people and communities instead of being the end point of what a believer is supposed to do?

What will the earthworm bride do? We know that God will preserve His Church no matter what. Will the old worm have to die or will it burst into the air to live another day?

(Church Planting Series, Part thirty-four)