An interesting story appeared across various news sources in late August of 2025. The Kiruna Church in Kiruna, Sweden had to be carefully moved to a new location. Because of iron ore mining in the area, the ground beneath the Church was deemed to be unstable. Plans to move the church soon fell into place to preserve the 100-year-old structure. To facilitate the move, meticulous planning took place, roads were widened, special transporting platforms were engineered, and lampposts and traffic signals had to be removed along the route. The move took about 2 days to complete. The specialized moving equipment traveled at a very slow pace, less than ½ mile per hour. Engineers expect the process of reinforcing the ground beneath the church will take over a year with the church expected to be reopen to the public in late 2026. People remarked about the strange experience of suddenly seeing their beloved church in a whole new location.
When I read the story in the news, I saw it as an image representing the slow progression of American Christianity. For many, like me, the church I once knew, loved, believed in, and gave much of my life trying to lead, is now far removed from the place it once stood. Don’t misunderstand… the actual brick and mortar structures still stand and many of the same people still attend, but the spirit is different, the attitudes have shifted, and the ethos has been altered. Slowly but surely, the church has drifted from its once sure foundation.
I was raised in a church and denomination where there was sincere compassion for every neighbor, even those who believed and practiced a different faith, or even no faith at all. There was a compassion and respect for different races, and for those who spoke a different language. There was not a meanness to our message, but one of grace and gladness that welcomed all. The church I once knew had a strong fidelity to the Gospel and to the forgiveness and welcome it offered to those who struggled to find God and figure out their place in His Kingdom. The church I once knew believed in a strong separation of church and state. No one proclaimed politics from the pulpit. Such a sacred place was reserved for authentic, Christ-centered preaching, not a proclamation of partisan politics that excluded many and made enemies out of those Christ taught us to love. No one was labeled, no one was considered to be second class, and no one was left out. In those days we gave food to the hungry, clothed the naked, and welcomed the stranger. There was a respect for both God and country, but no one got the priorities confused. No one mistook which leader was meant to be worshipped. We treated immigrants as neighbors and were too ashamed to dare offer nicknames or prejudicial slurs.
I’m not suggesting that the past was without its imperfections. It was not. I don’t pretend that all was well and good and that churches always got it right. Even though the church has been forever challenged to confront the evils of culture, there have certainly been times when it has compromised itself instead. There are and have always been abusers and false prophets and grifters. Shame on us when we failed to demand more of ourselves and the institutions that we cherished. What worries me most, is not that our Gospel story has been altered… it has not. What has changed is our allegiance to its Savior and our commitment to be conformed to His image. Paul himself once warned us not to be conformed to the image of this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds that we might prove what the will of God is… that which is good, acceptable, and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
Who are “they” and why have they attempted to move the church? Sometimes, “they” are the ones who disagree with us theologically, culturally, and politically. We judge their motivations and remain dumbfounded by their positions. We see them as the problem that needs to be solved. To be truthful, all of us tend to believe that among the various positions, interpretations, and translations that swirl in theological space, that we have found and proclaim that which is most correct, and maybe even infallible. The manipulation we see committed by others can also be arrogantly committed by us. Sometimes “they who have moved the church,” can be ourselves. None of us are immune from mistaken theology or self-serving deceit. Whether it is those others that we dislike that have moved the church, or whether it is ourselves, we must own up to human frailties and misguided zeal. Is it possible in the midst of our disagreements, to bless more and curse less?
As we journey onward may we have “the courage to change the things we can.” May it be said of us that we were lights in the darkness, shining like a city set on a hill. And whenever we feel the tug to pull the church away from its moorings, may we look deeply within, correct the error of our own thoughts, and help the church be all that Christ intended for it to be… a refuge, a sanctuary, a place of learning, a citadel of grace, a community of love, a gathering of imperfect persons whose passion remains that of pursuing a perfect God. Can we really help to usher in His Kingdom on earth? Can we make a difference? As the Baptismal Covenant from the Book of Common Prayer suggests, “We will with God’s help.”
– Jon R Roebuck