What Is Real?

Despair is presumptuous; hope, it is the final realism.
- John Claypool, Living Above 'See' Level,
30 Good Minutes, 1991

Claypool shares the message that he was taught by a rabbi who survived the Holocaust. "

Let me tell you, son, to a Jew there is only one unforgivable sin and that is the sin of despair." He said, "It is saying something we have no right to say. It is suggesting that any set of circumstances is more than an ingenious God can somehow work with to make good."

As the pollsters and statisticians seriously set to prove, the main-line denominations are fading in membership. That does not seem to be a false statement; we can see it with own eyes, in our own pews, in our own budget, in our own families. It can be downright alarming at times and it's easy to fall into survival thinking. "I'm not being negative, I'm being a realist" is one evaluation of situations. But Claypool shares an illustration of a Chinese farmer who encounters life experiences, but instead of making judgments about his situations, he accepts the mystery of unknown consequences yet to be revealed.

We can agree that there is a shift in church attendance, but we don't yet know the full spectrum. To quote the Chinese farmer "maybe good luck, maybe bad luck." Maybe it's a time to review the message that our church sends. Maybe it's a time to return to a previous model of community building. Maybe it's a chance to revise stewardship methods. Maybe it's a time for new voices to be heard. Maybe it's finding out that we have to be dependent. Maybe it's a prod from complacency. Maybe it's an opportunity for growth in faith. Maybe it's not even about us.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You are the hope of the world! We try to analyze the rise and falls of societies, cultures, budgets and standards of life. Sometimes with our numbers and graphs we can gain a better understanding of trends, but to understand long-reaching effects takes another type of vision. It takes Godly vision. We can not presume to know your ways. We have trust in your vision and in your divine power to touch and realign history. Use our hands to further your work. Use our mouths to promote your words. Use our minds to dream your desires. Keep despair as an enemy to our health, and hope as a life-giving cure. Amen.