So, as I have always said, there can be no resurrection without a death. In order for there to be new life there must be a passing of the old. For those of us living here in New England this is a difficult thing to do. We never let go of anything and we certainly don't intentionally get rid of things just because they are old. However, there comes a time in every lifecycle when it is a good thing to take an inventory of what we are holding onto that, really, should be allowed to pass on.
       Families should go through their garages, attics and cellars and clear some stuff out in order to make room for the new and also because keeping some of that old stuff around just isn't always the healthiest thing to do. Mold, mildew and other disease or allergen causing things can accumulate on the things we hold on to and they can just plain make us sick.
       Individuals, as they go through life and relationships, need to let some things die in order to make room for healthy new relationships and keep some of their current relationships healthy. I once had a woman who had had an affair tell me that she thought she could stay friends with her former lover even as she tried to salvage her marriage. I know it sounds ridiculous to think this way, but I am not making this up. In order for her to have a relationship with her husband that could be truly made new again, I told her that she needed to treat her former lover as if he were dead to her and she needed to think of him and their relationship as dead.
       When an addict finds sobriety, often they need to leave behind former associates and hang-outs if they are going to maintain their sobriety. If new life is going to be found, the former things need to pass away or it will soon be found that those former things have caused the one seeking sobriety to stumble back into old patterns of destructive behavior, ultimately leading to the loss of everything they hold precious and dear. This is why Jesus told one man He healed to "not go back into the village."
       Institutions, including churches, have lifecycles as well. There comes a time in every church's life when an inventory needs to be done and when some things need to pass away in order that new life may be found. Often, because we are New Englanders, we stubbornly hold onto the past and the way we have always done things, even at the risk of having the church itself experience a death, because those old ways are precious to us or because we have no idea how to change, or that we need to change in order for their to be new life for those who come behind us.
       I have been in ministry some 25 years now, and I can say with some certainty that many churches in New England would rather die than change. That is a hard thing for me to fathom, especially when I consider how much God loves the church and the fact that He died for her that others may come to find the new life in Christ that the Bible promises. When a church closes her doors, that is one less place that offers the hope of salvation that the world so desperately needs and it is so clear from Scripture that it is God's desire that not even one would perish but that all would come unto repentance. That is the role of the church, to call the lost unto repentance that they may find the new life in Christ. It is supposed to be the sinner who dies to self in order that they may be raised up unto newness of life in Christ and share in the power of His resurrection.
       Here, at Vernon Union Church, we are working through Gordon MacDonald's book, Who Stole My Church. This book is meant to help us address the very issue of how to let some things die in order that the church itself may be raised up into newness of life. I would highly recommend this book for anyone's consideration, but I would also like to invite you to join us at our small group on Wednesday evenings at 7:00PM at Vernon Union Church in order that we, together, may consider how to walk into the things that will keep us walking in new life for many years to come. Hope to see you there.

Pastor Jeff