A Prayer for the American Church

“He has shown to you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NIV)

I think it’s safe to say no one could have anticipated what 2020 brought into our lives. With the advent of a new decade, many of us had big aspirations for the new year. Maybe you planned to start a new business, go back to school, or take that unforgettable vacation.

For most of us, those January dreams were dead or postponed by March. My family has spent most of this year in a haze of not knowing what day it is while trying to keep up with remote work and online schooling. While groceries can be ordered and delivered within an hour, we were not mentally and emotionally prepared for the painful slog of pandemic living for nearly a year and counting.

We are nearly a year into this thing now. Over 200,000 Americans and over one million people globally have succumbed to the COVID-19 virus. Our physical and mental health continue to suffer as we fight against the microscopic invader that brought the world’s wealthiest nation to its knees.

In addition to dealing with the pandemic, our family has been in a season of grief. In the span of three months, my beloved grandfather passed away, my father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, and our family left our church home of over ten years. Leaving the church brought a unique kind of grief because, unlike the other hardships, we had control of the situation. We made the difficult yet necessary decision to walk away.

For the past several years, my husband and I wrestled with what to do about the church. We could no longer turn a blind eye to the American evangelical church’s complicity in racism, abuse, sexism, and homophobia. We were deeply troubled by the church aligning itself with political power while ignoring the marginalized. We grew increasingly concerned that the church seemed to follow the tenets of capitalism more closely than the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We thought we could be voices for change from inside the organization. But after years of being dissenting voices, we realized our cries were being drowned out by the majority, who desire to keep the sins of the church hidden in dark corners while they enjoy their comfort and free coffee. As a member of the recovery community, I can tell you that the things we hide grow like cancer, slowly eating away at our bodies and souls. It’s only when our shame is brought into the light that we can truly heal.

As 2020 comes to a close, I don’t know if our family will be a part of a church body again. We deeply love Jesus and believe in the power of Christian community, but until the church is willing the pull her sins into the light, we will continue to seek and serve Christ outside her walls.

I am deeply critical of the church because I love the church and see what she could be. I am thankful we have the words of the prophets recorded in Scripture. Their words of critique for Israel make me feel less alone in my struggle with the church and reveal that my battle is not new. And while I am certainly no prophet, I am part of a growing group of Christians crying out that the church has lost her way and is losing the power of her witness.

As we prepare for the new year, my prayer is that the church will find her way back to Jesus. That we would remember our highest call is to love God and our neighbor. Loving our neighbor looks like voting and fighting for their rights while being willing to give up some of the privileges we’ve grown used to.

I pray that God would open American Christians’ eyes as they are reading their Bibles to see that we have more in common with Egypt, Babylon, and Rome than with Israel. Let this revelation of how we have chosen power and oppression over the ways of Christ lead us to repent in sackcloth and ashes.

I pray that God would give us the boldness to speak out against hate, especially when we see it in our communities and homes.

I pray that he would give us the humility to admit where we have chosen the way of empire over the path of Christ.

I pray that he would encourage us to walk away from behind the glowing shield of our screens to have real conversations in which we look into the eyes of another, witnessing the image of God that dwells within them.

I pray that he would remind us that the earth is a sacred gift and not a floating rock to be raped of resources to fulfill our incessant need for more. Teach us to live with less so that everyone has enough.

I love the church. I want her to thrive. My hope for the New Year is that 2021 will be a year of repentance and revival for the American church. Will you join me in this prayer?

Lindsay Hufford is a small-scale farmer, home educator, chicken chaser, kitchen dancer, and mediocre knitter. Her favorite things include spending time with her family, exploring the natural world, reading, eating spicy food, and singing loudly in the car (to the embarrassment of her children). Lindsay believes sharing our stories will change the world. She writes about farming, homeschooling, faith, mental health, sobriety, and living an unconventional life. You can follow her adventures at peckandpetalfarm.com.

Photograph © Amaury Gutierrez, used with permission