By Rev. Cliff Hudson, Retiring Vice-Moderator, Pastor at Cleveland (TN) First Cumberland Presbyterian Church
The Cumberland Presbyterian has recently featured several articles that have attempted to predict what our denomination will look like in both the near and distant future. Perhaps we can see the future more clearly if we accurately perceive what is happening in our churches today. Maybe... just maybe... our future is much brighter than we think.
To be a Cumberland Presbyterian congregation in downtown Cleveland, Tennessee, means to do ministry within three city blocks of Lee University, the premier educational institution of the Church of God. It means existing in the town where the international headquarters of both the Church of God and Church of God of Prophecy reside. It means worshiping across the street from the First Baptist Church, which claims a congregation of over 4,500. There are churches of every shape, size, and description on every corner for blocks around... sometimes two or three per corner. Truly, this is the second hole in the buckle of the Bible Belt.
Yet we think we are growing... slowly and steadily. And if we are growing, the reasons for the growth might just provide a peek into the future of our denomination. In this town, one will have no trouble finding congregations worshipping in a wide variety of styles—contemporary, pentecostal, demonstrative, emotional, and “praise and worship,” to name but a few. While each of these styles has its place and its advocates, there may be seekers for whom none of them are particularly meaningful. One’s search for an alternative to those styles may be a bit more challenging. Could it be that the Cumberland Presbyterian Church has become the “New Alternative”?
Consider the testimony of one young family in our congregation:
“To be honest, John and I have had our fair share of disillusionment with the ‘local church’ and we found ourselves at a place where we were content with never darkening the door of one again. Of course we still loved Jesus... but then we got pregnant. Suddenly it wasn't just our spirituality that we had to think about. We were going to have a child and John and I had to decide how we wanted to raise him. We talked long about faith, church, and theology. We knew we wanted our child to grow up in a local church, but what church? We tried several churches, and finally stumbled upon First Cumberland. It is very different from how we grew up and honestly, it is a welcome change for the both of us. We needed the structure and quietness of the liturgy. It is a church where I feel encouraged to think and to question as well as grow in faith. It has been a blessing. And now, when we talk ‘church’ with our friends, one of the things that always comes up is how the sermon is open to us to think through on our own. We're not told what to think but rather encouraged to think through the issues ourselves. We don't feel judged, but loved for who we are. For people used to a non-denominational ‘young church,’ we now welcome the intentional, inter-generational diversity that is First CP, Cleveland.”
Now there's a refreshing point of view! We like to think that our style of worship is the “norm” and all those other styles are “radical.” Yet, these young twenty-somethings consider our established worship patterns, habits, and traditions to be a radical departure from their “norm.” Does that make our Cumberland Presbyterian doctrine and practice the “new alternative?”
It isn't completely accurate to say that this young couple “stumbled” upon the Cumberland Presbyterian church. The fact is, they knew who we were and what we did long before learning where we were. Why? Because our church made a fundamental decision about five years ago to invest heavily in two other local ministries. We call The Caring Place and Habitat for Humanity our “signature ministries.” We have invested time, talent, money, goods, services, elbow-grease, heartache, and sore arms in their work. As one result, First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, once the best-kept secret in Cleveland, is now a well-known witness to Christ. And this young family visited here the first time because of the church's reputation for service in the community.
So what will our denomination look like five, ten, or one hundred years from now? Some people believe we will just slowly fade away. Others see no alternative but to be merged with or absorbed by another denomination. I strongly disagree. If we are becoming an alternative, let's embrace it! The future of every local Cumberland Presbyterian church and the entire denomination will be secure if we will only do two things.
Here's the first thing: Simply be ourselves! Let's not try to “compete.” Let's not try to be what we're not. Let's continue to lift up our measured, reasonable, “middle-way.”
Here's the second thing: Let's invest everything in good ministry. Let's go “all-in.” Let the pastors hit the streets and the elders lead! Let the people of the church get deeply involved! While some might feel called to meet a need by starting a totally new ministry, quite often a significant investment into an established ministry is the way to go. It is not always necessary or desirable to re-invent the wheel.
Yes, it's OK to be different. The “new alternative” is a good place to be. I think our future is bright indeed. I like the idea of our denomination being a place where people from all kinds of backgrounds can find a new home. The burned-out, the bored, and the disillusioned... come on in! And to attract them, all we have to do is be ourselves, work hard, pray hard, build up the local church, and we'll be just fine. We'll be what God intends us to be, and we won't have to worry about doing ministry the way others choose to do it.
By the way, the infant son of that delightful new couple was baptized here recently, and it was a day of celebration and joy for all.
