In many parts of the Church, October 31st is Reformation Day. On the Eve of All Saints in 1517 the German monk Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of Castle Church, Wittenberg. This action set in motion events that led to the fracturing of the western church in what would become the Roman Catholic Church and the various state Protestant churches. Other divisions within the protestant movement resulted the emergence of independent sects of various kinds.
In our day and time, we are witnessing the fracturing of church in different ways. Today, it is not the issues of indulgences, purgatory, the sacrifice of the mass, and clerical celibacy that consume our attention, but the soul of the church is contested by differing views on how the church should respond to the political movements of our day.
The question of primary loyalty is contested, posing the questions: Who defines the church’s agenda? Do we take our agenda from scripture, yes, but which scriptural emphases are the ones that concern us? Roughly put, are today’s culture wars posing the most salient issues, or should addressing the needs of the “quartet of the vulnerable” (to use pastor Tim Keller’s description of the poor, the widow, the orphan, the alien) be where the church focuses its energies?
Christians today have expressed dismay over the actions of those purportedly representing Christ Jesus by adopting hateful, unchristian, or demeaning languages and political positions. Our concerns may extend to the wider church’s perceived inadequacy in responding decisively to these representatives.
In what follows, I sketch out some perspectives to consider that I hope will help us navigate through these challenging times and encourage us in our own relationship with the church and her Lord.
1. Examples from History
Scripture and church history remind us that God’s people have often lost their way. Ancient Israel repeatedly gave itself over to false gods and corrupt practices—worshiping idols like Molech, who demanded the sacrifice of children, or allowing the wealthy elite to oppress the poor. In response, God raised up prophets who spoke judgment and warned of exile. The fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 587 BC still stands as a defining moment of judgment and memory for the Jewish people.
The Church, too, has wandered. Over the centuries, it has at times capitulated to various ideologies, corruption, and power. Yet again and again, God brings renewal—through, for example, the Franciscans, the Protestant Reformers, and countless smaller movements that bend the church toward faithfulness and justice. The cry of the Reformation still speaks to us: Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda—“the church reformed, always reforming.”
2. The Church Today: Broken and Faithful
Our own age reveals this same dual reality. The sins of the church—abuse scandals, financial and sexual misconduct, domineering leaders—are well publicized, and they grieve us deeply. Every scandal tarnishes the name of Jesus and makes faithful witness harder.
And yet, the church is more than its failures. All around us, Christians quietly serve with humility: they run food banks, support immigrants, shelter the homeless, teach literacy, and care for the poor. My neighbor Christian may not vote as I would or share all my opinions, but her life reflect Christ’s love. These small acts rarely make headlines, but they serve to “tear a little corner off the darkness,” as the poet/theologian Bono once said. Which is not too small a thing.
The whole picture, then, is complex: a church both broken and beautiful, compromised yet still carrying a prophetic witness of justice and mercy.
3. Making Peace with the Proximate
My friend Steve Garber offers a phrase that has shaped my own outlook: making peace with the proximate. Steve, a teacher and man of deep compassion, urges Christians to live faithfully in the tension between the world as it is and the world as it should be.
When faced with this tension, this gap, we are tempted either to despair (because the distance between is and should be is too great) or capitulate (to give up and give in). Instead, “making peace with the proximate” invites us to work toward what is possible, even if incomplete. Augustine wrestled with the fall of Rome and came to a similar conclusion: we live in the “now-but-not-yet” of God’s Kingdom, seeking some justice, some mercy, until the fullness of God’s reign is revealed.
Proximate justice is not resignation but is instead hopeful faithfulness. It teaches us to love a broken world, not because it is broken, but because God is redeeming it.
4. A Long Obedience
Eugene Peterson captures the same spirit in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. He describes discipleship as a lifelong pilgrimage—a slow, steady walk with God, with hints of joy along the way.
True formation takes time: humility, perseverance, and in community.
Joy may be found, but it is hard won. Joy is more anticipated than realized, at least this side of the Kingdom coming.
Peterson reminds us that God is faithful, and that our task is simply to remain faithful.
Against the shallow promises of instant spirituality, the scriptures call us to a patient obedience that produces depth of character and Christlikeness, and leads us to strive for justice and shalom for all God’s children.
5. Encouragement for the Journey
Let me offer a few practices of practical encouragement:
Ground yourself daily in Scripture and prayer. Even fifteen minutes of morning prayer can center the heart and quiet the noise.
Limit media consumption. Doom-scrolling breeds despair. A media fast—even for a weekend—refreshes and resets the soul.
Ask honest questions of the church. What do I need from this community, and what can I give? Is this church bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit? If not, how might I and others help cultivate it?
6. Closing Hope
C. S. Lewis wisely observed in The Weight of Glory that a sick society must think much about politics, just as a sick man must think much about digestion. But to let these concerns dominate our minds is to make illness our diet. We must think of them only to free ourselves to think of something greater.
Pray daily for our church—that we would be a people pleasing to God, a community that blesses our neighbors.
I leave you with John’s words to the church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3). Though weak, they had “kept God’s word and not denied His name”; therefore Christ promised them an open door that no one could shut.
May we also “hold fast to what we have,” and with patient endurance pursue justice and extend mercy, remaining faithful until the Lord comes.
“God, make us pillars in Your temple, bearing Your name forever! Amen.”