The Death March
"The Death March" by Steve Fowler
In the movie, Gran Torino, Walt Kowalski (played by Clint Eastwood) is a widower who holds onto his racial prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski, a Korean War veteran, is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy old man living in a community that doesn’t look like it used to. All his friends have moved out of his community and Asian immigrants have moved next door. Walt isn’t happy his neighborhood has changed.
There are churches who seem to embody Kowalski. In the “good old days” the church thrived as residents in the community made their way to church each Sunday. Then the community began to change.
In some cases, the community’s change is reflected ethnically. Sometimes it’s simply socio-economic change. But the community changes are felt by everyone. Some families leave the neighborhood because they don’t like the “new normal” that is settling into their community. They move out of town to quieter or safer neighborhoods. Others follow. However, these church migrants still drive to their church because, after all, it’s their church. But, their children and especially their grandchildren do not respond accordingly. They find churches where their homes are.
As Thom Rainer puts it, “The church now begins its death march. Family by family the church declines. The membership grows older. No one thought to pursue leaders from their own community nor were they willing to turn over leadership to residents in the community. What seemed like common sense to outsiders was treasonous to the church members.”
When a church ceases to have a heart for its community it is on the path toward its death. Dying churches are concerned with self-preservation. Come-back churches give themselves away for their neighbors. That’s exactly what Kowalski will end up doing for a young Hmong teenager under pressure from the gangs that infest his neighborhood in the movie, Gran Torino.
If you get the sense that your community is changing faster than your church is, feel free to reach out. I’d love to resource you and help facilitate a conversation that could help your church be a “come-back” church. You can contact me at steve@alliancenw.org.
Author: Steve Fowler - March 2023