Ecclesial Dreamer…

Anyone who knows me is aware that I have a great deal of respect for Doug Pagitt. He is an incredible ecclesial dreamer. He is an author of many great books (you should buy them all) but if you have never had a chance to hear him in person you are really missing out. I have never met anyone who thinks on his feet as well and process information as quickly and I love hearing him think out loud. Thankfully, there is www.dougpagittradio.com. Go check it out. Whether you agree with him or not you will not be disappointed. Just to whet the appetite, here is a link to a recent segment of the show that illustrates just one  of the many reasons why I really appreciate his work.

There is a conspiracy that is getting some shout outs in the online world I inhabit titled Advent Conspiracy that looks very interesting to me. There is an accompanying book -another to add to the queue. Today, there was an excerpt that made the rounds in Facebook:

“Spending less requires us to plan, research, and cultivate relationships-pursuits that are more taxing than flipping through the latest catalog or bingeing at the mall.” -Page 50-51, from the Advent Conspiracy book

I like this quote, and even though I have not read the book yet and don’t know the context, I can make an educated guess at what this idea is getting at. There is also an outstanding article by one of my favorite ecclesial dreamers, Chris Seay, titled The Religion of Consumerism that shines light on the whole thing.

As an ecclesial dreamer, I wonder if this can apply to the embodiment of church? Could it be that the mega-church or program driven church can be the same thing as a mall or shopping catalog? It seems to me that too often people equate numerically growing churches as being “blessed” but maybe they are just economically convenient. I have been in churches long enough to know that the typical Sunday morning production is financed by a small minority of the people who actually attend the event. When getting the weekly spiritual fix is as cheap and convenient as we make it, is it any wonder that people don’t really want to live out their faith as a communal way of life?

Contributing¹ to a smaller church requires (each and every one of) us to plan, research, and cultivate relationships—pursuits that are (much) more taxing than attending a church with great programs or binge consuming at the mega-church.

My old church is making this transition from a mid size church (when I was around) to a growing, developing mega-church (which it is today). Their current leadership has publicly stated that God is calling them to build a larger campus where they can do more for all the people God is bringing to them. (And as the church continues to be “blessed by God”, more and more people are losing the opportunities to contribute and participate in any meaningful (1 Corintians 12 kind of) way. Growing, successful churches need professional leadership. The Sunday morning production of the show requires high quality standards to appeal to the people who God is bringing. Contributions of the gifts of the people in the congregations are too time consuming and hard to coordinate. Even volunteers in the worship band may no longer make the cut. While there will always be openings in the children’s ministry program, if that is not your calling, all that is required (and encouraged) is to show up, enjoy the show, give the ecclesial “amen” and throw a bit of money in the pot.

I personally don’t believe that God calls churches to build bigger campuses. I tend to lean more in the direction of one of my favorite poems:

The Valley Of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
Where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights;
Hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine;
Let me find Thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley.

I suspect that the Advent Conspiracy is a great book and I am looking forward to reading it. I am quite certain, however, that shopping catalogs and malls are not going away any time soon. I am equally confident that small churches will continue to struggle to survive and the “blessed” churches will continue to grow. And I believe that just as the quote from the Advent Conspiracy alludes to in the realm of shopping, choosing the mega-church is the easy option. As more and more people make that choice, more is lost than gained.

This year we should all support the Advent conspiracy not just by supporting the digging of wells and giving of water, or avoiding shopping malls and debt. Maybe we can also skip the Sunday show and visit a homeless shelter, nursing home, or hospital. Or maybe instead of attending a church service we can invite our neighbors (what is their names again?) to our houses for brunch.

Maybe this year the birth of the liberating Jesus really will change the world.

1. by contributing, I do not mean putting money in the plate. I mean, exercising your gifts and sharing them with the community as in 1 Corinthians 12 [back]

As an ecclesial dreamer I have a place somewhere deep in my being that longs to love the faithful family of the people of God. I have loved many churches in my life. The church I attended from the sixth grade through high school graduation was tied to the private school I went to. I have few memories connections with the extended biological family on either my mother or my father’s side and in many ways this church was my family during the formative moments of my life. There were adults in that place who did not know my parents personally, but they knew me by name and invested themselves in me in ways that they still are not fully aware of.

When I left that church my senior year I began a convoluted journey from one community to another. Looking back at the crooked path it is difficult to tell which direction the journey is going. Involvement in Sunday School classes, two church plants, several worship bands and small groups later, there is still one place that has shaped me more than any other place. That was the last “real” church that I was associated with in any official, tangible way. The last two years of my participation in that community were without exception the most rewarding two years of my entire ecclesiological life. Our family relocated to the community and reordered our vocations to participate in this community. We like to think we gave a lot of ourselves to that place but the reality is that we received 100 times, more than we gave. I love that place with a depth that I will never fully be able to articulate.

When I became displaced from that community, a large and very real part of me was lost. Not too terribly long ago, some old friends invited me back to that place to occasionally sit in with the band. I knew that it was not the same place I had left but I welcomed the opportunity to see a handful of old friends and play my bass every now and then. Over the past several months this has become increasing difficult. In many ways I feel like a third wheel on a date with an ex-lover who has since given herself to another. It is awkward for everyone. Every word and action of the new happy couple emphasizes that this ex is not the same person. Over the years, both of us have changed in completely opposite directions. When the realization hits that even the memories of this past relationship are gone because the remembered no longer exists, it is like feeling the sense of loss all over again.

This past Sunday, I attended that church that I once loved — and that once loved me — for the last time. The direction, vision and practices of the new leadership in that place are headed along a completely different trajectory than the one we once shared together. And while I will never comprehend how there is no one left there who still affirms the things I thought we held in common, this past Sunday I realized fully that if there are any people left who are not following the party line, they are not finding a way to voice their convictions.

There is a part of me that feels an urge to speak for them and another part of me that realizes I am no longer a part of that community. My voice in no longer wanted in that place. And while I am just arrogant enough to think that it is needed, whether wanted or not, I am not arrogant enough to actually do anything about it. I want to convince myself that someone more qualified than myself will speak into the situation. But as an observer whose vantage point is growing more distant there is a sense that I feel the more estranged we become from one another the more we all lose.

In any case, it looks like the road ahead will continue to be just as convoluted as the one that brought me hear.

Salt of the Earth: A Christian Seasons Calendar 2009/2010 is now available

Placed in the home and office the Christian Seasons Calendar is a distinctive reminder of the Christian way of life. Given as a gift at baptisms, confirmations and weddings it encourages lives that are lived in God’s time. Christian educators find the Christian Seasons Calendar to be a valuable teaching resource with children and families.
This unique calendar opens with Advent. It does not begin with January 1 nor does it turn with the twelve months. Instead, its pages mark the celebrations of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter & Pentecost. The Christian Seasons Calendar tells the story of the gospel through the narrative of scripture and the imagery of art. Keeping time through the Christian Year in this way offers a distinctive means of remembering, and living in, the story of Jesus Christ.
In “A People’s History of Christianity” author Diana Butler Bass describes how the ancient Christian practice of hallowing time is taking a new form in this innovative calendar. Emerging from the missional life of University Hill Congregation in Vancouver, Canada the 2009/2010 edition features the work of ten contemporary Christian artists from Canada, the United Kingdom & the United States.

$14.95 with discounts for orders of ten or more

To order visit www.thechristiancalendar.com or phone 604-696-1295

“Few things are more important for Christians today than reclaiming the calendar as our time.” – Stanley Hauerwas
“This calendar brings fresh awareness to the essential sacredness of what is so easily profaned by hurry or sloth.” – Eugene Peterson
“I am so glad to see the emergence of this calendar because we Christians are in an emergency about time. This new calendar refers all our seasons back to the Lord of all time.” – Walter Brueggemann