Theses I Will Ponder Now

Since I am going to be busier than Martin Luther in an indulgence-kicking contest this coming weekend, I thought I'd pass this challenge along now: A new inductee into our RevGalBlogPals webring, Jan of A Church For Starving Artists , asks us to name 95 Ways in Which the Church Needs to Change in 2005.

What a great question.

And I'm sure there are many great answers out there.

Feel free to share your ideas here. I'll help get you started .

"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

1. The Church needs to reaffirm that Jesus Christ -- not itself as an institution, nor its current or potential members, nor particular ideologies -- is at the very center of its life and mission, its reason for being and its goal, and redirect its energies accordingly, actively listening and responding to Jesus' directive to "Follow me."

2. As a sign of unity within the Body of Christ, in the interest of justice and equity, and as a prophetic message to the dominant culture, the Church needs to affirm full inclusion of all the faithful in the active life of the Church, including leadership positions, and vigorously repudiate bigotry in all its forms both within and without.

3. The Church must reclaim the Reformation's emphasis on educating the laity in the Christian faith, and must create a culture in which religious formation is seen by clergy and laity alike as a lifelong endeavor -- an endeavor which will bring challenge and growth and, yes, at times discomfort.

4. The Church must reclaim the wisdom of its great saints in teaching, promoting and supporting spiritual disciplines that assist all in the Body in their individual and collective faith walks.

5. The Church must reclaim its calling as a nurturer of the fine arts, and encourage excellence and creativity offered to God's glory in service to the people of God and the rest of humanity.

6. The Church must affirm that both religion and science are in the business of telling the truth, and as such are allies, not enemies; and must strongly oppose attempts to create false dichotomies between spiritual truth and scientific truth.

Okay...now you only have 80-something theses to come up with. Have at it!