Being Church

I am leading a study of spiritual gifts in the church using materials I've been working on for more than 25 years -- since seminary really.  I also just began reading Eugene Peterson's new memoir called The Pastor.  I'll be writing a review of the book later on, but near the beginning of the book, in a reflection on the similarities between church and his father's butcher shop -- that should get your attention -- he wrote:

I am quite sure now that the way I as a pastor came to understand congregation had its beginning in the "congregational" atmosphere of our butcher shop.  Congregation is composed of people, who, upon entering a church, leave behind what people on the street name or call them.  A church can never be reduced to a place where goods and services are exchanged.  It must never be a place where a person is labeled.  It can never be a place where gossip is perpetuated.  Before anything else, it is a place where a person is named and greeted, whether implicitly or explicitly in Jesus's name.  A place where dignity is conferred.  (Peterson, The Pastor, p. 41).   

I'll let you check out the book, if you want to know why Peterson uses this analogy, but the point I'd like to raise here concerns the nature of congregation.  What happens in this place we call church?  Note that Peterson defines congregation in terms of people, not building, institutions, or even clergy.  It's people who make up the church, the rest is simply context and support for the people of God to worship and serve God and love one's neighbor.  But also note the importance of church being a place of safety and dignity.  It is a place where "dignity is conferred."  I realize this is describing the ideal.  We know that churches as places harbor gossip, that people can find themselves unwelcome in Jesus' name, and dignity isn't always conferred, but this is the calling, this is the purpose.  So my question is -- how do we become this place, knowing that we are human and we will fail, but how do we move toward such a reality?

What is your Calling?

What is your calling?  How did you receive your calling?  If you look in the Hebrew Bible, more often than not, when God called, the people at first said -- send someone else.  Moses said -- I can't speak well, so God said -- take along Aaron, he can talk for you.  Jonah receives the call and runs the other way.  Jeremiah said -- I'm but a boy.  In every case God seems to have an answer to the attempt to put off the call.

But how does a call come?  I didn't hear an audible voice, but I think I knew from early on a direction (though I framed it differently than time would reveal).  I can say with some surety that when I decided to pursue the M.Div. and ordination I didn't have parish ministry in mind.  I was going to be a theological educator.  That was my calling!  And yet, here I am, in my 26th year of ordination and in my 13th year as pastor of a congregation. 

All of this leads to my sharing of a video of Martin Marty sharing his sense of what it means to receive a call to ministry in the Christian community.  He notes that traditionally it has been assumed that God calls through the community (the church), but in his conversations with people entering ministry, it would be better to say that God calls "through billions of particulars."  I think he may be right.  I invite you to watch, consider, and add your own sense of what it means to be called.  The video comes from the What's Your Calling? -- a movement/organization inspired by a PBS miniseries -- The Calling. 

God is in this Place?

The movement of the Spirit that is stirring moderate and progressive congregations, whether they have historically identified themselves with evangelical or mainline Protestantism, is taking form as emergent and missional communities of faith. These terms denote the reality that empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit, parts of the church are bursting through old boundaries, emerging from their shells so that they might engage in world transforming ministries. As this happens, these communities are looking again at their core identities and practices, to discern whether they can support this new work of the Spirit, so that both church and society might be transformed.

As the church adapts and moves forward, it will need to stop and engage in acts of introspection. In the course of this work of self-study, the church might be well-served by considering what the stranger might see in our communities? Consider what the person, who doesn’t know much if anything about the God church folk claim to worship, sees and hears if they should walk into the typical mainline Protestant church. Will they feel welcome and safe? Or, will they find the culture and the environment of the church to be foreign and strange? Beyond the person who has little exposure to the church’s theology and practices, we might consider other persons who venture into the community. There are any number of boundary issues that need to be considered -- gender, age, ethnicity, language, socio-economic, and cultural differences that impact one’s experience of God and the church.

When the stranger enters the community of faith, does what they hear and see suggest that the denizens of the church are, in the words of Paul, “out of your mind?” Or, do they hear and experience a message that discloses the secrets of their hearts, so that in response to their encounter in this place they fall before God in worship? Or to put it a bit differently, is it possible, that the stranger might enter into the church and declare: God is in this place (1 Corinthians 14:20-25). For many progressive/mainline churches this might seem like an odd expectation, but why is that? Why can’t we expect God’s Spirit to move in such a way that lives are changed dramatically due to their encounter with God?

This is the question that haunts the church in an age of wars and rumors of wars, an age of hate speech, drive-by shootings, growing intolerance, terrorism, bombings, and kidnappings. How do we bear witness to God’s grace and love and presence in this context? The questions become even more daunting because religious people seem to be stirring up much of the heat, while more moderate and progressive voices seem to get lost in the shuffle. Indeed, the news that is heard from pulpit and pew isn’t always good. Whether it’s “fire and brimstone” or bewailing lost influence, it often seems as if the church has lost sight of its mission. And yet the church possesses good news. This is news that if it is shared will resonate with the hearts of people who face such a wearying barrage of negativity. There are people out there, some who will enter and some who will never enter – at least not without a gentle invitation – into our houses of worship, who are looking for words of hope and peace. They want to worship a God who will open up the secrets of their hearts so that might find in God a source of healing grace. And so the question remains, if the stranger walks into the church what will she or he find? What will it take for them to say: God is in this place?

Excerpted from The Gifts of Love (unpublished mss.)

Why Should the Church Bother with Social Media?

Technological advances have always driven change, revolution and reform in church and society.  To give but one example, the printing press made the Reformation possible, or at least allowed the Reformation to spread quickly. With the invention of the printing press came a rise in the literacy rate, which meant that no longer would the people be dependent on a small cadre of religious leaders for their information. Now, the Bible could be put into their own hands, and they had control.

In the last century, first Radio, then Television, and finally the internet made it possible for people to connect in ways that opened up horizons never seen or heard before.  The world, in a sense, became smaller, even as one's grasp of the complexity of the world grew much larger.  No longer were we limited to the printed word, but now the oral and the visual could be shared broadly revolutionizing the way we see the world.  I remember growing up with the Vietnam War broadcast every evening on the national news.  By the time of the First Gulf War, I could watch the events occur live and in color from afar. 

Now at the dawn of the 21st century, we are seeing the impact of new forms of technology. They build upon what was, but they expand the influence and impact much more widely. Could the recent and current revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa have happened so quickly without the ability of organizers to quickly mobilize large sectors of the population? They could do this because of Facebook and Twitter, two tools of technology that are less than a decade old. We are living in a new age where communication is instant and global.

We’ve seen what Facebook and Twitter have meant to these Revolutions, but what about the church? What influence will they have on the way we live and work and serve together? Will we receive them, even as we received the printing press, or will we shun them? It would seem that the groups and communities that most effectively utilize these tools will have a better opportunity to communicate a message and shape the conversation.

I’m of the belief that we must understand and make use of these tools, which in and of themselves are benign. Like any tool they can be used for good or ill, and so we must understand their use and value and decide how we are to use them. So, with that in mind, our congregation decided to work with Doug Pagitt to host a day long seminar on Social media (this past Thursday). This seminar is called a Social Phonics Boot Camp – for good reason. We rapidly moved through a “basic training” in the philosophy and use of social media – from Facebook to YouTube, from blogs to internet radio.

Although much of the day was hands-on, we began where we should – with the development of a Social Media philosophy. Why do this? Why use social media? Why not stick with the tried and true – like the mail and the printed word? What does this media add to our mission? Every church and every church leader must ask these kinds of questions, and the answers will prove enlightening and perhaps even revolutionary.

I want to close my comments with a word about my involvement with blogging. Doug asked me to help him with that portion of the seminar because I’m a pastor who blogs regularly. I didn’t provide the technical expertise, I helped with the philosophy. I started blogging five years ago (February 2006) because I like to write and I needed an outlet. As a blogger, I’m my own editor (unfortunately that includes being my own copy editor!) I started out just writing whatever came to mind, mostly about religion or politics, but I don’t know that I had really thought about why I was doing it. Then I read a piece that suggested that if you want to develop an audience you have to post regularly, and daily is best. So, I started to post daily, and continue to do so.

Still the question is why do this? And over time I’ve discovered that I have something to say, that there are people who find what I say helpful or useful, and that I can have a far larger audience through the blog than I can through my preaching or my teaching ministry. Now, I don’t know the extent of my influence. That’s not something easily gauged. I can check to see how many visitors or readers I get, but that doesn’t tell me a whole lot. Sometimes I get emails from readers and there are the comments that come. But here’s the basic philosophy. I believe that there are many different messages out there. Some of these messages, whether political or religious, can be harmful and destructive. My hope is that the words shared here are different. I pray that they lift up those who are struggling with life and with faith. I pray that these words might be healing, and I pray that they contribute to the common good. My voice is only one voice, but when we join our voices, then good things happen.

My word to my colleagues in ministry and leadership in the church, especially among progressive and moderate communities of faith – consider carefully this new technological revolution. We are entering what Doug calls the Inventive Age, an age that demands that we  recognize that change is happening quickly, and that creativity is key to engaging this new reality.  It is my belief, that if we don’t learn to engage the current technologies and unleash our creativity, then the message we wish to share will get drowned out by competing messages. If you don’t believe me, just think about who controls the religious dimensions of TV, the last great media revolution!

THE CHURCH ALIVE IN THE SPIRIT

Prefatory Note:  For many years I've been writing and rewriting a book on spiritual gifts.  The book itself is part of my journey, and it has been revised as my own thinking and experiences have developed.  So, from time to time I'll be sharing bits and pieces of the manuscript as a way of encouraging a conversation and also to help me refine and develop an idea that drives my own thinking about church and ministry.

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Love of God and love of neighbor are the foundational principles of the Christian faith - even when we fail to abide by them. It is the love of God, which Jesus embodied, that defines the church that is made alive in the Spirit. Without love, all that is done in the name of Christ is for naught (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Thus, the mark of a church that is moving in the power of the Spirit is that it exhibits the kind of love that Jesus lived and taught.

A living and vibrant church is one that is marked by love and is committed to justice and mercy for all. It is one that is hospitable, gracious, compassionate, and committed to serving others. It is also marked by vibrant worship. Indeed, it is a community that looks beyond its own walls and sees fields ripe for harvest, fields in which the Spirit is already present and at work. We hear the question, "where can I go, that the Spirit is not already there?" In the words of the Psalmist, we pray:

Where can I go from your spirit?

Or where can I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there;

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there (Ps. 139:7-8).

Knowing that the Spirit is present, the church's vision is not limited to "religious work." Our work as the Spirit endowed community encompasses all of life's experience, from politics to family life to popular culture. It is, admittedly, the goal and not the reality. But guided by the Spirit we can envision a time when the church, empowered by the Spirit, will not be cliquish, inward looking, protective of turf, or suspicious of new people and new ideas.

We start from the premise that the Spirit of God is already present in the church and in the world. That is the message of Pentecost. Although some might take from Pentecost the idea that when the Spirit moves it is with loudness and spectacle, such an interpretation would miss the point. We do not experience the presence of the Spirit as either loudness or coerciveness. The Spirit may come as a mighty wind, but the Spirit also comes as a gentle breeze inviting us to share in the Spirit's gifts of service to the world. Discovery of spiritual gifts leads to the realization that every person in this world has God-given purpose. With the Spirit present, all things become knew, including our relationships with our God and with our neighbor. No longer will we look at life from a human point of view (2 Cor. 5:16).

What then is the nature of this Spirit that animates and empowers the church and enables both vertical (divine-human) and horizontal (human-human) relationships? What is this life giving force that is present in our churches and in our lives? God is, we confess, spirit. God is without material form, and yet God is something more than an ephemeral wisp of smoke - as if to say, God is there and yet not there. Mindful of the limits of human images and metaphors, we confess that God is more than an impersonal force that can be manipulated for human benefit. That is, God is something more than the "Force" of the popular Star Wars sagas. However we understand personhood, the biblical portrayal of the Holy Spirit is that of an intimate presence of God in human life. This Spirit is a divine presence that is both personal and free from human manipulation; as the immanent presence of God, the Spirit remains a transcendent "determining subject" who is free to act. With regard to the Spirit, we cannot merely say the right words or perform the proper rituals and expect the Spirit to act. When we experience the Spirit's presence and activity, we do so with openness to the unexpected. But, when the Holy Spirit acts in our lives, we are awakened to new possibilities for life and we are energized to carry them out.

Creating Communities of Faithful Service

Diversity and unity seem so opposite and contradictory. Yet, they are both hallmarks of the Spirit endowed community of faith. Americans are by definition individualists, even “rugged individualists.” We honor those who “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” Square-jawed John Wayne represents the vision of the “can-do” spirit of American life. As Christians, many Americans have cultivated a similar understanding of the church. We honor those who represent the entrepreneurial spirit. We commend those who are willing to take risks, to try new things, to blaze new trails. There is value in this spirit of adventure, this willingness to go it alone if necessary. But the church is not a gathering of independent individualists, it is a community gathered and formed by the grace and love of God. It is a body, a system that is more than the sum of its parts. It is diverse but it is also one.

The Spirit’s gifts create within the church this unity in diversity. As we discover and begin to understand these gifts of the Spirit, we will begin to realize that we are dependent on each other. Therefore, we have a duty to work for the common good (1 Cor. 12:7), to build up the body (1 Cor. 14:12). As a body whose members depend on each other, when one suffers, all suffer, when one rejoices, all rejoice (Rom. 12:15; 1 Cor. 12:7, 25-26). Therefore, when a family suffers the death or illness of a loved one or loses a job, the community comes alongside and provides a meal, housekeeping assistance, or just an ear to listen.

This support for one another is the essence of body building, which comes naturally to the Spirit-gifted community. It comes without guilt inducing coercion or expectation of something in return. Such selfless acts come out of a sense of love for the body, a love that is rooted in the grace that is the foundation of the Spirit’s gifts. But, for this grace to become evident, our giftedness must be feed and nourished by our relationship with the living God, whom we know in the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, our ability to hear and respond to this call to use gifts to build the body is fed spiritually as we attend to our prayers, our study, our worship, and our fellowship with one another.

The key to understanding the role the gifts play in the life of the church is to think in terms of the health of the human body. A healthy body is one that has harmony and balance, with every part working together as one. As with the human body, this balance within the body of Christ lasts only temporarily. It must be continually attended to or it falls out of harmony. Therefore, even as we must continually attend to proper diet and exercise to keep our own bodies in proper working order, the same is true of the body of Christ. Spiritually healthy churches are ones that emphasize worship, prayer, study, teaching opportunities, and fellowship. These are the foods and vitamins that nourish the body.

Proper diet, however, is not enough. Our bodies also need exercise or our muscles will atrophy. By using our gifts to teach, to build houses for the homeless, calling on the home bound, leading grief support groups, to lead worship, we build and strengthen the body of Christ. When we use our gifts we help create an environment where God’s message of reconciliation can take root and lives will be changed.

Church in the Inventive Age -- Review

CHURCH IN THE INVENTIVE AGE. By Doug Pagitt. Minneapolis: Sparkhouse Press, 2010. 114 pages.

Whether we’re ready or not, we have entered the “inventive age,” so says Doug Pagitt, pastor of Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis. Of course, other writers have suggested other names for this new age that we’ve entered. Consider that Harvey Cox has called this the Age of the Spirit,” and Phyllis Tickle speaks of the “Great Emergence.” Whatever you want to call it, the world is changing and we can embrace the changes, resist them, or adapt as best we can – sort of survive. Doug puts it this way:

We live in the midst of inescapable change. Maybe this thrills you. Maybe this scares you. Regardless, the changes happening right now in American society mean every cultural institution, every community, every individual has a choice to make: We can either be in on the change or we can be left behind. (p. 3).

The choice is rather stark, but real.

Church in the Inventive Age is a rather brief and even breezy book. As Doug notes early on the focus is on the big idea and not necessarily the details – like you’ll find in a book such as American Grace by Robert Putnam and David Campbell. The first three ages will be familiar to most readers – the Agrarian Age, the Industrial Age, and then the Information Age. There are churches that still exist, and may even thrive that represent each of these patterns, but even the information age is giving way to something new, something that will focus on collaboration and creativity. But, in focusing on the future and on change, Pagitt doesn’t want us to jettison the path, but rather to make sure we don’t get stuck in the past

So, what are the first three ages and how does the church exist in them? The first age is the Agrarian Age, and interestingly this was the age into which the American Republic was born. This was an age in which the people were dependent on the land and on each other. In this age the church was often structured around the parish – that is, it was geographically defined. You didn’t go looking for something different, at least not very often. Besides, most communities were mono-cultural, and churches were defined by those cultures. And for the most part the churches themselves, as buildings, were fairly simple structures. . And the dominant image of minister/church leader was that of pastor or shepherd, who was charged with caring for the flock. I’m assuming that this image is deeply ingrained in the psyche’s of many, even in this age of massive change.

The second age, the Industrial Age, emerged on the American scene in the 19th century, taking hold first in the north and then later making headway in the south. This is the age of urbanization and massive immigration. Here the farm is replaced by the factory as the primary social/cultural image. Instead of dependence the metaphor of the age might be that of repeatability – Henry Ford! The church of this age, as it tried to respond to the changes remained ethnically monocultural, even if the community itself was diverse. And the simple structures of the past gave way to what Pagitt refers to as “fortresses with smokestack-like steeples and red brick facades" (in his presentation at Theology after Google, Doug showed us a slide of the former Methodist Church that Solomon’s Porch took over that looks very much like the one in this metaphor). This is also the age in which denominations began to gain strength, and the pastor was called to teach the denomination’s theology, and so we shouldn’t be surprised to see the expansion of seminaries.

Finally we come to the Information Age. You may be wondering – isn’t that the age we’re in currently? Well, apparently not. This is the age of the suburb and the megachurch. With few exceptions, those who are by definition Caucasian can mix and be Americanized. Schools and Education are emphasized, and thus not only in the public field but Christian education has its hey day. Churches become learning centers, and the pastor is teacher/CEO. Of course in this era, bigger is better! Or is it?

The Information Age, which emerged just yesterday, or so it seems, has begun to lose its hold on the populace, which is increasingly disenchanted by the way things are going. It’s not that mega-churches are going away, but more and more people are looking for alternatives. In the Inventive Age the focus is on creativity in a context where the future remains unknown. There is a great lack of certainty, which makes long term planning difficult! This is the age of more dynamic forms of media, such as blogs and social media (Facebook and Twitter), which allows for much more creativity and collaboration across vast spaces in the world. Pagitt writes: “The Inventive Age is one in which inclusion, participation, collaboration, and beauty are essential values. The values of the previous age still exist, but in different, even subservient, roles” (p. 30). In this new age size might not matter all that much, with focus being placed on participation. The pastor, while still teaching, preaching, and leading, will put her or his focus on creating space for “open-source faith experiences.” That is, making a place for the people be spiritually creative.

If we’re to understand these different ages, we must understand what makes for culture and cultural change. Pagitt uses four images – head (thinking), heart (values), gut (aesthetics), and hands (tools). In each age these cultural components exist, but in different ways, and with different components having greater sway. What is true of previous ages is true of the Inventive Age, which must concern itself with each aspect of culture. And to survive in this age there must be collaboration between those who emphasize different aspects – and thus there is need for collaboration between evangelical and mainline (that word should get the attention of those in both camps that would rather not engage the other). So what must the church be doing in this new age? According to Pagitt, it must be engaged in remaking the culture. That is, even as we adapt to culture, we must be engaged in its creation – lest we be left behind.

So, what shall we do? That may depend on where we find ourselves – we have, according to Pagitt, three options. We can exist for, with or as the Inventive Age. To live for the Inventive Age is to take what we have and bring it to bear on and in the new age. As I read the book, I saw my own church in this position. We’re keeping alive an older – industrial age – model in many ways, but there is something valuable to bring to the table, even as the church makes room for new things. The key here is being authentic to yourself. I appreciated this word from Doug because some in the Emergent Movement give off the vibe that the older Mainline churches are essentially old hat. Doug seems, at least here, to give room for older traditional churches to play a significant role in the future.

Perhaps the most difficult situation to be in is to live with the Inventive Age. In essence this stature means being a church within a church. Many churches have tried to have both traditional and contemporary styles, though this doesn’t often work easily. But the point is finding ways to make room within the structure for younger generations. Success here requires being willing to walk alongside each other as equal partners and learn from each other. That requires incredible trust, which isn’t easy to build. It also means being loose with the furniture! I’ll leave that one to your imagination. And as Doug points out, “churches that do the ‘with’ relationship well often end up becoming separate congregations for all the right reasons” (p. 94).

Finally there is the church that lives “as the Inventive Age.” This is the church that’s being born now. It may be, like Doug’s one that lives within a building, or it could be one like Koinonia, a church launched and led by Kimberly Knight that exists in Second Life, a virtual reality. Such realities exist in what Doug calls “perpetual beta.” They’re always changing and adapting – much like Facebook, which never goes down completely, but recreates itself on the fly. It may be multilingual in that it brings together ancient and modern symbols and realities. It is an age of “coulds,” where the past is curated for service to the future and meaning is central. And its not simply creating meaningful spiritual experiences for the individual – so that the focus gets put on personal salvation. No, what the Inventives long for are “spiritual communities in which their faith matters – not only to them, but to the world around them” (p. 102). In this movement forward, there is no “target audience,” so don’t think this is just about 20-somethings!

So, what should we expect about the future church? We can’t really know all the particulars, we must be ready to adapt and grow with the changing times. Instead of using the metaphor of a road, Pagitt suggests that of flight. A road moves from one location to another, with flight the space is open. What we must do in setting the flight plan is account for the variables and risks that we will encounter, and then head out!

As I noted at the beginning of the review. This is a fast reading book that is big on big ideas and not on details. As a historian I could get picky on the time lines, but that’s not the point. Key here is getting the sense that our churches represent different ages, and that all four ages are existing simultaneously. It’s also key to know that the faith structures of the past ages aren’t bad or wrong, but they don’t work for everyone, including a growing number of younger people. There are other places to go for deeper analysis, but what I find useful here is that it can open us up to a conversation about the world that we inhabit and the tools and experiences that we all bring to the conversation. Pick up and read Church in the Inventive Age and begin the conversation.

"The Past is Our Constant Companion"

I am a historian by training, which means that I have a certain concern about the past.  Indeed, I find much that is valuable in the past.  I also live in an ever-changing world that needs to move into the future and not get stuck in the past.  As the pastor of a congregation with a relatively long and in many ways glorious history, I know the temptation to stay with what is tried and true, and yet . . .

So, what shall we do?  I am intrigued by comments made by Doug Pagitt in his latest book Church in the Inventive Age (Sparkhouse Press, 2010).  Doug shared with us some of the insights that make up this book at the Theology after Google conference last March.  I'll be giving a full review when I finish the book, but knowing that Doug is one who is seen by many as cutting edge -- emergent, etc. I found these words intriguing.  He writes that while churches can get stuck in the past, or on the other hand throw off the past with no regard to the strengths of our history, neither approach is helpful.

The past is not our standard.  It is not the test of whether something is right or good.  But it's also not an albatross we need to shuck off as quickly as possible.  The past is our constant companion.  It is always with us.  The question is what do we do with it -- return to it, let it rule, or take its best efforts with us into the future?  (pp. 7-8).

So what shall we do with our history?  Do we cart it around with us as if museum pieces?  Do we dwell in the past?  Or do we let the blessings of our history help frame for us a sense of the journey that our spiritual ancestors took, giving us guidance and wisdom for our journey?  These are questions worth pondering.  

Are you Religious or Spiritual?

I have been spending the past couple of days in San Diego at the General Minister and President's National Pastor's Conference of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  My friend, Diana Butler Bass, has been the speaker.  On Wednesday morning she laid out the context for the way in which we do ministry in this day and age.  In the afternoon she dealt with perceptions of the church, or religion, and spirituality.  All the polls tell us that there is a growing number of people out there who are uncomfortable with traditional religion.  Many of them describe themselves as spiritual but not religious (apparently about 25% of the population -- and more so among those under 35 and living west of the Rockies!). 

So, as we who are in the "religious profession" must take stock of these trends.  We must ask ourselves about context and perception.  Although a majority (55% in a Newsweek/WP poll) said they were both spiritual and religious, suggesting that for many there are possibilities for renewal in what is loosely defined as "spiritual," the question then is:  What do these terms mean?  If you did word association, what words would you use for each?  Then ask yourself where you stand in the mix.  And finally, as you look at these words, do you see one side of the equation as positive and the other being negative?

And just to get the process going I want to share a YouTube video that Diana shared with us,  It's from a British comedy team called Mitchell and Webb.  It's called the Rude Vicar.  Hopefully, that's not how most of us clergy come off, but the perceptions of the church and religious leaders are rather negative -- and it's not just the media's fault! 

Transforming Acts: Adventurous Theology for the Twenty-first Century (Bruce Epperly)

For Disciples, the Book of Acts, has been a central text.  Early Disciple leaders like Alexander Campbell looked to it for a model of church life and expansion.  Acts has also become a key text for the missional movement, and I have looked to it as a guide for our congregation's expansion of ministry in the community.  So, I was pleased when Bruce Epperly suggested writing a series of columns on this most important text.  With this post, we begin a journey through Acts!

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Transforming Acts:

Adventurous Theology for the Twenty-first Century

Bruce G. Epperly

Annie Dillard advised people attending church to put on crash helmets and wear seats belt in the pews because what we invoke in church is life-changing and life-shaking. God, like Aslan the Christ-figure described in C.S. Lewis’Chronicles of Narnia, is not tame, but transforming, lively, and awesome. When God shows up in the confluence of divine call and human response, surprises abound. The fourteen billion year and one hundred billion galaxy adventure of our universe should fill us with awe and wonder, not only at the grandeur of the universe but the Creative Wisdom that brought forth – still brings forth - majestic galaxies and the intricacy of our own bodies, minds, and spirits.

Over the next several weeks, I will be reflecting on Acts of the Apostles as a primer for today’s adventurous Christians. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel proclaimed that one of the primary religious virtues is “radical amazement” and this sense of amazement is what we find throughout Acts of the Apostles. Some suggest that Acts of the Apostles is an idealized account of what the church can be when it is truly spirit-centered; others see Acts as a description of the honeymoon period of the church, when the church was unfettered, free, and open to divine surprises at every turn. Still, Acts of the Apostles is an important text for Christians today. It is an invitation to a holy adventure in which we expect great things from God and great things from ourselves. It is an open door to experiencing beauty, wonder, and miracle in our own lives. Our universe is far from domesticated and leaps of quantum energy enliven our own lives and the world around us. Today’s churches need to be surprised and set free to find God in the most expected places, including within the church itself.

The author of Psalm 8 captured the wonder of the universe long before the first moon landing or photographs from the Hubble telescope.

O Lord, Our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You set your glory above the heavens….

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

The moon and the stars you have established;

What are human beings that you are mindful of them,

Mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,

And crowned them with glory and honor.

In the immensity of the universe, in which our solar system is but a dot, God is working in our lives, giving us the gifts of creativity, artistry, technology, and spirituality. A great God, beyond imagination, is moving in our little world, is calling us to be partners in the creative process. Despite its cosmic insignificance, our little world is the portal to the divinity who makes holy all planets and galaxies.

I believe that Acts of the Apostles is a guidepost for adventurous living and a challenge to Christians to open their imaginations and hearts to God’s presence, moving in the cosmos, our congregations, our lives, and the planet. Acts presents us with a Spirit-filled world and invites us to embrace a Spirit-centered life of prayer, healing, hospitality, adventure, diversity, and justice-seeking.

I see Acts of the Apostles as a post-modern gospel, describing a church at the margins, making it up as it goes along, open to astonishment and new ways of seeing God’s presence in the world. The margins for these first people of the Way of Jesus were also the frontiers of faith. Just as the Spirit is unfettered, so too is the Way of Jesus that takes us into all the world and embraces creation in all its diversity of race, culture, religious practice, and life style. Our parents in the faith balanced fidelity to the God of Jesus Christ with an awareness of religious and cultural pluralism. They knew they had to break through their own parochial understandings of God to be faithful to God. They knew that they had to relativize – and challenge – the Laws of God given to Moses to follow in God’s new pathways of the Spirit. In the spirit of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, they did not reject God’s covenant with the Jewish people, but saw that evolving covenant as unfettered and all-embracing, welcoming and declaring “clean” all the nations of the earth. That is our calling, too – to embrace the past as we awaken to new dimensions of fidelity for our time.

So, be ready for a spiritual adventure! Strap on your safety belt as you open yourself to God’s vision for our time, reflected in the transforming words of Acts of the Apostles. God is still moving in our world; God is still speaking in our lives; God’s faithfulness is everlasting and God’s mercies are new every morning. We need not be afraid of pluralism, for God is our companion as we faithfully and creatively respond to wondrous diversity of human culture and spirituality. We can become the people of the Way – the everyday mystics, healers, and visionaries – as we venture forth into the frontiers of the twenty-first century.

Bruce Epperly is a seminary professor and administrator at Lancaster Theological Seminary, pastor, theologian, and spiritual companion. He is the author of seventeen books, including Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living, a response to Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. His  Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry, written with Katherine Gould Epperly, was selected 2009 Book of the Year by the Academy of Parish Clergy.    His most recent book is From a Mustard Seed: Enlivening Worship and Music in the Small Church, written with Daryl Hollinger.

Becoming Christ's Body in the Eucharist

There are Christian traditions that believe that when consecrated the elements of bread and wine/juice become the body and blood of Christ.  There are other traditions that believe that the bread and wine are merely memorials of Christ's death and burial.  For those of us who are Disciples of Christ, there is a tendency to take a memorialistic perspective, one that emerged largely in reaction to the more literalist understandings of the real presence of Christ in the eucharistic elements.

There is another way of looking at the eucharist, one that holds on to the idea of presence without locating that presence in the elements themselves.  The idea here is that the presence of Christ is found in the body -- that is the congregation.  And the congregation isn't simply the institution of the church, but the gathering of the body of Christ around the Table. 

In a book published nearly 20 years ago, Keith Watkins explored in some detail the patterns of prayer at the Table.  He did this so as to challenge Disciples to examine their practice so that the meaning of the meal can be understood and lived out.  Too often our time at the table is sloppy and irreverent, but more importantly our practice often has little theological grounding. 

Among the implications that Keith notes in his connection of the eucharist to the doctrine of the church as body of Christ is that "in the celebration of the eucharist, the congregation becomes what it already is:  Christ's body."

He goes on to define what this means (I'm including a rather extended quotation from Keith's book Celebrate with Thanksgiving):

The way that the Sunday service is structured and the contents of its several parts are the means by which this realization takes place.  Congregants assemble from their separated lives in the world.  The order of worship focuses their attention upon God and upon God's love and justice.  Despite the distractions and sins that have accumulated during the week, worshipers are drawn once again into the orbit of God's redeeming love in Jesus Christ.  They listen to readings from scripture that tell the stories of God's work long ago.  They hear a sermon showing how God continues to work in these same ways in life today.  By now, the people have been welded together again into a strong and unified assembly.  They are now ready to bring their life in the world more directly into God's presence.  In the prayers of thanksgiving, confession, and intercession the people remember what has taken place as they have tried to live faithfully through the week.  All is offered God with the entreaty that God's will for creation and all it's creatures will be fulfilled.

The intentions of these prayers are also expressed in the the physical elements that now become the focus of the service.  Offerings of money and the bread and communion-wine for the eucharist are brought to the table.  Together these emblems depict the natural world of "blood, sweat, and tears," and of wheat and grapes, now converted into new forms.  The labors of natural life become the substance of purposeful life in families and communities.  The foods of the earth are converted into bread and wine, manufactured products that increase their nourishing properties and our joy in using them.  All of these meanings are compressed into the procession that brings these elements to their place upon the holy table.

At this point, the congregation and its leaders approach God in prayer.  They tell the story of God's creative and redeeming work, the story that reaches its climax in Jesus' death upon the cross and everlasting life wit God.  They express in words their sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving that the entire service seeks to present to God.  They ask that Christ's life in them be renewed and that they be strengthened to be the body of Christ in the world.  They they receive back the bread and communion-wine as sure signs that God has heard their prayer and will answer it.  At this point, the eucharist is complete and the church has once again become what it already is:  the body of Christ.  (Keith Watkins, Celebrate with Thanksgiving, Chalice Press, 1991, pp. 38-39). 

As you can see it's not just the prayers or the elements, but the way that the service itself is formed that helps provide the context for the congregation to become the body of Christ at the table.  As I read this, I realize that our practice at CWCC doesn't mirror everything that is present in Keith's discussion.  We don't have the procession of the elements nor do we have prayers of confession or of the people.  After the sermon I offer a Pastoral Prayer, something that has emerged over time and has largely replaced the other forms of prayer.  We have a prayer at the offering and we have a prayer for the elements.  But the basic order is present, as we move toward a climax at the Table, for it is there that community gathers to receive a sign that Christ is present in their midst.  I'd like to invite a conversation about ways in which we can strengthen our practice at the Table so that we might become more fully the body of Christ on earth.

Table Grace -- A Sermon

Luke 7:36-50

H.L. Mencken described a Puritan as a "person with a haunting fear that someone, somewhere is happy."1 Unfortunately that description could apply to many Christian communities. Churches are often places of discord, abuse, and fountains of hate, even though this stands in contrast to Jesus’s message of grace, love and forgiveness. This attitude is often enabled by a legalism that is contrary to Jesus’ message of freedom, healing, and acceptance.

Unfortunately, this reality has led large numbers of people to conclude that the church of Jesus Christ is the last place to go if you’re looking for a word of hope or happiness. The word on the street is that churches are places of ostracism, exclusion, and condemnation, where no one dares to laugh, lest they offend God and their neighbor. I hope that’s not true here, but that’s the reputation we must deal with!

1. AN INVITATION TO DINNER

This reputation of legalism and exclusiveness isn’t new. You see it on display in the attitudes of Simon the Pharisee and his friends, who are sharing a meal with Jesus, as they responded to a woman who enters their meeting without an invitation. But, not only wasn’t she on the guest list, but she was a known sinner; a woman who lived across the tracks and down the back alley. It’s possible that some of the people in that room knew her by more than reputation, but they would never admit to it. Yes, whatever it was that she had done in life, she now lived as an outcast. She was a persona non grata – a person without grace.

When she entered the room, she went over to where Jesus lay at table and knelt before him. As she knelt down, she began to weep uncontrollably, bathing his feet with her tears. Then, perhaps unconsciously, she unloosened her hair, something no woman did in polite company, and began to dry his feet with her hair. Finally she began to kiss his feet and anoint them with the costly perfume she had brought with her in an alabaster jar. These actions, not just those of the woman, but those of Jesus as well, scandalized Simon. How could Jesus, he wondered out loud, let this sinner, this unclean person, touch him like that? It was unseemly, even obscene. Here, he was supposedly a prophet of God, allowing himself to be touched by an unclean woman. Surely no self-respecting prophet would let such a thing happen.

2. THE STORY

Simon’s outburst, led to a brief story. Jesus responded to Simon by telling him a parable about two debtors. One man had been five-hundred denarii, which was a lot of money, and the other had received fifty denarii. Now, fifty is quite a bit of money – maybe two months’ salary, but it’s nothing in comparison to the 500, which might be equal to a couple of year’s salary. When it came time to repay the debt, neither of these borrowers could repay, and so the lender forgave the debts rather than casting the men into debtors’ prison. Then, Jesus asked Simon: "Which of them will love him more?" With reluctance Simon admitted that it was the one who owed the most who loved the most.

Yes the woman was a sinner, but so was Simon. The only difference was that she recognized this fact, perhaps because her sins might have been more obvious. So, it would seem that since she had been forgiven more, she loved more. Simon, believing he was sin-free and pious, had little use for the woman or forgiveness. And therefore, unlike her, he had no need to show gratitude to God or anyone else.

The woman’s actions seemed scandalous, but not only were they acts of gratitude, they contrasted strongly with the actions or lack thereof of Simon. You see, Simon had invited Jesus to dinner, but he failed to act as a proper host. That’s because a proper host greets the guest with a kiss and anoints with oil. The host also makes sure that the guest’s feet are washed. Simon didn’t do any of this for Jesus, but this “sinful” woman did what Simon refused to do.

You see, Simon’s problem was that, like us, he had different categories of sin. So, he concluded that whatever sins he might have committed, they were nothing compared to the sins of this woman. She was impure, perhaps even a woman of ill repute. But Jesus responded to his unspoken sentiment by saying: "those who are forgiven little, love little" (vs. 47).

3. THE TABLE OF GRACE

Well, I’ve been in the church all my life, and I’ve seen the “good, the bad, and the ugly” in the church. I’ve seen families disown their children in the name of God, and I’ve heard Christian leaders utter racial slurs and speak hatefully of others. I’ve seen churches split over such little things as the color of the carpet or the doors. I wish I could say that I wasn’t part of the problem, but I know I’m as guilty as anyone else. Certainly, God is weeping at seeing us fight, gossip, and defaming others. Perhaps we’ve not yet understood the message of grace. Perhaps we’ve not understood the depths of our own sinfulness, and the promise of forgiveness. And, so because we think we have little to be forgiven of, we show very little love to others, especially those who are different from us.

As we come to the Table of the Lord this morning, it’s appropriate to confess to God that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and grace. It’s also important to remember that the table isn’t just for the saints. It’s also for sinners. If this isn’t true, then none of us would have the right to come to the table.

The good news is that the Table of the Lord is truly a place where sinners gather to receive a word of grace and comfort. Bread and Cup are signs of Jesus' body and blood, which beckon us forward so we can find peace, hope, and joy. This is a table of grace that’s open to anyone who recognizes the need for that grace. It doesn't matter what you’re wearing or how you look or even how much money you make. In welcoming both the woman and Simon, Jesus welcomes all of us into his family.

It may sometimes seem like we’ve heard this message of forgiveness one too many times. Shouldn’t we have already gotten the message, so that we can move onto bigger and better things? Simon’s response to this woman, who entered his home without an invitation, reminds us that we can never hear this message too often. Indeed, it is this message of forgiveness and grace that will allow us to live out our core value of acceptance. As a church we’re able to accept others, because we’ve already been accepted by God.

This is a message that requires more from us than mere assent. It is, as William Willimon writes:

For Jesus, forgiveness is not some doctrine to be believed; rather, it is a feast to be received, a party to which the outcasts are invited, a gift to be received with empty hands. So Jesus not only tells a parable at the table, he becomes a parable, a sign to us of what God is up to in the world. In Jesus, God is busy inviting the whole world to the table.2

The invitation has been given to everyone who will hear and receive it: Come to the table and enjoy the bounteous grace of God, for your sins are forgiven, and you have been saved. Go in peace.

1. Quoted in Philip Yancey, What's So Amazing about Grace? (Zondervan, 1997), 29
2. William Willimon, Pulpit Resource, 29 (April, May, June 2001): 53. 

Preached by:
Dr. Robert D. Cornwall
Pastor, Central Woodward Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Troy, MI
Third Sunday after Pentecost
June 13, 2010

Being Church in Cyberspace (Kimberly Knight)

While at the Theology after Google conference in March, I had the opportunity to meet in person Kimberly Knight, someone I had earlier met on Facebook.  In the course of our conversations I discovered that she was ministering in an on-line world called Second Life.  Now, I've never ventured into the Second Life world, but found her descriptions of the potential for being church intriguing.  So, I asked her if she'd like to share with my readers something of what this all entails.  Here is the first offering, which is reposted from the blog Sacred Space in Cyberspace.  I invite you to explore with Kimberly this idea and share your thoughts -- how do you feel about worshiping in cyberspace?

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Just over 3 years ago when I had been in Second Life (SL) for barely a month I began to get an inkling of the powerful potential for ministry - real connections, real community in an online world. I am not entirely sure why it just made sense to me – it seemed completely natural while I was sure it was totally oddball.

I started with a little parcel on Skybeam Estates,

and opened a "theology pub" which is where Arkin Ariantho (founder of the Anglican Cathedral in Second Life) and I met. We were both still quite new to SL, a few weeks old maybe and we started talking and he was very excited. He saw great potential too. At the time he was focused on non-profit work but would soon start building the cathedral on my first sim Xenia. I had been talking a lot to the owner of the Skybeam (Charlene Trudeau) about the notion of a dedicated sim and before I really even knew what I was getting into, I looked into buying a sim.

Now this his was till a little early enough in the history of Second Life when Linden Labs was still figuring out all the non-profit and educational rates. So when I contacted them via phone and talked about a nfp sim for a student doing a project and they said that they would extend the reduced pricing to me for the first sim Xenia on which Koinonia is located. I had visited some lovely worship spaces – and one of my favorites is still the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Second Life. I was truly inspired by their community – and by their grasp of just how powerful this medium could be.

I built our first little church and thank goodness it does not rain in SL because we would have taken on water! We were a little catty-whompas but we held our first worship service on

Easter Sunday 2007 and we had a great group gathered.

After some time had passed and it was becoming more clear that this is a viable ministry and with the help of a colleague and friend (John who is still with us) (and we had a spiffy new sanctuary built by Troy Vogel).

Ordained ministers from the United Church of Christ and The United Methodist Church (Ian and Kathy) joined our leadership team and we offered five services a week. The Second Life bug was no-where close to wearing off and next I wanted very much to open an interfaith sim as a neighbor. A place for conversation and education – that sim is Qoheleth.

I worked hard on a grant through my church and received a one year grant from the E Rhodes and Leona B Carpenter foundation and it included money to maintain the sim for one year and a small stipend for my work as pastor of an open and affirming congregation.

All the while I was still in school full time at Candler School of Theology (I worked my new obsession into a directed study and later even an article for a Yale journal - I'll share that with y'all later). It was clear that the money would run out of course so I opened one more sim as a somewhat commercial endeavor, but also as a chance to offer small parcels of land to folks who wanted to give SL homesteading a try. That sim is Ex Nihilo and the revenue from rent on Ex Nihilo helps keep all the current ministries afloat. All three sims are still thriving and include many different ministries. PC(USA), Spiritual Peacemakers, A Catholic Meditation Center and more. We even have neighboring MCC community and the Anglican Cathedral which quickly outgrew Xenia.

There is so much to tell – so many lovely, heartwarming, true stories to tell (including the day my partner and I were married by a UCC pastor from Massachusetts IN Second Life). I hope you will come back often and meet the people, hear the stories and be a part of Koinonia in Second Life.

Grace and peace,

Kimberly – Sophianne Rhode in Second Life

Kimberly Knight received her M.Div. from Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  Prior to seminary she worked nearly five years as a pubic school activist in the city of Atlanta where she worked to help launch the very successful charter school - The Neighborhood Charter School.  She is the Circuit Rider for The Beatitudes Society, to which she brings more than fifteen years of experience across a broad spectrum of technology settings including multimedia production and instructional technology.  She currently serves as the pastor of an online congregation that has been gathering for two years in the cyber-world of Second Life. Kimberly, her partner and their two children are active members of Kirkwood United Church of Christ in Atlanta, Georgia.