AUTHOR: Robin Dugall DATE: 2:12:00 PM ----- BODY:

I've been in the process over the last few weeks of trying to get a handle on my life. Crazy as it seems, I have learned some lessons in the past about fast-paced, crisis mode living. I've actually tried to keep my commitments to a workable and sane minimum. I know I have a couple of spheres I have to be faithful to...God has called me to lead this thing called, "Youth Leadership Institute" and He has called me to do some teaching in the context of the Azusa Pacific University Biblical Studies department. Those spheres are big enough...yeah, I have some other spheres which beckon my attention...I have my love for my community group, my church (South County United) and my dedication to worship music and biblical teaching. Foremost in my heart is my dedication to my dear spouse, Vicky and my the family that I love. So, you can see without a doubt, life can get crazy fast. So, I've marked off some time to get a few things behind me so that I can concentrate on being faithful to God's spheres in my life. I'm working on a Doctorate and I've got some papers to write...one of which is one on "Church Renewal". So, I'm going to post some of my initial draft for your consideration and, if so led, your thoughtful responses. I've lived an entire lifetime praying for, living in and agonizing over the Church. These thoughts are simply a part of my recent intellectual and spiritual journey. I hope they cause you to think... "...any honest reader and student of the scriptures would assume that newness and renewal is ingrained into the very character of the Church. Yet time and again, century after century, the Church has opted out for “reformation” instead of “transformation”. Obviously, reformation is a challenging process. That is something that history has demonstrated time and again. No one can do anything but thank God for the reformation that occurred in strategic times in history. For example, the upheaval of ecclesiastical life and the increased faithfulness to the call of the Gospel that came in the 16th century through the period of the Reformation are undeniable. There are many other examples of reformation that have made significant changes in how church is done (i.e. Holiness movement of the 18th century, Monastic Movement of the 8th century, the Jesus movement in the late 1900’s). Even so, no movement of reformation goes far enough. Reformation is NOT renewal. Reformation is a rearranging of the chairs on the deck of the ship. Renewal is more aptly demonstrated when we either get new chairs or a new ship. Reformation will always seek to adhere to the proven and tangible. Reformation is always more comfortable for humanity. We get to keep that which makes us have a sense of security and control. Renewal is always more demanding and threatening. It implies and actualizes spiritual surprise. It epitomizes mystery and reveals a God who acts according to His desire, not ours. I do not believe in a God who appreciates reformation. I believe in a God of transformation. That is why the words, “Church Renewal” are oxymoronic in reality. The Church being made new has not authentically occurred since the Spirit of God fell on a group of people who could have never predicted the result recorded in the book of Acts, chapter two. We arrange and rearrange things that we know so well attempting to get different results. Scott Peck said it so well when he defined reality as, “doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.” (Peck 1978) That is why as oxymoronic as it seems, that the Church is more in need of Renewal at this stage of history than any other time since its inception. This is a time in Christian history where there are more resources, more good ideas, more money, more books, and more information available to ministries and Christian leaders than any other time in recorded history. Yet it is a time of unprecedented insanity. Church Renewal is going to take Transformation. It is going to occur in numerous, unique, and unorthodox manners that will challenge big churches and modernistic models of success. It will epitomize a spiritual, ecclesiastical and organizational freedom that we have yet to fully experience. Faithfulness and obedience will have to be the new benchmarks of a renewed church or I suspect that the church will lose any resemblance to the Body of Christ so poignantly described in the Bible. Publicity, book sales, seminar and conference running institutions will no longer be the shining stars of the contemporary Church. Renewed Churches will be the ones that provide the foundation for renewed and transformed lives. People more and more resembling the person of Jesus Christ in our culture will be what will mark those fellowships and gatherings that are being “successful” according to a biblical standard more so than a cultural standard. Without embracing the times that are truly “a-changin”, I believe the future of the American Church is not as bright as some might suspect. In this paper, I will be attempting to perform an assessment of the contemporary American Church. I will begin with a look at the realities that are occurring in the Church and the assumptions that are driving its ministry. Significant obstacles to true renewal are hampering many sincere Christ-followers from experiencing the “awe” of what was typical in the early Church recorded in Acts. As I conclude this paper, I will make some very subjective suggestions on what a renewed Church might look like in America. Do I really believe it is possible? Yes and no. Yes, anything is possible with God. We have been shown that time and again throughout the Word of God and Christian living. Even so, the American Christian sub-culture is too self-satisfied and driven by factors like profit margins, membership statistics and big buildings as monuments to “success” to be sincerely responsive to the call of Renewal. Will I ever give up on the Church? No! It is not only the hope of the world but also something that mysteriously embodies the presence of the Savior I love. Jesus told me that His Church is His bride. I cannot leave the bride at the altar. As I say to the people who ask me, “I’m in”. Even so, there is a part of me that will always chuckle when I hear the oxymoron, “Church Renewal”."

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