I’m thinking about listening to people we’re out of the habit of hearing. And I’m reminded of Gordon MacDonald’s marvelous book, Who Stole My Church: What to Do When the Church You Love Tries to Enter the 21st Century.
The book is a fictional account of an older, traditional church that can’t figure out why it’s not growing, and isn’t willing to change.
During the story, the older leaders of the church start to listen to younger members, and then they start to listen to visitors, and even people in their community.
When they take the risk of listening to what others have to say about their church, something miraculous happens.
It’s not a fairy-tale, so some unfortunate things happen, too. And it’s not unduly biased, so sometimes, the younger/newer/skeptical friends are challenged and changed by what they hear from the church leaders.
But the story expressedstremendous hope for the future of our “old and dying” churches, when they do quite simple things to open themselves up.