A couple weeks back I made a very brief and passing reference to some new thoughts I've been working on around the whole issue of "church". Let me try to put some flesh on those bones here. A warning though. This is still percolating, and will be for some time, so this is stream-of-consciousness thinking. I reserve the right to change my mind about any of it before I get to the end of the post. And I'm sincerely looking for your thoughts in response--especially from you pastor/church-planting types, who I suspect may not like where I go with this.
(And let me head off those who are reaching for the comment button to remind me that the church is not a building, or a place we go to, but is "you and me". I know, I know. But, there is still this institution that I would hazard to say the majority of those who claim to follow Jesus are still involved in, immersed in, indoctrinated in, and distracted by. That is what I'm talking about here: The institution of the church.)
First, some background:
Sue and I "stopped going to church" about six years ago. We both were born into and grew up in The Salvation Army. We attended the same church back in Ontario, where we were eventually married, and where some members of our families are still connected. We were both actively involved, and I had taken on various lay leadership roles from a young age. Having ultimately come to the conclusion that we had a very narrow view of what it meant to follow Jesus, we looked to broaden our horizons. We ended up at The Meeting House for about eight months, just before we moved out here to BC and "stopped going."
Oddly enough, both Sue and I have the opportunity to speak periodically in various churches. But, beyond that, we don't regularly attend anywhere. Additionally, the work we do with Linwood House Ministries is really only possible because of the great partnerships we have with a handful of churches here in the Lower Mainland. And yet, we don't go anywhere. Interesting.
In brief, my view is that The People of God (my phrase for the collection of Jesus-Followers out there) are the solution to the world's problems... and we've got a few, don't we? Obviously the church, as an institution that gathers a lot of these folks together, is necessarily a huge part of this vision. Unfortunately we've "forgotten" this role we have as a people to participate in the redemption of Creation, although it is still buried in our spiritual DNA somewhere. So believe it or not, I don't dislike church. I love the church, but it's breaking my heart... and probably makes Jesus drink gin out of the cat dish a lot, to borrow a line from Anne Lamott.
There's a lot in there that we could unpack further, but that's not what I want to do with this post. I know that many who are reading this are in the same boat. And I would assume that those of you who are still active participants in a church at least know some folks like me. So let's move on.
The real point of this post is to confess that I think my view of church is changing. But, as I implied at the top, I'm not sure everyone is going to like where my thoughts are going on this one.
This change first came to mind about five weeks ago when I attended the Emerging Church conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I've posted a little on it, but mostly I've been quietly thinking. The gathering was historic, I have no doubt about that. I was amazed by some who spoke about the congregations they were a part of. Churches where Episcopalian priests worshiped alongside Lutherans and Methodists and Catholics. And the really cool part was these folks didn't stop being Episcopalians, or Lutherans, or Methodists, or Catholics. I'm not naive enough to miss the fact that these were very progressive folks talking about very progressive churches, but it was inspiring, and very hopeful.
Brian McLaren made a profound comment to the crowd of Catholics and Protestants. He pointed out that we certainly hadn't settled the issues that we've been fighting over for 500 years - we've simply lost interest. Shane Claiborne told us that when folks ask him if he is Catholic or Protestant he used to say, "No." Now his answer to the same question is, "Yes". I get that.
Instead of walking away from our denominational traditions, there is a proper relegation of doctrinal differences to the back burner, where they belong. Instead, we're starting to focus on what we hold in common, and that centers around Jesus.
For a while now I have described myself as "non-denomination". Then, more recently I've been using the term "post-denominational", in that I felt denominations were no longer important, and in fact were standing in the way of any possible unity in the church. I'm now rethinking that position. Personally, I think I'll retain the post-denominational orientation, but with a twist. I may decide to be Anglican for a while, then perhaps next year I'll be Catholic, then I might be a mash up of both. Not because I believe either or any denominational perspective is the correct way to approach God, but because I may find a particular tradition helpful in furthering my relationship with God.
Let me be clear on this point. I believe denominations, to the degree that they are of any use at all, are for our benefit, not God's, if I can put it that way. If attaching myself to the tribe "X" helps me draw closer to God and participate in and contribute more fully to the Kingdom, then so be it. But being an "X" is not a requirement to properly following God. (And yes, I understand completely that this view is anathema to many denominational folks. Let's pause briefly out of respect for that. OK... That's long enough. Let's move on.)
So, to summarize, my view of church is changing. That's the first part of what I wanted to say. The other part has to do with the notion of "community".
As readers of WorD will know, Sue and I live with Jen, Pete, Daniel and Sarah. We share a house, and we share our lives. Some of the background can be found here. In a nutshell we have come to believe that transformation is the key to effectively following Jesus. Furthermore, we believe that transformation happens best in community. That's an overused and much abused word, community, but we're starting to gain a rudimentary understanding and appreciation of it.
A few years ago I had lunch with a friend who was pastor of a large (at least for these parts) and successful church. He told me then that their church was doing well in all measured areas "except community". I remember telling him that he should relax. I told him that it was my view that you cannot stick 1000 people in a room once a week and hope for "community". As I recall, he didn't like that very much. Nevertheless, I think it is impossible. Not with 1000 people, not with 100 people. Heck, sometimes it's not possible with 2 people. Community is so much more than that. I'm not saying we all need to move in together. (Not yet, anyway.) But the fostering of community requires a level of commitment, intentionality, and intimacy that is voluntary, and cannot be mandated or declared.
I've talked a little about church and community, so let me try and tie the two ideas together. I think the institutional church largely sucks at creating community. And why wouldn't it? It's not structured for it, and more importantly it certainly doesn't uniformly require the prerequisites I've identified above. These are points some may want to argue, but that's not where I want to stop with this.
Last month as Wes, Ryan and I made the drive from Albuquerque back up to Denver, we talked about what we were taking home with us from the conference. I'm sure I stunned Wes (good thing I was driving at the time) when I said that I was thinking about how I was going to go back to Delta House and raise the delicate question of returning to church.
Here me out: I have no interest in becoming a member of a congregational family again.
First, I think generally the institutional church job does a fine job of teaching the religion of Christianity. The problem is I am no longer interested. I want to learn about following Jesus, which is a completely different thing. Second, I desire real, transformational community, which I happen to find at home, and not at church. And yet, I want to feel more connected to the church universal. Furthermore, I miss the reverence and spectacle of corporate worship. And perhaps most importantly I think as an odd little community we could do a better job of contributing to the afore-mentioned and Jesus-prayed-for unity of the church. (It's just that I now think that unity will be based on unity of purpose, and not on doctrinal agreement.)
And so we've started talking about it here at Delta House.
We're thinking about looking for a liturgically-based version of church, where we could go and participate in something like a mass, where we could have friends, where we could share what we're up to, and where we could then go home to live the deep community stuff.
I know, it sounds like I've gone full circle and have arrived back at a "what's in it for me" posture regarding church. I can't help that. I haven't articulated well what we are looking for because we haven't quite figured it out. Regardless, it is a dramatically different view of church than we grew up with, and in which many of you work very hard everyday to create.
I'd like to know what you're thinking at this point, so I'll stop the stream of consciousness there and give you a chance to respond. The floor is open.
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