What would an objective observer, if any such existed, have thought at the end of that first Good Friday? Would anyone at all have bought the idea that the bloody shell of a man hanging on the cross would inspire a new movement leading to a worldwide church? Would it not appear that the forces of evil, or at least the mighty Roman Empire, had crushed a man who embodied idealism, passion for justice and deep spirituality?

            If a person, staring intently at the mangled body on the cross, had known the whole story of the betrayal, cruelty and cowardice of those involved in his execution, would that person think immediately of how God had worked in the midst of that scene? Wouldn’t an objective observer have concluded that Jesus had gambled on the goodness of human nature and lost? That he had assumed his healings and teaching would make a difference, only to end up appearing sadly naïve? If anyone had announced that what had just happened would save humanity, wouldn’t the objective observer have mused about whether humanity deserved salvation? Who would have placed a bet on the church at the end of that first Good Friday?

It’s not going well

            Not many people lay their money down for the church today, either. At least, no one considers the church in the United States a bull market. In parts of Africa, Asia, Latin America, we might see a booming church, but not in the United States. Here we see declining membership, sputtering worship attendance, ho-hum influence

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