I have a very nice book of pictures of Cistercian monasteries in France. Here are some of the notes for the Abbey of Pontigny. “For some 200 years the abbey flourished. In the fourteenth century it was ravaged by famine, plague, and the Hundred Years’ War; it suffered from neglect by commendatory abbots; and then in the 1560s, it was attacked by Huguenots.” That could sum up most French abbeys–a couple of centuries of prosperity, followed by famine, plague, war, bad leaders, violent Protestants, and finally destruction during the French Revolution. Despite all of that, the Church went on, and there are still Cistercian abbeys today.

There is frequently a life cycle for institutions: Success for a period of time (maybe a lengthy period) then problems and the disappearance of the institution. (Just think about dime stores like Woolworth’s.)  The church I grew up in started in 1912, grew to over 500 members in the late 1950s and closed its doors in 1998. I could point to dozens of local congregations where the same thing happened. Whenever it happens, there is a great deal of hand-wringing and blaming, but it’s just the way things go. It doesn’t mean failure.

Years ago someone told me that Christians (and by extension churches) are called to be faithful, not successful. While that can be an excuse for doing nothing, faithfulness always impels us to take action. We are to share the good news. What happens after that is the work of the Holy Spirit, but we must do our part to be faithful.

Read Romans 10:14 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne