Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Taking a Break
My wife, Diane, and I are taking a two month sabbatical trip to England and Eastern Europe to experience different forms of the church in those contexts. So I'm not going to be posting on this blog for the time being. Check out our trip blog at www.sabbaticalizers.blogspot.com.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Northumbria Community
Man, it's been a long time since I blogged here. Anybody out there still reading?
I just spent a week at the Northumbria Community in England. About a dozen people at my church are following the daily prayer pattern from there, so I wanted to go and see what it was like.
I haven't got space to describe this Community, so the best way to get oriented is to go to www.northumbriacommunity.org.
People have been saying, "So, how was it? What did you do? What did you learn?" And to be honest, it's hard to describe. This is a community of people that consists of about 7 or 8 who live full time in a 15th century manor house in the English countryside, and who build their days around four times of prayer -- and 250 or so "companions" scattered throughout the UK, plus a few in the US.
But I grasped a couple of things relevant to this blog about the "untied church." These folks are really untied. They don't travel anywhere to worship. They don't hold "church services" at the house. Sundays are days like every other, structured around morning, midday, evening and nighttime offices.
Which seems to be a growing phenomenon in Britain. My impression is that lots of people are living lives of disciplined Christian spirituality, prayer and service, but are not connected to congregations in traditional ways. I also suspect that they're flying completely under the radar of the statisticians who tell us that Christianity is dying in Britain because only 5% of British bottoms are in British pews on a given Sunday morning.
I also met a young woman who's part of a home-based church plant in Leeds consisting of families who gather on Sunday for a shared meal, and a selection of Scripture reading, prayer, discussion, personal reflection and whatever else comes up.
The point made to me by several people is that the whole weight of the Christian life is not loaded onto a 10:30 a.m. worship service and a busy round of church activities.
There's a definite downside to this. It felt a little bit loosey-goosey to me, and I wondered how much staying power some of these "fresh expressions" are going to have -- whether they will be able to nurture a faith that is more than ephemeral. Like it or not, we have institutions so that we won't have to be continually reinventing the wheel. It remains to be seen whether some post modern expressions of Christianity will be around long enough even to evolve.
But, the Northumbria Community is in its fourth decade and shows no signs of doing anything other than attracting more and more people to its brand of prayer-based spiritual life, focused on the two values of "availability and vulnerability." And, home based Christian communities are the original form of the church.
I'm interested in what's going on in England because I see it as a bit of glimpse into the future for us in Canada -- a couple of generations down the road of church decline and secularism. My wife and I are going back in June as part of a sabbatical to experience more deeply some of the ferment that is happening there, and to add to our reflections about a church that is increasingly "untied" from modern denominationally based structures.
I just spent a week at the Northumbria Community in England. About a dozen people at my church are following the daily prayer pattern from there, so I wanted to go and see what it was like.
I haven't got space to describe this Community, so the best way to get oriented is to go to www.northumbriacommunity.org.
People have been saying, "So, how was it? What did you do? What did you learn?" And to be honest, it's hard to describe. This is a community of people that consists of about 7 or 8 who live full time in a 15th century manor house in the English countryside, and who build their days around four times of prayer -- and 250 or so "companions" scattered throughout the UK, plus a few in the US.
But I grasped a couple of things relevant to this blog about the "untied church." These folks are really untied. They don't travel anywhere to worship. They don't hold "church services" at the house. Sundays are days like every other, structured around morning, midday, evening and nighttime offices.
Which seems to be a growing phenomenon in Britain. My impression is that lots of people are living lives of disciplined Christian spirituality, prayer and service, but are not connected to congregations in traditional ways. I also suspect that they're flying completely under the radar of the statisticians who tell us that Christianity is dying in Britain because only 5% of British bottoms are in British pews on a given Sunday morning.
I also met a young woman who's part of a home-based church plant in Leeds consisting of families who gather on Sunday for a shared meal, and a selection of Scripture reading, prayer, discussion, personal reflection and whatever else comes up.
The point made to me by several people is that the whole weight of the Christian life is not loaded onto a 10:30 a.m. worship service and a busy round of church activities.
There's a definite downside to this. It felt a little bit loosey-goosey to me, and I wondered how much staying power some of these "fresh expressions" are going to have -- whether they will be able to nurture a faith that is more than ephemeral. Like it or not, we have institutions so that we won't have to be continually reinventing the wheel. It remains to be seen whether some post modern expressions of Christianity will be around long enough even to evolve.
But, the Northumbria Community is in its fourth decade and shows no signs of doing anything other than attracting more and more people to its brand of prayer-based spiritual life, focused on the two values of "availability and vulnerability." And, home based Christian communities are the original form of the church.
I'm interested in what's going on in England because I see it as a bit of glimpse into the future for us in Canada -- a couple of generations down the road of church decline and secularism. My wife and I are going back in June as part of a sabbatical to experience more deeply some of the ferment that is happening there, and to add to our reflections about a church that is increasingly "untied" from modern denominationally based structures.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Hidden agendas
I got a call out of the blue the other week from a young woman who I thought must have left town because none of the church's communications with her received any reply. But, she's had a second baby, and, guess what? wants to have the baby baptized.
It was great to see her again after several years and what impressed me in talking to her was her intuitive grasp of some pretty deep theological concepts like grace and providence. Her approach to parenting and family life would benefit so much from being shaped and deepened through Christian community.
She was very wary of any hints about deeper involvement because of family demands and employment uncertainty. But she had this real openness of spirit, and really wanted to talk about the things that matter to her deeply.
I was fighting with myself to resist the temptation to keep on steering the conversation away from her concerns onto the church's needs. I haven't sorted the how-to stuff out in my mind, but I'm becoming more convinced, though, that we have to resist exactly this temptation -- to bring a preset agenda to our interactions with people. Now, she came to the church asking for the church's ministry. But ministry would seem to be establishing a supportive relationship with her and her family, so that they can begin discovering the presence of God in their lives -- and let that be the motivation for church involvement, not vice versa.
We need to help people discern what God is up to in their lives and build on that, rather than starting with the recruitment pitch.
It was great to see her again after several years and what impressed me in talking to her was her intuitive grasp of some pretty deep theological concepts like grace and providence. Her approach to parenting and family life would benefit so much from being shaped and deepened through Christian community.
She was very wary of any hints about deeper involvement because of family demands and employment uncertainty. But she had this real openness of spirit, and really wanted to talk about the things that matter to her deeply.
I was fighting with myself to resist the temptation to keep on steering the conversation away from her concerns onto the church's needs. I haven't sorted the how-to stuff out in my mind, but I'm becoming more convinced, though, that we have to resist exactly this temptation -- to bring a preset agenda to our interactions with people. Now, she came to the church asking for the church's ministry. But ministry would seem to be establishing a supportive relationship with her and her family, so that they can begin discovering the presence of God in their lives -- and let that be the motivation for church involvement, not vice versa.
We need to help people discern what God is up to in their lives and build on that, rather than starting with the recruitment pitch.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
How others see us
A young adult friend tagged a Facebook posting to me the other day. This is a young man raised in a church home, with passionately believing grandparents and parents. And for a time he followed in their footsteps, using his gifts of music to give expression to faith. But then something happened. Disappointment and disillusionment with the church, and the anti-religious writings that seem so daring to the young have combined to cause him to turn away, and to critique the "arrogance and hubris" of many Christians. Now, he says, he's interested in "making the world a better place."
I love him dearly, and I know where his passion comes from. I know in his heart he values his upbringing. And I know he really wants to make the world a better place -- don't we all. His heart is so much in the right place.
I wish he could have come with me last weekend to a conference in Hamilton put on by True City, a network of churches committed to working together 'for the good of the city." What blew me away was that these churches are all evangelical, and several have a long history with fundamentalism and separatism. But they were talking about their mission simply being to witness to the love of God in their neighborhoods, regardless of whether people become Christians. They talked about how important it is to love people, but not treat them as "a project." Their biblical texts were Jeremiah 29-- "Pray for the welfare of the city where God has put you" -- and Abraham's pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah.
The church has a pretty dismal history in many ways, and impressions of that history have stuck in the minds of many outside the church. But I think God is doing some pretty amazing and trasnformative things in many churches, and I pray (patiently) that those like my friend will come to see them.
I love him dearly, and I know where his passion comes from. I know in his heart he values his upbringing. And I know he really wants to make the world a better place -- don't we all. His heart is so much in the right place.
I wish he could have come with me last weekend to a conference in Hamilton put on by True City, a network of churches committed to working together 'for the good of the city." What blew me away was that these churches are all evangelical, and several have a long history with fundamentalism and separatism. But they were talking about their mission simply being to witness to the love of God in their neighborhoods, regardless of whether people become Christians. They talked about how important it is to love people, but not treat them as "a project." Their biblical texts were Jeremiah 29-- "Pray for the welfare of the city where God has put you" -- and Abraham's pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah.
The church has a pretty dismal history in many ways, and impressions of that history have stuck in the minds of many outside the church. But I think God is doing some pretty amazing and trasnformative things in many churches, and I pray (patiently) that those like my friend will come to see them.
Patience
One of my favorite writers is Eugene Peterson. He has a chapter in his book The Contemplative Pastor he writes that pastors are called to pray, to be poets (in the sense of awakening imagination through words) and to be patient. If ministry belongs to the whole people of God, then this applies to all those who live the life of faith.
It's the patience part that's really been on my mind lately. Here's why. The church I served amalgamated with another church five years ago. For five years, we've been the proud owners of two massive buildings -- one the building we meet in, the other a beautiful, 150 Gothic structure in the downtown of the city. Several times we have almost had it sold, but then something happened and it all fell through. I was going through my prayer journals today and noting the number of times I had prayed "Lord, please send somebody -- anybody -- to relieve us of the burden of this huge building!" There are long gaps in those prayers -- times when I'd obviously grown tired of praying and wondered if it was doing any good.
Then, completely out of the blue, along came a congregation made up of African and Caribbean immigrants, a charismatic congregation with tons of faith and big plans, who managed to put together the financing and bought it as their new home. It didn't go to some sleazy developer who was going to desecrate it by breaking it up or tearing it down. It went to a vibrant, lively, wonderful congregation of Christians who will bring worship and prayer and service into the heart of the city.
It hit me so powerfully that the reason we had not sold the church, and that all of our prayers seemed to be going unanswered, is that the people whom God intended to have that church had not come along yet. It was a real lesson in spiritual patience -- in "praying and not losing heart" as Jesus put it.
I got a phone call yesterday from a young woman I assumed had moved away from town. I baptized her first child -- also about five years ago -- and all communication had gone unanswered. But, they have had another baby, and she described to me the roller coaster of sickness, crisis and upheaval she and her family have been going through. Then today, reading through my prayer journals, I noted several times where I had prayed for them.
So often we want to play the role of the Messiah -- the can-do guys who "get it done." When God is calling us to engage in the imagining of God's future and to pray, persistently, patiently.
That's such an important aspect of our ministry with and among those whom I have been calling "affiliates."
It's the patience part that's really been on my mind lately. Here's why. The church I served amalgamated with another church five years ago. For five years, we've been the proud owners of two massive buildings -- one the building we meet in, the other a beautiful, 150 Gothic structure in the downtown of the city. Several times we have almost had it sold, but then something happened and it all fell through. I was going through my prayer journals today and noting the number of times I had prayed "Lord, please send somebody -- anybody -- to relieve us of the burden of this huge building!" There are long gaps in those prayers -- times when I'd obviously grown tired of praying and wondered if it was doing any good.
Then, completely out of the blue, along came a congregation made up of African and Caribbean immigrants, a charismatic congregation with tons of faith and big plans, who managed to put together the financing and bought it as their new home. It didn't go to some sleazy developer who was going to desecrate it by breaking it up or tearing it down. It went to a vibrant, lively, wonderful congregation of Christians who will bring worship and prayer and service into the heart of the city.
It hit me so powerfully that the reason we had not sold the church, and that all of our prayers seemed to be going unanswered, is that the people whom God intended to have that church had not come along yet. It was a real lesson in spiritual patience -- in "praying and not losing heart" as Jesus put it.
I got a phone call yesterday from a young woman I assumed had moved away from town. I baptized her first child -- also about five years ago -- and all communication had gone unanswered. But, they have had another baby, and she described to me the roller coaster of sickness, crisis and upheaval she and her family have been going through. Then today, reading through my prayer journals, I noted several times where I had prayed for them.
So often we want to play the role of the Messiah -- the can-do guys who "get it done." When God is calling us to engage in the imagining of God's future and to pray, persistently, patiently.
That's such an important aspect of our ministry with and among those whom I have been calling "affiliates."
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Subversive Spirituality
Evan is a boy in my church who celebrated his 9th birthday a couple of weeks ago. Even though his family is far from wealthy, he decided he didn't really need any birthday presents, so he instead he asked his friends to bring money to buy supplies for a school in Nicaragua. Our congregation has been developing a relationship with the Moravian Church in Bluefields, Nicaragua. We had a pastor from there visit with us for two weeks in October.
He expected to collect $150 or so, but word got out to family and he made a little speech at church and within two weeks he had over $1100.
I spend a lot of time and energy fretting because I don't think anybody around here is listening. Obviously, Evan had been listening. And what he heard sank deeply enough into his mind and heart that he did something quite extraordinary for a 9 year old -- forego birthday presents to help others.
I have just been re-reading "The Contemplative Pastor" by Eugene Peterson, and he talks about the "subversive" role of Christian leadership. Peterson describes effective pastoral ministry with these words: "I am undermining the kingdom of the self and establishing the kingdom of God. I am being subversive." This is all done with methods which, in a consumer culture, are widely regarded as pretty ineffective -- listening, talking, pointing to Jesus, worshiping and above all praying. I have often prayed for spiritual renewal in this church, and been disappointed because it didn't sweep through the congregation like wildfire. I was not prepared for that prayer to be answered in the form of a 9 year old boy.
There was a time when Evan's mother was an "affiliate" -- baptized and confirmed, on the membership role, but angry with God and absent from worship for a time. Married in the church, she found her way back. And the fruit of her rediscovery of faith -- well, it has been born in many ways -- but certainly has been born in the commitments of her little boy who simply declined to use his birthday as an occasion to live out a socially conditioned role as a consumer.
In a number of different ways, God has been showing me of late that the most powerful tool in our hands is faithful prayer and a subversive spirit.
He expected to collect $150 or so, but word got out to family and he made a little speech at church and within two weeks he had over $1100.
I spend a lot of time and energy fretting because I don't think anybody around here is listening. Obviously, Evan had been listening. And what he heard sank deeply enough into his mind and heart that he did something quite extraordinary for a 9 year old -- forego birthday presents to help others.
I have just been re-reading "The Contemplative Pastor" by Eugene Peterson, and he talks about the "subversive" role of Christian leadership. Peterson describes effective pastoral ministry with these words: "I am undermining the kingdom of the self and establishing the kingdom of God. I am being subversive." This is all done with methods which, in a consumer culture, are widely regarded as pretty ineffective -- listening, talking, pointing to Jesus, worshiping and above all praying. I have often prayed for spiritual renewal in this church, and been disappointed because it didn't sweep through the congregation like wildfire. I was not prepared for that prayer to be answered in the form of a 9 year old boy.
There was a time when Evan's mother was an "affiliate" -- baptized and confirmed, on the membership role, but angry with God and absent from worship for a time. Married in the church, she found her way back. And the fruit of her rediscovery of faith -- well, it has been born in many ways -- but certainly has been born in the commitments of her little boy who simply declined to use his birthday as an occasion to live out a socially conditioned role as a consumer.
In a number of different ways, God has been showing me of late that the most powerful tool in our hands is faithful prayer and a subversive spirit.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Will our children have faith?
Back after the crazy season.
If you're my age, you might remember that book from the early 80s by Christian education guru John Westerhoff III, Will Our Children Have Faith? I don't remember the book being all that useful, but the question has stuck with me. I guess what's brought it on is having just returned from a week long visit with my 14 month old grandson. His daddy is in seminary, studying for the ministry -- and I really wonder about the future of the church that they will be a part of.
A few other bits of grist for this mill. A while back, I read a short article by Nancy Ammerman in the Canadian version of Touchstone magazine, in which she wondered if Christians (especially the Protestant variety) have not pretty much given up on passing on their story to their children. The Sunday morning worship service with concurrent Sunday School is the norm and that's pretty much all the contact kids have with the church. Jews, Muslims, and other faith communities expect that children will be instructed in their religion outside the main gathering time of the week.
Robert Louis Wilken wrote in the last issue of First Things a perceptive comparison of Christianity and Islam. Islam has always understood itself to be a public religion in the sense that Islamic practice is lived out visibly. In the ideal of the Islamic state, religious practice becomes the cultural and legal norm. Christianity has evolved in a much different way, but, according to Wilken, it now finds itself at a disadvantage in terms of the future because in Europe and North America (excluding parts of the US) it has pretty much disappeared from the public square. Wilken has a particular Roman Catholic slant on things, but he's a wise guy, very learned, and I think he's got a point.
I alternate between days of optimism and days of discouragement and today I'm sliding towards the discouragement end of the scale. Faith is not just assent to a list of beliefs, but the deep imbibing of a narrative, a story, which becomes one's own story only after long exposure. The vast majority of Canadian children have been completely cut off from the Christian story to the point where even the traditional icons of Christmas have little or no meaning to them. And in our churches, we have capitulated to such an extent to aggressively proselytizing Sunday sports and other voracious activities, and have dumbed down our Christian education to accomodate teachers and parents who will make only the briefest commitment of time and effort, and we have abandoned age-old practices like family devotions -- so I really wonder what's going to become of the story in which faith has always taken root and grown.
Anybody out there want to try to cheer me up -- or just commiserate?
If you're my age, you might remember that book from the early 80s by Christian education guru John Westerhoff III, Will Our Children Have Faith? I don't remember the book being all that useful, but the question has stuck with me. I guess what's brought it on is having just returned from a week long visit with my 14 month old grandson. His daddy is in seminary, studying for the ministry -- and I really wonder about the future of the church that they will be a part of.
A few other bits of grist for this mill. A while back, I read a short article by Nancy Ammerman in the Canadian version of Touchstone magazine, in which she wondered if Christians (especially the Protestant variety) have not pretty much given up on passing on their story to their children. The Sunday morning worship service with concurrent Sunday School is the norm and that's pretty much all the contact kids have with the church. Jews, Muslims, and other faith communities expect that children will be instructed in their religion outside the main gathering time of the week.
Robert Louis Wilken wrote in the last issue of First Things a perceptive comparison of Christianity and Islam. Islam has always understood itself to be a public religion in the sense that Islamic practice is lived out visibly. In the ideal of the Islamic state, religious practice becomes the cultural and legal norm. Christianity has evolved in a much different way, but, according to Wilken, it now finds itself at a disadvantage in terms of the future because in Europe and North America (excluding parts of the US) it has pretty much disappeared from the public square. Wilken has a particular Roman Catholic slant on things, but he's a wise guy, very learned, and I think he's got a point.
I alternate between days of optimism and days of discouragement and today I'm sliding towards the discouragement end of the scale. Faith is not just assent to a list of beliefs, but the deep imbibing of a narrative, a story, which becomes one's own story only after long exposure. The vast majority of Canadian children have been completely cut off from the Christian story to the point where even the traditional icons of Christmas have little or no meaning to them. And in our churches, we have capitulated to such an extent to aggressively proselytizing Sunday sports and other voracious activities, and have dumbed down our Christian education to accomodate teachers and parents who will make only the briefest commitment of time and effort, and we have abandoned age-old practices like family devotions -- so I really wonder what's going to become of the story in which faith has always taken root and grown.
Anybody out there want to try to cheer me up -- or just commiserate?
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