Clean Out the Sludge
A theology of turnaround.
Gordon MacDonald
October 1, 2005
Many years ago I foolishly drove a car at least 25,000 miles without changing the oil. I guess I figured I'd wait until the red light on the dashboard lit up, and then I'd know I needed fresh oil. When the car became a non-starter on cold New England mornings, I got mad and took it to the mechanic. Removing the valve cover, he motioned me over and pointed out why it should be the car that was mad. Inside was something that can only be called sludge: a black, putty-like substance that made it virtually impossible for anything to work, especially in cold temperatures. The mechanic spent the better part of a day cleaning the stuff out, and the results were amazing! So was the bill. This little incident is why my wife, Gail, keeps personal watch on our vehicles and schedules pastoral calls at Jiffy Lube every 3,000 miles. Sludge buildup seems to describe many churches in need of a turnaround of some kind. It may be spiritual sludge, or organizational or structural sludge. Or program sludge. Maybe even people sludge. Some congregations were once running nicely. But along the way the engine wasn't tended to, and a sludgy buildup began and enlarged ever so slowly. And then came a chilly morning when the church was spiritually challenged, and nothing worked. Others in this journal are writing about the leadership steps for cleaning out engines, er, I mean churches. But I want to focus on the theology behind turning a church around. And that draws me to those seven congregations in the Book of Revelation. Their issues and how they were addressed fascinate me. If ever there were churches needing a turnaround, these seven were. Each had sludge buildup, some worse than others. The writer, John, proposes on behalf of Jesus some serious correctives. ...
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