“Everything that can be shaken, will be shaken.”
I heard those words from the lips of Danielle Strickland back in December after the news broke about Bruxy Cavey being placed on leave following accusations of sexual misconduct. Those words were so appropriate to describe that moment in time for The Meeting House. Those words are still so resonant today as The Meeting House grieves and laments the reality of sexual abuse by a trusted leader. I heard a brokenhearted member of the The Meeting House pastoral team share these words again today.
Everything… yes, everything that can be shaken, is being shaken.
The reason those words caught my attention was not due to their powerful rhetorical effect. They caught my attention because I had heard these words uttered by another person.
The person who shared these words with me has a bit of a prophetic gift— though they’d be reluctant to name it. When they uttered these words to me they were lamenting their personal experience as a pastor in the USA. They shared with me their pain at the hyper-polarization, racism, and nationalism they were experiencing in their American context. People were leaving churches on mass because of their political allegiances. Donkeys and elephants held more formational power than the lamb who was slain. If you dared to name racism, nationalism, or any other politically charged topic you could count on folks leaving your church. And if you failed to name it, a whole other group would leave as well. So my friend who was disillusioned with the state of the USA Church named to me the apocalyptic unveiling of times like these. He named the many ugly realities that were rearing their heads after years in the darkness. He named to me that everything that can be shaken, is being shaken.
I offer the next few words to you with a bit of trepidation.
I don’t claim to speak for the church in Canada. I don’t claim to be someone who has a handle on everything. I just have a hunch. I have a relentless whisper. I have this word from beyond that I want to submit to you.
The church in Canada is in a critical moment. And how we choose to navigate the next season will shape us for good or for ill.
We are slowly emerging from the cocoon of lockdown and live streams. It’s been two long and painful years of Covid-19. We’ve been tired, weary, afraid, angry, worried, lonely, frustrated, exhausted, and isolated. If you could name a hard emotion, we have probably felt it.
Added to this emotional exhaustion is the discovery of our own skeletons in the closet of the church in Canada. Racism, political tensions, clergy sexual scandals, and cultural polarization are not just problems for our neighbours to the south. They are our problems too. The light has shone on some of our darkest areas. With many tears, we find that even here in Canada….Everything that can be shaken, is being shaken.
Some Canadian church leaders are worried about if we will ever see our pre-covid attendance numbers. Some are concerned with the rising numbers of ex-vangelicals, nones, and done’s. Some are concerned that whole institutions are going to collapse in a post-covid world. Some have left ministry altogether. These are not easy times.
I find myself more concerned about if we will actually take the hard-learned lessons of these times with us into the post-Covid world? I wonder if we are “receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28) or if we are content to retreat to our dilapidated houses that will soon fall with a great crash?
I don’t know about you, but I am convinced that these last two years are not wasted years. Or at least, they don’t have to be.
I wonder if you feel the same?
I wonder if the last two years are not wasted time but a time where we need to learn and re-learn how to be the people of God. I wonder if this season of shaking just might be preparing us for something better? What if the trials of these last years are for our good?
Perhaps even in all this pressing and crushing, Jesus is making new wine?
