A Strange Virtue for Today

A New Commentary on Luke 16:1-12

Our knee-jerk reaction is to fight. When we are in danger of losing something we value, we immediately do what it takes to keep it. A fear deep in our limbic system ¹ breaks through our consciousness, the fear that our sense of self is threatened. The loss feels like a loss of a cherished freedom. Sometimes a new freedom is gained by loss; we give up old defensive strategies and find the freedom to turn the page in our lives and begin a new chapter. But this is difficult for us to see and more challenging to accept.

The Western church is dying. It is a source of grief because, for all its flaws, it has given us much. Not just church buildings but schools and hospitals, non-profits for the poor and destitute, places to confess and be forgiven, and people to walk with us through critical times in our lives so that we are not alone. Those of us who have experienced one or more of these benefits feel the loss. Previous generations have sacrificed to build these institutions in our country over the past two centuries. Our generation has been entrusted with all of this. But it is slipping through our hands.

The Presbyterian Church (USA), which I know best, has been in sustained decline since my birth. In 1983 there were 3,121,238 members of the PC(USA). From 1988-1998 there was an 11.9% decline. From 1998-2008 the downturn increased to a loss of 17.3%. I have given decades of my time, talent, and treasure to stem the tide. To no avail. The decline has continued:

• In 2020 the PC(USA) lost 50,000 members

• In 2021 the PC (USA) lost 51,584 members

• In 2022 the PC(USA) lost 53,105 members and 108 churches closed.

At this pace, by 2040, there will be less than 500,000 members in the entire country. The PCUSA is not alone. Many of the historic denominations in the West are in steep decline.

Yet this is not an apocalyptic story. We need not respond with heads bowed in doom and gloom. This post urges every follower of Jesus to respond with head held up and eyes wide open. Our loss is a call to turn from the ineffective defensive strategies that have dominated the past decades. Instead of an amygdalic² fight to the end, we can begin anew with Jesus. In our newfound freedom, we have the opportunity to resurrect a virtue long buried in our Bible; we can become “shrewd.”

Jesus told his disciples: ‘There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, “What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.”

-Luke 16:1-2