Titanic

Three unrelated voices brought up the very same point this week. One suggested that too many pulpits echo with talk about just maintaining the institutional church. Too few carry a passion about the mission of the community so gathered. One voice asked whether a church should just be content with feeling comfortable in the familiar routine and tradition -- or should it be reaching toward things that cause it to stretch?

Another voice said, "I want a church that is passionate about something!"

People in general do not clamor for a return to "institutional religion."

* * *

The Titanic sank 96 years ago this month. The designers gave it too small of a rudder, so that when lookouts saw the iceberg, the ship was unable to turn onto a different course fast enough. A thriving community knows how to change directions without abandoning its mission.

Some suggest that the mainline tradition has about another twenty years before it sinks.

The journey depends on our navigational skills.