shalomization

The Dance of Church

If you had the opportunity to visit another church on Sunday, where would you go?  I live in Dallas and we have as many (or more) church options than most.  I have had the opportunity to visit a variety of Baptist churches and pretty much find them all the same.  This is especially true among the large and mega-large variety.  Yes, the music and style is definitely different, but beyond that they all remind me of a large lecture hall where the "expert" is up front telling us "poor dummies" how we are living inadequate lives and by following the 3 or 4 steps in their sermon we can be as successful=faithful=spiritual as they are.

I had been growing uneasy with the traditional process of doing church (meaning Sunday morning worship) and all of the hierarchal/authoritarian processes we use.  It is amazing how similar most church services are to a university lecture hall save the band=orchestra=choir=vocalists and perfunctory announcements and obligatory greeting by "welcoming those seating around you".  The other obstacle is the offering.  What do you do with the offering?  Traditionally, after the last hymn/chorus and before the special music.  In contemporary fashion it is taken after the sermon, especially in churches which do not issue an altar call.

My really concern is with the sermon itself.  I agree with Dallas Willard that it seems more like a psycho-social commentary on life and living.  Not much different than Oprah and Dr. Phil except with an overtly Christian or Biblical emphasis. 

It's hard to find a church that deals with spiritual realities and the issues of justice and mercy.  This dance of faith called church seems too much like an old fashioned square dance where the caller and fiddler keep the adrenaline flowing, the heart palpitating and the mind completely disengaged! 

I think I miss the slow dance of old where it was more about intimacy and hearing the soft voice of the one who loved you and whom you loved in return.

Rebuilding Community

How does a congregation regain a sense of community following a church-split?  If community is based on a certain number of people or specific persons then you may never reestablish community.  But if community is based upon agape love for one another and a willingness to work together for the Kingdom of God, then it might not be too hard to find.

Church splits always hurt!  Primarily, they hurt God and his eternal purposes.  Evidence is found that we do not live with a true desire that "thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).  Evidently, temporal kingdoms are the dividing issues and church is primarily about us.

A primary consideration for a church in this situation is to go back to the basics of a church's mission, vision and values.  What is the mission or purpose of the church?  Is it primarily church growth?  Is our success or value placed on our ability to build large buildings and attract great numbers of people?  Are our programs our greatest contribution to the city in which we live?

Or, is the mission and purpose to build a people of faith who will live out the purposes and priorities of God as reveal in Jesus Christ?  Dallas Willard makes this point in his excellent work "The Great Omission" as it deals with discipleship as the part of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) that we have lost.  Evangelism that just focuses on the act of salvation (forgiveness of sins) and looses the importance of discipleship (Christlikness in Kingdom living) seems to be just another "ism". 

Maybe the term we are looking for is Evangelization!  This would imply a process of reconciliation, restoration, and renovation in daily living.  Eternal life (John 17:3) would then be understood from the perspective of relationships and would begin now.  Thus, it would be a merging of the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-39; Mark 12:29-31 and Luke 10:27) with the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and the New Commandment (John 13:34-35) to love one another as Christ has loved us to thus prove our discipleship.

Rebuilding community must then focus on the mission/purpose of the church as the kind of faith community that produces disciples that love one another as well as become loving neighbors (Luke 10:29-37) that show mercy to anyone in need.  First steps would tangible acts of confession and forgiveness (Matthew 5:23-24).  This must be modeled by faithful "leaders" who are more concerned about faithfulness to Christ than their image or reputation (ego?).

Finally, grace must become the operative norm.  Grace must permeate our attitudes and actions.  Grace must be practiced and not just pronounced.  Grace must be received and not just requested. 

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all my sin.

Sin and despair like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide,
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! there is flowing a crimson tide;
Whiter than snow you may be today.

Resurrection Power

"Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke?  It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church, we should all be wearing crash helmets!  Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews!  For the sleeping God may wake someday...or the waking God may draw us out to where we can never return." (Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk)

Hear the Scriptural account once again from Matthew 27:50-54:

"And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.  And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from the top to bottom.  And the earth shook, and the rocks  were split.  The tombs also were opened.  And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" (English Standard Version)

Easter approaches and we are busy about collecting and coloring eggs.  Families will have cook-outs and watch the little ones chase after colored eggs and sugary candy.  How can we miss what really happened that ominous week in Jerusalem that literally shook heaven and earth.

God became flesh, died on a cross and rose from the dead!  Religious faith was eternally altered.  No longer can religion be mere mental excercise or an activity of good for the impoverished. 

I hope this God rocks your worship this week!

Wineskins & Missional DNA

The three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22 and Luke 5:37-38) describe Jesus teaching about the necessity of putting new wine into new wineskins.  The issues had to do with a vibrant and vital ingredient that could not be placed in older containers.  Church structures must always find ways to adapt to a vibrant and vital Gospel.  This Gospel is new every day in that it is a living reality with the work of a loving God who gave Himself for His creation.  Yet, it is old in that it is the timeless story of a loving God who gave Himself for His creation.  Yes, I did say the same thing!

So how do congregations adapt themselves to this "new wine"?  First, is a historical return to the an understanding of the mission of God (missio dei) that is being recaptured in missional terminology. Missional is not an update of "every member a minister/missionary".  It has to do with a congregation or ministry that becomes agile enough to "retool to meet a new market".

Agile Competitors and Virtual Organizations: Strategies for Enriching the Customer by Steven L Goldman, is a writing out of the corporate world from which congregations and ministries can learn much.  The business world and the church face many of the same problems: rapid change, global competition (religious pluralism has come to our neighborhoods), economic uncertainties, ethnic population changes, and a "postmodern" mindset that does not value "brand loyalty".

Four Dimensions of Agile Competition (I have added parenthesis to apply to the church who is more interested in mission than maintenance).

1.  Enriching the customer.  "An agile company (missional church) is one that is perceived by its customers (unchurched community) as enriching them in a significant way, not only itself.  The 'products' (services and ministries) of an agile company are perceived by its customers to be solutions to their individual problems (meaning, purpose and direction).  The packages of goods and services that customers buy are only the means for implementing the solutions, for solutions are what customers are actually paying for -- and they are increasingly aware of this.  This situation creates new marketing strategies for management to consider.  At the same time, it demands a reconceptualization of what the company's products really are". (how do we describe what we are "selling" to the unchurched world?  Services and programs for our own edification or an encounter with Jesus Christ!)

2.  Coperating to enhance competitiveness.  "Cooperation -- internally and with other companies (churches and other "friends of good will" whether sacred or secular, governmental or corporate) -- is an agile competitor's operational strategy of the first choice.  The end is bringing agile products to market as rapidly and as cost-effectively as possible.  One strategy for doing this is utilizing existing resources regardless of where they are located and who owns them (especially with needs based ministries, e.g. literacy, food, clothing, substance abuse treatment, housing, etc).  Cross-functional teams (pastoral caregivers, publicity, literacy ministry, prison ministry, benevolence ministry all working together), empowerment (emphasis on releasing for service and not just gathering for stimulation), reengineering of business processes (everything is done to enhance the mission/vision of the church), virtual companies (web based outreach efforts), and partnerships even with direct competitors (churches down the street) are all means employed to leverage resources through cooperation." (an emphasis on Kingdom principals allows cooperation and collaboration for Kingdom growth first.)

3.  Organizing to master change and uncertainty.  "An agile company (missional church) is organized in a way that allows it to thrive on change and uncertainty (yes, we've never done it that way before and we may have to rewrite our bylaws and budget!).  Its structure is flexible enough to allow rapid reconfiguration of human and physical resources (positions, buildings and budgets do not limit mission).  There is no single 'right' structure for an agile company, and no single 'right' size (small is ok too).  Personnel who are motivated and knowledgeable enough to convert change and uncertainty into new opportunities for company growth are empowered to do so, routinely and rapidly (passion is appreciated and risk is enabled - see Matthew 16:25).

4.  Leveraging the impact of people and information.  "In an agile company (missional church), management (church staff/elders, deacons) nurtures an entrepreneurial company culture that leverages the impact of people and information on operations (God speaks to and uses anyone or everyone).  It does this by distributing authority, by providing the resources personnel need, by reinforcing a climate of mutual responsibility for joint success, and by rewarding innovation (whether it fails or succeeds - often, results are in God's hands).  People -- what they know, the skills they possess, the initiative they display -- and the information are the differentiators between companies (churches) in an agile competitive environment (the Church really is people, not buildings and programs).   Because knowlege-based products (you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free - John 8:32) offer the greatest potential for individualization (salvation and completeness in Christ), continuous work force education and training (discipleship) are integral to agile company operations (church programs).  They constitute an investment in future prosperity rather than a cost to be assigned to current overhead expenses." (See first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness...)

What think ye?

Downwardly Mobile Church

Henri Nowen once called "downward mobility" as giving yourself away in the name and spirit of the Christ who, 'though he was rich, became poor for our sakes'.  What would happen if the church were to take to heart this attitude of Christ?  What would happen if sucess were not our goal but instead the goal of significance?

Christianity in the southern hemisphere doesn't have to worry too much with this problem.  Basically in third world countries, Christianity thrives among the poor and marginalized.  Charles Lee Williamson is a retired missiologist (though I doubt he was ever called by that title) who understands the position of the church in todays mission context of North America.  Some years ago he described the "Upward Mobility of the Church" and tried to show how denominations (primarily churches of 'like faith and order') would grow in affluence and importance and begin to see their numbers decrease.  He used a pyramid to describe this upward mobility and how there were fewer and fewer people to reach at the upper end of the pyramid.  However, the grassroots churches had a great appeal to the common man (read poor and marginalized). 

Large churches have now created separate non-profit corporations to provide those outreach services to the poor and marginalized.  However, it is interesting to observe that once the non-profit corporation is established it usually begins to separate from being a ministry of the church to "what those folks over there do". 

Maybe it's time to take to heart the Scriptural description of Jesus and apply it to today's church.  Can we become poor for our unchurched community?  Maybe that's part of what "shalomization" means - seeking the welfare of the community.

Preacher's Task

In Finally Comes the Poet, Walter Brueggemann writes that the task of the preacher is to be "a voice that shatters settled reality and evokes new possibilities".  I struggled with that because I am somewhat uncomfortable with the old adage of the preachers responsibility of "troubling the comfortable and comforting the troubled".  It's the old idea that "I don't feel like I have been to church unless the preacher stepped on my toes".

Then I came across this old quote from Epictetus, a first century Stoic philosopher, "What concerns me is not the way things are, but rather the way people think things are".  Or put this way, "we are disturbed not by events, but by the views which we take of them."

Jesus spent his life trying to help people see the reality of life all around them - that which they could see (human suffering and religious hyprocracy) but choose not to see.  He also desired "eye that could see" even the Kingdom of God.  What most did not undestand was that the Kingdom of god was not their version of an earthy rule but a way of faith living that truly fulfilled the Great Commandment in Luke 10:27, to love God and your neighbor as yourself.

Some days my "reality" is colored by my personal situation and circumstances.  But in time of quiet reflection and prayer, I once again experience the reality of God's everlasting love through the sacrifice and enabling power of Jesus Christ.

How is your reality today?

Church Structure

A friend of mine is fond of saying that the church does best what she is structured to do.  This may seem like an overstatement because many congregations are involved in a multitude of ministries.  However, the reality is that we may do many things but we only do a few things very well.  Those are the things we are structured to do.

Congregations may have a great heart and interest in community and global missions but their structure is primarily based on an educational and giving stucture.  We learn so that we can give in order for others to go! 

However, there is a great movement among congregations based on "being and doing" and not just "sending and supporting".  Congregations are seeing an increase in mission trips and mission events.  "Random acts of kindness" seem to be the norm for mission activity that is based on trying to bless everyone all at once. 

As a former prison chaplain I would encounter many Christian volunteers who sought approval to be able to go in to every prison in the state.  They meant well, they were just inadequately taught about missions.  At one point the Texas prison system had over 20,000 volunteers registered to work in that system.  Most wanted to go to as many prisons as possible and preach to as many inmates as would turn out.  As a result the system was flooded with requests for worship services and crusades but had a great need for the more mundane work of personal discipleship or mentoring.  I really believe that if we could have strategically assigned those 20,000 volunteers to 20,000 inmates  we would have seen significant changes take place. 

The reason I say strategically assigned is intentional.  George Beto was the Executive Director of the Texas prison system who was credited with developing a rehabilitation system that included a school district, chaplaincy program and treatment program.  Dr. Beto promoted the idea that probably 20% of the inmates were going to make parole and stay out.  He believe that another 20% would never "make it".  He pushed for the idea that it was the 60% in the middle that were going one way or the other.  My spiritual interpretation is that this refers to the Biblical passage that describes "fields white unto harvest".

Intention church structures will focus on those mission oppporunities that foster intentional and long term relationships.  Churches must choose to invest in lives and communites so that real change can take place.  Right now most churches are structured for worship, education and fellowship.  Of the 5,700 churches connected to my faith tradition there are only about 650 churches that report any kind of missions structure. Concurrently, there is an annual decrease in baptisms with a larger number of churches reporting no baptisms at all.

Is structure the solution?  Not by itself.  But structure does denote a commitment of personnel and funds.  Typically, "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" Matthew 6:21