The Christian church is dying in the West. This is the painful reality which is currently being avoided by some massive act of collective suppression. To use terminology drawn from pastoral care, the ecclesiastical institution is stuck in denial of its potential demise. Unless the Western church embarks upon some substantial process of reformation, the third millennium will dawn as the post-Christian era.

None of the indicators are good. Over the twentieth century, there has been an exodus from the church of epic proportions. Fifteen years ago, David Barrett estimated that 53,000 people per week were leaving the Christian church in Europe and North America, and never coming back. This hemorrhage has not been stemmed. Not only is the church losing its adherents at an alarming rate; it is also failing to win new converts in any significant numbers.

The institution of the church has suffered the fate of other central institutions such as the monarchy. An historical position of respect, status and authority has become one of ridicule, derision and irrelevance. The church in the West no longer speaks for or to humanity. It appears to have become a marginalised and defensive group pining for a moralistic past. Even the leaders of the institution are beginning to lose confidence in it.

Recognition of the current crisis of the Western church may be the beginning of hope. The precursor of reformation must be a deep sense of grief for the state of the church, and lament over the possibility of death. Denial is a blocking mechanism which robs us of the energy for change. Any meaningful way forward involves not escape from painful realities, but journey into and through them. The present crisis quite possibly represents the call of God to the Western church at the beginning of the third millennium: to change or die.

The task of mission to Western culture looms as the great challenge for the church. The situation now faced is one in which Christianity lies in the past of the culture. No longer can the gospel be presented as something new, with all the excitement associated with novelty. For better of for worse, most Westerners assume that they know what Christianity is about. It is about intolerance, hypocrisy, repression, authority and abuse.

As modernity collapses, and the emerging postmodern culture continues to gather strength, the church finds itself deeply entwined with the order which is passing, and fearful of the new world. There is a temptation to retreat from the challenge in order to preserve Christian identity, rather than undertaking the difficult journey across the border into uncharted territory. Christian mission, however, as an expression of the incarnational movement of Christ, has always demanded decentering and risk.

It so happens that there is an explosion of interest in spirituality and the deeper issues of life and meaning among participants in the emerging culture. Unfortunately, they do not think of Christianity as having anything to do with their spiritual quest, and would never consider turning to the church for help. But let us not doubt that their hunger is an intuitive seeking after the God whom Christians claim to have discovered in Christ.

Areas to be addressed in any reforming of the Western church for mission are legion. The reformation called for will be comprehensive and uncomfortable. There will be a need to renegotiate our understanding of God. Currently our picture of God is rather static and Hellenistic, relatively unaffected by our central assertion that in Jesus we discover who God is. Our missionary calling will proceed from an understanding of God as dynamic, compassionate and eternally fresh.

The shape and structure of church needs to change. A preoccupation with buildings and the concerns of a paid professional clergy hamper the progress of mission. I firmly believe that the church must relocate and become humanized if it is to survive. It will not be possible for Christians to exist in isolation from the wider human community, as if our main business were the maintenance of a religious club.

It is vital that concepts of holiness undergo radical transformation. Particularly in the evangelical wing of the church, holiness has been equated with separation and moralism. Jesus could be accused of neither. He mixed widely with those who were regarded as 'sinners', to the detriment of his own reputation. And his emphasis was not on clean living, but on the redemptive acceptance and forgiveness of God.

For many years conversion has been regarded as an isolated event which precedes entry to the church. This was a luxury which was allowed because of a predominantly Christian culture. In the present climate, we must look again to conversion as a process which may well take place as a corollary of belonging to a group of people seeking to respond to Jesus. We will need a much greater emphasis on openness and acceptance within the church.

Clearly, spirituality is of great interest to the emerging culture. Much Christian spirituality is currently inauthentic and so unappealing. Reform for the sake of mission might look to a spirituality which is earthed, holistic, relational, human, passionate and embodied.

There are many other issues needing to be addressed, including those of scripture and denominationalism. But the primary call is to the process of change itself; the will to be transformed for the sake of God's call to life. It remains to be seen whether the church in the West is willing to pay the price of following Christ into a new era.