At the beginning of the third millennium since the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, there is a need for the Church to meet in Council to reconsider both her nature and her work in the world. At present, there is little agreement amongst Christians regarding either matter. This should not be. By command of the One who redeemed us and who still abides with us, we are to reveal His saving acts and Lordship to a rebellious and benighted world. We have a task to accomplish, and for the past 2,000 years we’ve been largely unwilling or unable to fulfill that Commission. In order to remedy this tragic state of affairs, the assembled Church must set herself to three tasks:
1) Behavioral Reformation. To date, our behavior has largely been characterized by indolence, preoccupation with position, and moral disobedience. There are happy exceptions to this observation, but until our actions are consistent with our stated purposes, we will fail to achieve the goals established for us by our Lord. Inconsistency alienates both our human audience and our Divine source of power. Part and parcel with any amendment of life on the part of Christians, the Church must apologize to the world for past wrongs, of both omission and commission. Before we can ask others to take our message seriously, we must take our past history seriously.
2) Theological Reformation. The Christian message has become accreted with human traditions that were formulated for economic and polemical reasons. In addition, theological reflection has stagnated under the false impression that further information or clarity is unnecessary or impossible. Unclear about our own standing with God, we are unable to communicate with the world in an accurate and helpful manner about His past actions and current expectations.
3) Organizational Reformation. If the Church has historically underachieved in terms of self-awareness and theological reflection, she has been sedulous in institutional and organizational development. The Church has been and remains schismatic, quick to excommunicate and to build duplicate institutions. She has been commensurately slow to merge, reunite and streamline her operations. Jealous in matters of privilege and jurisdiction, she mocks the essential simplicity and unity of God’s self-revelation. Idolatry is no less a snare to Christians than to others with a less complete knowledge of saving history.
All who call themselves Christian are hereby called to this task of reform and renewal. This movement of the Holy Spirit is neither selective nor optional. The world, whom our Lord loves, and for which He gave His life, awaits our prompt and humble response. Our Lord Himself, the groom to whom the Church is betrothed, awaits as well. Today is the day for obedience.
