Love and Sin
I grew up having the doctrine of original sin hammered into me. People are sinful - rotten to the core from conception. As a result, I always assumed the worst of people. Sin was a person’s defining character trait. And above all else they needed redemption - at whatever cost. So in interacting with people one focused on their depravity - seeing how they were sinful and even making sure they knew that as well.
The problem with that stance is that it makes it really hard to love one’s neighbor. And I mean really love them - not some silly “tough love” line about loving them too much to allow them to continue in sin. But loving them even amidst the mess. So in this mindset, when it was brought up that we should care for the poor who lost their homes in Katrina we were told that some of them are poor because of their sin. Or when its suggested that illegal immigrants should be treated with dignity and respect, some horrendous anecdote about a criminal act committed by an immigrant is mentioned. Or when its suggested that the homeless get fed, they are written off as undeserving addicts and alcoholics. The idea seems to be that if some sort of sin can be pinned on a person that gets us off the hook for having to love them.
But it can be dangerous to fall out of the habit to love. When we chose not to “in humility consider others better than ourselves” but instead dwell wholly on their faults we end up resorting to doing most things out of “selfish ambition and vain conceit.” Our needs reign supreme when we readily find excuses not to love others. Loving our neighbor then becomes a foreign concept.
Perhaps I’ve been too long in the emerging church world where loving others is just a given. Or perhaps spending the holidays with my family who thinks I’m an idealistic freak was a wake-up call. But it still shocks me when I encounter people who are genuinely confused as to why caring for the needs of others would be a motivating factor for doing anything. I want to believe love wins, but then I encounter so many people who can’t even fathom the concept. It’s just difficult when even the basic aspects of the faith can’t even be agreed upon.
Posted by Julie Clawson
Topics: Faith, mission, Emerging Church | 11 Comments »
At Year’s End
So I’m spending the week at my parent’s place in Taos, NM. It’s gorgeous here, but kinda crazy keeping up with the kids in a new environment (not to mention the high altitude). So blogging is going to be slow.
But as the year ends, I thought I’d do one of those year end lists that seem so popular. I have a post up at the Emergent Village blog where I look forward to 2009, but here I want to look back at the books I read this past year. With the arrival of Aidan and the move to Texas, I didn’t read anywhere near as much as I normally do. And there’s a few books on this list that I read something like four times :). Of this list the ones I would most recommend would be Caputo’s What would Jesus Deconstruct and The Great Emergence by Phyllis Tickle.
So here’s my year in books 2008 -
Theology/Church
The Blue Parakeet by Scot McKnight
The Great Emergence by Phyllis Tickle
The Fidelity of Betrayal by Peter Rollins
Finding Our Way Again by Brian McLaren
Jesus: Made in America by Stephen J. Nichols
My Beautiful Idol by Peter Gall
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs
Speaking of Faith by Krista Tippett
Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright
The New Christians by Tony Jones
Saving Women from the Church by Susan McLeod-Harrison
Looking for God by Nancy Ortberg
What Would Jesus Deconstruct? by John Caputo
Rising from the Ashes by Becky Garrison
Justice
Serve God, Save the Planet by Matthew Sleeth
Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte
A Cafecito Story by Julia Alvarez
Slow Food Nation by Carlo Petrini
Parenting
Becoming the Parent You Want To Be by Laura Davis and Janis Keyser
History/Culture
Porn Nation by Michael Leahy
Books on Fire by Lucien X. Polastron
Fantasy/Mystery
Chalice by Robin McKinley
The Fire by Katherine Neville
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
Kushiel’s Mercy by Jacqueline Carey
Sepulchre by Kate Mosse
Tangled Webs by Anne Bishop
Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley
Reader and Raelynx by Sharon Shinn
Posted by Julie Clawson
Topics: Personal | 2 Comments »
Merry Christmas
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. - Luke 2:8-16
Posted by Julie Clawson
Topics: Holidays | 1 Comment »
Fourth Sunday of Advent 2008 - Joy
As part of our Christmas decor we have some wooden alphabet blocks that spell out “Noel” and “Joy.” Emma enjoys playing with them, so they are never actually in the right order (at the moment the words “nejy” and “loo” are on display). But Emma likes the words. We asked her recently if she knew what joy meant though. She gave us one of her “they must be smoking something” looks and said, “that’s silly. Joy is just a word. It doesn’t mean anything.”
We think its cute when 3 year olds say stuff like that. But isn’t she just echoing what is pragmatic reality for a lot of people? Joy, like peace, this time of year acquires a certain status as a trendy catchphrase. Much like “boo” or “trick-or-treat” around Halloween, it is an appropriate invocation of the season. Even when we sing along to “Joy to the World,” the usage often seems hollow. We are not consumed by joy - letting it overtake us and responding outwardly to its presence.
The angels though came proclaiming good tidings of great joy. The carol calls for heaven and nature to sing a joy to the world because the Lord has come. True joy cannot be contained, it must be shared. I love the Christmas card image above because it captures a part of this mood. The “I’ve got to tell someone about this even if they think I’m nuts” feeling that comes with being filled with joy.
Joy is so much more than just a word. It is a complete way of being that one cannot help but respond to. So the candle on this fourth Sunday of Advent is a proclamation of joy. Joy as not just an abstract idea or a seasonal word, but as the response of our hearts preparing room for our king.
Related posts - Fourth Sunday of Advent 2006, 2007
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Posted by Julie Clawson
Topics: advent | 3 Comments »
Hierarchy, Freedom, and Emergent
I was out shopping recently and saw a baby boy onesie (it was blue, so in the strictly color coded baby clothes world, it was intended for boys and boys only…). On the front was the phrase “Second in Command After Daddy.” Now as a good feminist that pissed me off. Who in their right mind would stick that on their baby, even as a joke? Even tongue-in-cheek promotions of such family hierarchy encourage the myth that having a penis somehow makes you more important than women.
If you haven’t gathered it by now, I’m not a huge fan of hierarchical leadership (even when it’s not based on gender). I prefer flat networked structures that allow for input from all. And in truth, it’s less about equality or sameness and more about simply respecting people as people. Letting voices be heard and appreciating contributions for what they are.
So on one level, I appreciate that fact that Emergent Village is transitioning to a more decentralized structure. While some may be heralding Tony Jones stepping down as National Coordinator to symbolize the dismantling of Emergent, it was meant as an opportunity to allow a wider variety of people to step up into leadership positions (as the amusing series of I Am The Emergent National Coordinator videos demonstrates). And as Tony mentioned on his blog yesterday, “Any time you can dethrone an overeducated, loud, brash, white man,people just feel more openness for their own voice to be heard.” It’s all about reducing hierarchy and opening up the conversation.
But will it work? In brief discussions with other women leaders in the emerging movement, I’ve heard the question raised if the lack of a central leader will actually help women become more involved in the conversation. Many post-evangelical women still struggle to jump into the conversation, much less assert themselves as leaders. For good or bad, they still seek invitations to come alongside and be a part of the in-group. With no one to officially offer that invitation, the question remains if the women will step up or just remain on the sidelines peeking in. I honestly have no idea. It would be easy to say that women just need to get over it and assert themselves, but that would stray into dangerous psychological territory and miss the point. I don’t want to need a man’s permission to do anything, but an invitation (from someone) is still what many women are looking for.
So I’m curious to see how the decentralization of power affects the presence of women in Emergent. I’d of course like to see a vibrant representation of women in Emergent leadership. I’m encouraged to hear from some that at The Great Emergence event men at times seemed like the token voice. But to the best of my knowledge, I haven’t seen any women making national coordinator videos. That’s not a criticism, just an expression of curiosity of where this will lead. I hope the speculation of other emerging women will be wrong and we will see an increase of women’s voices in Emergent. But at the same time be proactively aware that the opposite could just as easily occur.
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Posted by Julie Clawson
Topics: Gender Issues, Emerging Women, Emerging Church | 11 Comments »
Hopeful Imagining
Contrary to what my husband may think, I really am an optimist - at least in the long term perspective. I think we can bring about good in this world. As one of my favorite lines from Lord of the Rings goes, “there is some good in this world and it’s worth fighting for.” As hard and hopeless as it might sometimes seem, I think it’s worth working towards a positive vision.
That said I understand the reluctance of some to affirm efforts to present such a positive vision of the future. These efforts can come across as insincere - mocking instead of hopeful. We believe another world is possible, but don’t know how to cope when glimpses of that world invade our. We might smile at the ideas, but are wary of utopian visions of the future.
For example when the Yes Men a few years ago marked the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal Diaster by creating an elaborate hoax where posing as a representative of Dow Chemicals on the BBC a Jude Finisterra announced that Dow was finally accepting full responsibility for the incident and offering a multibillion dollar compensation to the hundreds of thousands of people still suffering from the accident. This is what the world had been waiting for for two decades as opposed to the cover-up and denial of responsibility that actually occurred. The name Jude Finisterra - the saint of impossible causes and the ends of the earth. Fitting. The response though? Dow share prices dropped 4.2% in 23 minutes (fully recovered later in the day). The BBC issued an apology to Dow and the Yes Men were chastised for bringing false hope to the Indians. So the harbingers of hope, those who dare to image a better world, are chastised while those that should be taking responsibility are apologized to.
Another great examples of hopeful imagining is the Jim Carrey movie Fun with Dick and Jane. After losing his job in an Enron like company collapse, Carrey’s character pulls a Yes Men like stunt by holding a press conference announcing that the company’s CEO will personally reimburse the retirement funds of the jobless employees who lost it all. Surprised at his house with the news, surrounded by cameras and people thanking him, the CEO has to go along with the scheme. This is the way things should have been after Enron - the fair and positive world we desired but didn’t get.
Same thing with the video to U2’s The Saints are Coming. One sees images of Katrina ravaged New Orleans, but then fake headlines of “US Troops Redeployed from Iraq to New Orleans” flash across the screen. Images of bombers dropping aid packages and rescuing children from the floods along with the mesmerizing lyrics of “the saints are coming” do inspire hope. This is how it should have been (and if you read some of the 20,000+ comments on YouTube, what some people actually think did happen). But then the lyrics remind us that “I say no matter how I try I realize there is no reply” and the video ends with the sign “not as seen on TV.” Is it a hopeful future or simply a reminder of how bad things are?
So what do you do with such hopeful imaginings? Do you laugh at their naivete? Roll your eyes and say “that will never happen”? Or appreciate the encouragement in envisioning a better world? I’ve personally come to enjoy these positive visions. I like the reminders of the way things could be. Having something concrete to grasp onto, albeit fictional, helps with the whole moving forward in the quest for justice thing.
So yes, I’m an optimist in my own quirky way.
Posted by Julie Clawson
Topics: Faith, Social Justice | 2 Comments »
Third Sunday of Advent 2008 - Love
*I meant to have this up on Sunday, but I’ve been too sick to think the past few days… so better late than never.
“Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds” - Shakespeare, Sonnet 116
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8
This week of Advent we light the candle representing love (depending on your tradition). As with peace, I find that this too is a word that has been stripped of its meaning in our culture. Not that the many usages of the term or the various ways we evoke the concept are bad, but often they are simply comfortable. We can handle advice that encourages us to unconditionally love our husbands and kids, that our love should be patient and kind, or that our love should flow from our relationship with God. Those expressions of love may be difficult, but we can accept them in theory at least.
What’s harder is the messy love. The love that continues even though someone messes up. The love for people who just aren’t living the way we would like them to live. The love for those who serve us that we may never meet. These sorts of love are more difficult to grasp. They don’t fit into our comfort boxes. They not only take work, they are generally unpopular and often not deemed worth our effort.
So I find myself returning to the rhetorical questions - what if Jesus hadn’t chosen to love us no matter what? Can you picture Jesus saying things like - “they’re just too messed up for me to love them” or “she’s a sinner, I don’t want anything to do with her, if fact I’ll just pretend she doesn’t exist” or “why should I waste my time dying for a cog in the machine factory girl in China.”
I like the assurance that Jesus loves me, but sometimes it’s hard to believe that Jesus loves everyone. I mean really believe - not just intellectually assent to the idea, but believe enough to let it change me so that I love them too.
To love without reservation or alteration. To love the yet messy.
That’s the hard part.
Related Posts - Third Sunday of Advent 2007, 2006
Posted by Julie Clawson
Topics: advent | 4 Comments »
Church and Mission
Once again a commentary on the missional musings at the Out of Ur blog…
I have to say that I found Skye Jethani’s recent post on mission and recession to be an insightful look at the dangers economic hard times pose for the models of “church as we know it.” He points out that typical models of church involvement depend on people having leisure time to devote to the church. But as the economy tanks, that affluent leisure time evaporates. Skye writes, “people who could previously spend multiple hours each week in church programming are now holding down part-time jobs, job hunting, spending more time at home cooking rather than eating out, or taking classes to train for new careers.” He questions this mission based on leisure time not only for its current downfall, but because it “devalues members without expendable hours…mothers with the 24/7 job of caring for young children, single-parent households, laborers working multiple jobs to stay afloat, or those in the “sandwich generation” using their leisure hours to care for aging parents. Do we write these members off because they do not have leisure time to dedicate to the church’s programs and ministry teams? Do they get a pass on the Great Commission?”
Skye suggests that we need to shift how we think about mission and the institution of the church in light of these issues. While I like his ideas about helping people see that their everyday lives (jobs, commitments, errands) are actually mission and that the church is about people living out incarnation and not institutionalized programs, I am not fully on board with all of his suggestions. He proposes equipping the believer to be in communion with Christ in her everyday life and then come to church to celebrate not to do mission. He believes this would eliminate the focus on church programs, buildings, and staff and turn the focus to ordinary lives.
Unfortunately this alternative focus of church still requires much of the same programs and structures to survive as before, just with fewer people. To hold a celebration service that “feeds” the masses one still needs buildings, staff, and programming for the celebration. It’s church as we know it just without commitments. In addition, rubberstamping what people are already doing leaves out some rather important aspects of what it means to be the church and do mission. Letting one’s co-workers know that Jesus loves them is all good, but what about caring for the poor and being in community with other believers? I’m all for slashing programs - committees, choir, and multiple Beth Moore bible studies can, yes, just be a waste of time. And I’m all for affirming that being a 24/7 mom who can’t leave the house to do anything because she doesn’t have childcare is a way of serving Christ.
But to take a foundering institution and try to keep it afloat by redefining a few things doesn’t go far enough in my opinion. The mission of the church doesn’t just need to be switched from programs to everyday living (although that is a good step), it needs to become the driving force of church. Telling members to do mission in their day to day lives isn’t a “get out of jail free” card for a church. Abandoning programming but retaining the structure of a come and see celebration service moves us farther away from mission and truly being the church. If church was not about the event in a building, but really about who we are as followers of Christ then there wouldn’t have to be this huge distinction between real life and church. Church isn’t a place you volunteer at or go to to be fed, it is simple the life you lead and the community you indwell. The church does life together - eats together, raises kids together, serves together… We shouldn’t be individuals serving God that come together to be encouraged in that endeavour once a week, but a group of people on the same journey, sharing its joys and sorrows.
So while I like the intent of Skye’s article, I think a more radical redefining of church and mission than what he is proposing is needed. Not just to save the structure of the church in hard times, but to help us reorient ourselves in relation to each other. We are the church, we all do mission - as individuals and as a group. As a 24/7 mom I don’t just want to be told that I’m doing mission already even if I can’t make it to some church meeting. I want to be with the church while I am being a mom - relating to others, serving with others, and being one with them. This isn’t about me being fed and then living my life (even if its for God), its about being in committed messy communion with believers as the church.
at least that’s the way I’d like it to be…
Posted by Julie Clawson
Topics: mission, Church | 9 Comments »
Darkness and Light
I couldn’t resist the image. As the world reaches its tipping point and the days grow ever darker, we are preparing for the return of the light. We might have shifted the day a bit and turned our focus away from the sun to the Son, but the idea remains the same. The traditions haven’t changed much even if their interpretations have - we drag evergreen branches into our homes and deck them out with candles to represent our hope in the light. This symbolic return of the light is so powerful in the collective human unconsciousness that the celebration of the incarnation of God naturally must occur during this season. It’s Christian, it’s Pagan, it’s beautiful and it is true.
There is something hardwired in our souls that pushes us towards the light. We rejoice in the light and yearn for it as darkness continues in steady progression. At the Winter Solstice we affirm that light will always overcome the darkness - returning to bring new life on this earth. At the Summer Solstice we simply give thanks for the light we have (as opposed to despairing that the darkness is returning). Our deepest desires are manifest in this longing for the light - for comfort, for illumination, for hope. It is simply part of who we are to seek out the light.
The yearnings of our souls for light find confirmation as we remember the birth of “the true light that gives light to every man” (Jn 1:9). Our circles of candles burn ever lower in our attempts to ward off the encroaching darkness by anticipating the advent of light. The soft glow of twinkling lights on boughs of evergreen give testimony to the eternal light vanquishing the darkness. We deck the halls with our intimations of the light, for there can never be too many reminders that light will always prevail.
So joie be to you as you anticipate the return of the light.
For more entries in this Synchroblog on “Darkness and Light as Motifs of Spirituality” enjoy these sites -
Phil Wyman at Phil Wyman’s Square No More
Adam Gonnerman creeps around “In Darkness”
Lainie Petersen at Headspace
Jeff Goins is “Walking in the Light with Jesus”
Ellen Haroutunian at Light is Coming
Julie Clawson walks through Darkness and Light
Kathy Escobar will Take a Sliver Anyday
Susan Barnes at a book look
Joe Miller thinks you can Discover Light in Darkness
Beth Patterson talks about Advent: Awaiting the Ancient and the Ever New
Liz Dyer says What the Heck
Sally Coleman muses about Light into Darkness
Steve Hayes with the Lord of the Dark
Erin Word writes Fire and Sacrifice
Josh Jinno with Spiritual
Motifs of Darkness and Light
Posted by Julie Clawson
Topics: advent, Synchroblog | 15 Comments »
Things I’ve Done
Here’s a fun meme I found at cuppa java with friends. I thought a lighter post was in order, so here we go with a meme about things I’ve done in my life (in bold). At first looking at what all is highlighted I felt a tad guilty - in the “wow, I’m privileged, I should feel bad” way. But then I realized that thankfulness for the blessings (and sorrows) in life is more appropriate.
So enjoy and consider yourself tagged if you are so inclined!
1. Started your own blog (duh)
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (jr. high - trumpet)
4. Visited Hawaii (my grandmother lived there)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (drove past, but I’ve been to Disneyworld, so I’m counting it)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (I don’t sing)
11. Bungee jumped (never, ever ever…. )
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (I’ve thought about it, but that would require being able to say run))
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (seen them, didn’t ride)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (does backyard softball count?)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (not well)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke. (not well)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (I’d like to…)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (so i lived right by one for years and never went)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (I’ve eaten a lot though)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (in process here)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a mobile phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day
Posted by Julie Clawson
Topics: Fun Stuff | 3 Comments »
Second Sunday of Advent 2008 - Peace
So the other day at MOPS we heard a talk about Christmas traditions and putting Jesus back into Christmas. One of the points made was to make sure that your holiday decorations convey to your neighbors that you are a Christian. I was pretty sure the speaker didn’t mean using LED lights so that your neighbors know that you care for God’s creation by not wasting energy. I just smiled at the idea with a “to each her own” response, but as I looked at my house while thinking about this week’s advent theme, I had to wonder if anyone would assume I was a Christian because of my decor.
The decor is simple - some golden stars, a baskets of poinsettias, and a sign that says “Peace on Earth” (and hopefully after Mike’s finals some of those LED lights…). But, I wondered, would the term “Peace on Earth” straight out of the biblical Christmas account be associated with Christianity these days? Are we known as peacemakers - doing whatever we can to bring about peace on earth? My gut reaction to that question is no. In fact many of the Christians I know mock those that stand for peace and instead say that war, judgment, and violence are the more biblical paths. Theirs is the voice that is often heard, so much that I can put a bible verse on my house and it not be seen as a Christian thing. That’s weird to me.
One of my favorite Christmas carols is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” It contains the lines -
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
But far from it being the belfries of Christendom spreading the biblical message of peace, they are often instead the ones mocking the song and promoting hate. How can their ever be peace when those that claim to worship the Prince of Peace shun his very message?
So as the candle of Peace is lit for Advent today, I find myself hoping it holds some meaning. That it is more than just a ritual or a warm-fuzzy moment, but an awakening to a message Christians have largely forgotten. I pray that we can reclaim “Peace on Earth” not just as a phrase, but as our calling. To have the world see that seeking peace on earth is part of what it means to be a Christian. For as the carol continues -
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”
Related posts - Second Sunday of Advent - 2006, 2007
Posted by Julie Clawson
Topics: advent | 3 Comments »
Missional Effectiveness
Foolishly entering the fray…
So the whole missional vs. attractional church debate has risen to the bloggy surface yet once again sparked by Dan Kimball’s recent post on the Out of Ur blog. In the piece he questions the fruit of so-called missional churches because a few that he knows of anecdotally haven’t grown while attractional churches are making converts in droves. Since they aren’t making converts, they therefore are ineffectual. Being missional means squat apparently unless you are growing in numbers and the sins of attractional models are incidentally absolved since they are making converts. Others have questioned the reality of such conversions, and I especially liked Dave Fitch’s response on that account. But to the specific accusation that missional churches are ineffectual, I have to ask - at what?
According to Dan, effective churches are those which make (and continue to make) a lot of converts. I’m all for conversions, but what exactly are they being converted to? Is a conversion that professes the name of Christ, but is consumeristic and “me-centered” really the sort of conversions we want? It may be easy to attract people to that sort of faith, but to pull out the old phrase - what you call people with is what you call them to. What’s the point of “converting” people to American consumer culture with a Jesus veneer? Even if you desire that they will eventually change, why the bait n’ switch? But to write off the people who are attempting to give up all that in favor of self-sacrificial living because not enough people want to jump on that bandwagon simply astounds me. When did Christianity become a popularity contest? I know I’m being extreme and harsh with those questions, and in many ways I am a both/and sort of person in regards to this issue, but I was just really shocked to hear the missional church dismissed in such a way.
And of course I’m saying all this as a “failed” missional church planter. Failed in terms of numbers and money. We couldn’t attract enough people willing to give enough money to pay our salary and so the church failed. Yes, that’s crass, but that’s what happened. And it also totally misses the entire point of what the church actually was. We were a bunch of messy people working our butts off serving each other. We had people attending who really weren’t welcome in other churches because they were “too much work” or because they “asked the wrong questions” or because they just weren’t cool enough for the attractional churches. Our church became family to each other - opening our homes (literally) and seriously caring for each other and for our community. Throwing parties for the “poor” and the mentally disabled, working to improve the local environment, helping the struggling get back on their feet. No - not one person I know of “converted” because of the church, but a lot of people made decisions to follow Christ because of it. Decisions to not walk away from the faith, decisions to return to the faith, decisions to not just go through the churchy motions any longer, decisions to devote their lives to service. That failed missional church made some serious impact for the Kingdom.
So Dan, I just want to throw my anecdotal evidence right back atcha. Missional churches are effective. It all just depends on how you define effective.
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Posted by Julie Clawson
Topics: mission, Church | 33 Comments »