Our problem is not so much finding the answer as it is facing the answer.
Michael Wood Daly
As a lifelong reader and former librarian, I know that summer is often the time when many people prefer ‘beach reads’ aka books that are light and quick to read. I do not fall into that category. I prefer non-fiction generally and am currently reading a book on Germany’s first woman chancellor, Angela Merkel and another book on the rise of AI. Not exactly light reading!
This summer, I also read a book by Michael Wood Daly called God doesn’t live here anymore. Wood Daly is a Canadian pastor, church leader, writer, and researcher who is passionate about community development and change leadership.[1] He is the founder of the Halo Project Canada, Flourishing Congregations, and is also involved in Releven, a Canadian organization that helps congregations reimagine their physical spaces.
This was also not light reading, but worth it! In fact, this is probably one of the most important books that I have read regarding the state of the Church in Canada. In this book, Wood Daly provides a history of Christianity and how it spread in Canada. He does an excellent job of connecting the history of Christianity in Canada with our relationship with Indigenous peoples, a history that is sadly full of manipulation and abuse.
While I highly recommend this book, that doesn’t mean that it was an easy read. Wood Daly forces us to confront our past and to see that we cannot blame the decline of the church on the world on the other side of our church walls. We have to shoulder much of the blame ourselves. He also reminds us that we also have an opportunity to change the future, if we are brave enough to listen to and answer God’s call.
In the final chapter, he says these prophetic words:
The institution we have come to call the church is dying. The decline is not just a social or cultural phenomenon, but also a natural consequence of past action and present apathy. God is dismantling the church. God is naming the idols we have built. God is extinguishing the political, cultural, and economic power we have accumulated over the centuries. God is exposing our inability to see our faults and unwillingness to change. God is calling us out of our fear toward something new. But are we listening? Are we willing to answer the call?(God doesn’t live here anymore, pages 190-191)
Challenging words indeed.
Blessings, Rev. Emma