Episode 8 | Ecclesiastical Dwarfism

When it comes to churches apparently SIZE DOES MATTER, at least that is what Dr. Augustus Lopes says, who is a Presbyterian theologian who pastors in Brazil. Apparently, this all too common problem among confessional churches is so pervasive that Dr. Lopes has constructed a name for this ailment—he calls it ECCLESIASTICAL DWARFISM. It just might be the case that Dr. Lopes has put his finger on an unsettling concern which is flying under the radar of polite public discussion among the conservative Reformed churches which is that small churches are like short people who according to the old song, “got no reason to live.” Well, maybe that sounds a bit harsh but what Reformed Christians think about this problem is important because it says a lot about how they understand the nature of the church and its mission in this world.