Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Anxiety and Church

So I found out the company through which I have my life insurance, Thrivent, is contemplating a decision to begin allowing non-Lutherans membership into its business. Some initial reactions . . . 

  • Really, they only sold to Lutherans? I thought it was just a marketing push rather than a policy. 
  • Seems like a good move for a whole host of reasons business-wise and . . . 
  • spiritually. 
I'm not being the least bit sarcastic. I'm glad that Thrivent will likely do this. I'm unnerved though at the reasons prompting this change. Simply put, I think the company sees a shrinking base of Christians who identify themselves as Lutheran. One blurb in their publication that caught my eye claimed that most Americans believe in God, but the number of those who identify with any particular faith community falls far short of that.

Lutheran theology has offered me so much in understanding God's love, not just in an abstract way but also in a way that allows me to make more sense of my professional and personal life. But I do see why the theology would leave some scratching their heads, wondering what is the point of worship or membership in a church. I fear the day will come when my generation will be closing lots of doors and turning off lots of lights on skeleton congregations and empty churches.

Perhaps my anxiety will motivate me to be more profound in how I share faith with others, something I rarely do.

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