Why is this blog called “StretchyChurch”? For me, the name captures two things:

  1. What the Church as the body of Christ is, and
  2. What the Church as an institution/organization should be.

First, let me say that the call to be stretchy is not a call to change the gospel. The gospel is the gospel and that never changes. The call to be stretchy involves the church.

As the body of Christ, the church is a family. And in a healthy family, there’s flexibility. People are free to make mistakes. People are free to grow and change. New people are welcomed into the family, even people who are very different from us. The idea of “stretchy” is also a reference to God’s own stretchiness–God’s flexibility–in working with us, His church, and His world.

As an institution/organization, the church should be stretchy–though most of the time it’s not. We get into our ruts and routines. We do things the way we do things because we’ve always done things the way things have always been done. (Say that 5 times real fast!)

I’m a Presbyterian pastor. And a lot of what I say in this blog reflects my experience as a Presbyterian pastor. I think that for the Presbyterian church to continue to thrive (though it hasn’t been thriving for decades–it’s been barely scraping by) we need to change the way we do things. Historical Presbyterianism doesn’t work in our culture anymore. I believe that if the Presbyterian church doesn’t change, adapt, stretch–it won’t exist in 50 years (aside from maybe a few tiny, insignificant, and unfruitful congregations here and there).

In my experience, the times that I’ve grown the most as a person are those times when God has pushed me out of my comfort zone–when God has stretched me. If the church is to grow, then the church must be willing to be stretched by God.  Now more than ever the church is at a point in history where we have no choice but to stretch or become insignificant.