I've been thinking about the nature of the church. Doing so puts me in good Baptist company, for the truth of the matter is that the Baptist movement has been and is fueled by a passion for defining church. We tend to devote a great deal of time to matters such as how one enters the church, the ways in which love and power interact in the context of church, the course or courses of individual Christian discipleship in relation to the larger Body of Christ, and the place of the church in the world.

Part of our ongoing struggle is to find words to describe what the church ought to look like in our time. To that end, I offer four terms.

Simple--The 21st century church must present the good news in simple language, develop lean and swift decision-making procedures, customize its ministries on the basis of the gifts of its members, reject the temptation to cater to religious consumerism in its various forms, make excellent use of technology, provide meaningful ways to build supportive friendships, major on worship (both corporate and private), and develop measurable ways to be a good neighbor to others.

Complex--Paradoxically, the simple church of the 21st century must also embrace complexity. The church must start to come to grips with real science (as opposed to pseudo-science), the multiple societal dynamics that fuel social ills such as poverty and hunger, and the enormously (and still little understood) mix of biology and nuture and individual decisions that form a given human personality.

Rooted--The successful church of the 21st church will take history seriously. Baptist Christians will begin to learn the ins and outs of their own story. We may learn to take legitimate pride in our history, but we may also learn humility. Our spiritual ancestors are a mixed bag! Hopefully, we will also tackle the story of the larger church and come to see that we are but one part of the full Body of Christ. Knowing our roots (all of them) should help us discern what is important enough to keep and what may discarded without great loss.

Sacrificial--The 21st century church, at its best, will stop thinking of itself as a special interest group and instead take up the cross. We no longer will "fight for our rights" but instead minister as best we can to the lost, the sick, the poor, the spiritually hungry, the oppressed, and the hopeless. Perhaps we will relearn how to speak truth to power without taking up the weapons of the powerful. Sacrifical ministry will bear witness to the church's integrity in the 21st century. I believe we will find (actually rediscover) that sacrificial ministry is the only kind of ministry God has assigned to the church.