Canada (and the Church) Will Prevail

Autumn lingers, showcasing leaves that have slowly ripened into brilliant yellow, orange and red. The season of Christmas rush and winter hibernation is just around the corner. A tentative gift budget has been struck. Rakes comb our backyard to prepare for snow. And I pause and savor the cool mornings, warm afternoons and the chill of night frost.

Change is coming. One side screams with anger and sorrow. Another side whispers hope.

On Wednesday, October 22, our country woke up to a different reality. Acts of terror rocked our nation’s capital. The battles fought way over there descended for a moment within the House of Commons. Sorrow flowed. Anger was expressed. Our collective resolve to stand firm was punctuated by political speeches. Fears were calmed with promises of a more secure country.

I was saddened that day, saddened over images of citizens and paramedics frantically trying to bring a dying soldier back to life; saddened to know that there is a six year old boy out there who has lost his Daddy; saddened to realize that such a tragic incident has the potential to further fuel distrust of immigrants and newcomers.

There is a new light on the horizon, a light of transformation. For years, the North American Church has operated on an attractional model, where the church aims to reach out to the culture and draw people into the church. Strategies such as “outreach”, “evangelism” or “seeker sensitive” are used to extract people out of their culture and assimilate them into the ways of church. Churches try to imagine ways to get people into the doors of the building, somehow, someway. Fall kick-offs with hotdogs and bouncy castles. Contemporary music with modern multi-media presentations. Conferences with glitzy speakers and cafĂ© lattes. Now, this strategy works if there is no significant difference between the culture outside and inside the church. However, since our present day society is more and more post-Christian, these strategies are not as effective anymore. Personally, I believe this is one reason why church growth and even basic attendance is on the decline.

Thankfully, more and more churches, including the one we are currently attending, have realized that the attractional model has lost its relevance. Currently, churches are adapting to be more missional. But what does it mean to be missional? Alan Hirsch in the article “Define Missional” states:
...truly missional churches differ is in their posture toward the world. A missional community sees the mission as both its originating impulse and its organizing principle. A missional community is patterned after what God has done in Jesus Christ. In the incarnation God sent his Son. Similarly, to be missional means to be sent into the world; we do not expect people to come to us. This posture differentiates a missional church from an attractional church…
...Every disciple is to be an agent of the kingdom of God, and every disciple is to carry the mission of God into every sphere of life. We are all missionaries sent into a non-Christian culture.
Missional represents a significant shift in the way we think about the church. As the people of a missionary God, we ought to engage the world the same way he does—by going out rather than just reaching out...
I believe if North American Christians adopt a more missional model towards church, our reaction to religiously motivated violence will change. Instead of burrowing deeper into our time honored traditions and spending more and more hours within our church buildings and houses as a way to protect ourselves from engaging the fearfully unknown, we’d go out where God has already placed us. We would love, forgive, persevere, and share the Good News found in Jesus Christ.

Dear children, you two live in an absolutely magnificent country. Several times this week, your Daddy and I have cried over how blessed we are to call this land our true north strong and free. And I am touched by the words of leaders and the acts of civilians as we collectively choose to move forward in a positive way. Here are the words of Tom Mulcair, our nation’s leader of the opposition:
…In this moment, Canadians are unified in grief and stricken with disbelief. Canada is shaken today, but we shall not waver. We woke up this morning in a country blessed by love, diversity and peace, and tomorrow, we will do the same.
These acts were driven by hatred but also designed to drive us to hate. They will not. We will stand up, we will stand together. We will persevere, and we will prevail.
Just yesterday, a mosque was vandalized in Cold Lake, Alberta with the spray-painted words “Go Home” emblazoned all over it. Soon after the discovery, many community members and neighbors came and assisted in the clean up while singing “Oh Canada”. Other messages were placed on the mosque, such as “You are Home” and “Love Your Neighbor”. Words of encouragement were offered by soldiers stationed at the Canadian Forces base. Leaders of the mosque were moved to tears as they witnessed love in action.

This is the Canada we live in, a country where we aim to deal swiftly with security threats yet love our neighbors as ourselves. And yes, we may not share the same views on spirituality. But that should never lead us -- especially those who are Christ followers -- to hate others and isolate ourselves. Instead, it should motivate us to go forth and share the love of Christ with gentleness and respect.

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