Where to begin?
Alan Hirsch is the instructor. What I love about Alan is that he is a mixture of theoretician and practitioner. Much of his learning about what the church could be has come through dialogue and experimentation in his local context, Melbourne, Australia.
A question:
Is it possible that the American Church, including Open Door, is a faulty system reproducing itself?
Consider this--
Once upon a time, Christianity was on the margins. It was underground--it was on the fringes--it was happening among the most unlikely of people. It was viral, meaning it was incredibly grassroots--a movement spreading because a group of people began orienting their lives around the person of Jesus. Christ-followers were ridiculed, persecuted, looked down upon, seen as second-class citizens, yet they kept coming back. They just kept on living virally in the Way of Jesus and it spread and it spread and it spread. It spread not because of any catchy marketing scheme. It spread not because of the latest technology or coolest musical experience. It spread not because of a building. It spread not because a group of people happened to meet from time to time.
It spread because as people grew in the image of the Living God (discipleship/transformation/whatever you want to call it)--a God who is a missionary God (constantly pursuing and redeeming mankind)--the became driven by mission. Mission (the redemption of mankind) became central to them. This happened not because someone told them it should--but because that is what happens as we grow in the likeness of His Son Jesus.
As it spread--it changed everything.
And then a Roman Emperor named Constantine (blast Constantine), in the political move of political moves, made Christianity THE religion of the world (more or less). Why was this a bad thing you ask? It was a bad thing because that which was viral (like salt and light) was thrust into the center and boxed up into a nice building. It became easy to be Christian and the communal experience of being Christian went from a grassroots movement to a religion experienced on a particular day in a particular place.
From that moment until now (17 centuries in total) Constantine continues to show up. He shows up every time our perspective of church is a place with a thing that we go to and often times like. He shows up every time it is easy to be Christian. He shows up every time we become conditioned to a certain experience of worship. He shows up in the poverty of our imagination of what the church was and could be again.
What does this mean in general?
It means that for 17 centuries we have been recreating, repackaging, regenerating the same thing that doesn't work--it never has. It doesn't work because it became what it never was intended to be. Because we keep buying into Constantine's ideal, like the movie "Field of Dreams" we convince ourselves that if we build it and build it really nice--then people will come.
Reality Check--People are NOT coming! Why should they? They don't get the lingo, the don't get the music, they don't get how the church could spend so much money on things that don't seem to make any difference in the world.
Put another way: Once upon a time, missio dei (the mission of God: redemption of mankind) was central to the church. Now, "doing church" (producing a flashy worship gathering) has become central. Something is off...
A couple of questions...
1. If you were to strip the church down to what it was meant to be (see passages such as Acts 2 or Ephesians 4) what would it look like? What are the bare essentials?
2. If you were to completely reimagine church--what would it look like? No reimagination is to creative!
3. What are the above implications for Open Door? What re-calibrations are needed?
Invigorating stuff huh?
Pray with and for me...
17 comments:
As a "worship pastor", I'm predisposed to thinking of church too exclusively as what we prepare and produce for the worship gathering. Recently I've been pondering how none of the songs that we sing, the sermons we preach, the art that we use, none of the elements of the service mean anything on their own if they don't meet our PEOPLE where they are and connect them with the divine. And there's no way I as a worship pastor can help craft and lead services that do that if I'm not tangled up in the lives of the people of the community - breaking bread together, sharing things in common, KNOWING them. I've had two worship services recently that had some time for open sharing on a topic as a central piece of the service, and I'm more convinced than ever that allowing space in worship for people's unique stories to intersect with God's story of love, redemption, justice, and mercy is a big part of what we need to be about. If God's story is continually being written in and through His people, then our church and our worship should be providing space for God's people, wherever they are on that journey, to add their reflection of God's worth to the mosaic of the ekklesia.
just wondering aloud here as i usually do... what was the state of affairs in terms of how the Israelites did "church"??? it seems to me in some of my studies that Constantine took the model the Jews where working with for centuries and borrowed that model for the formalization of Christianity.
anyway, i agree with the idea that the "church" is very mainline and very packaged. it is times like this i think i should resign and go get a job, some "real" job out in the "world" and just be a person that is learning to follow the way of Jesus instead of promoting the way of the "church." like i said almost a year ago now, "maybe I'll just sell everything and go follow Jesus." he has yet to call me to that in those specific terms, yet i find that i am drawing closer and closer to that moment. thanks for sharing your brief thoughts and questions.
Matthew,
You're right. Constantine took a Jewish model, packaged it, and put it at the center of culture. This poses a key problem: He took Christianity which wasn't religion and assigned a Jewish (non-Christian/anti-Christian) religious practice to it. This thrust it into mainstream and out from the fringes. It no longer needed to be viral. The religion of became the focus--not Jesus. Thus, the mission shifted off of the redemption of the world and onto maintaining, control, power, etc.
Just some thoughts--
Mike--
Ah--the power of storytelling in the midst of community gatherings. What if we trusted the Spirit of God at work in others lives and were not concerned with the production. What could happen if we did? I believe that the way we live out our gatherings is telling of our spirituality. Are we high control? Are we Spirit led? Is the focus what I am able to do or is it Jesus? Think about the worship gatherings that you help create. What is the actual experience teaching people (not just the words used and songs sung)? Is it discipling them or entertaining them?
Regarding the discussion above...What if worship gatherings aren't about creating experiences for people? What if, instead, worship gatherings were about creating a worshipful environment for God? Perhaps worship gatherings often feel like productions because we have the wrong audience in mind.
When I consider God's ekklesia in a post-Constantinian era I see a community of people that love and do life together. I see a community of kingdom people that are grounded in the teachings of Jesus. I see a community that takes initative to reach out to the marginalized, oppressed, and socially outcast by engaging in acts of justice. I see a community that worships God throughout the week by the way it lives...
hmm, this is great stuff here...
Mac,
I'm really drawn to what you wrote, and wished that i had figured out a way of communicating it earlier: "what if, instead, worship gatherings were about creating a worshipful environment for God?" Isn't that what the tabernacle was built for??? it wasn't built for people to be impressed or for their needs, it was built to the specs that God desired so that he could dwell amongst his people as a visual aid to them. we've taken a God thing and spilled our seed on it.
so with these thoughts, what does a "worship gathering" (not a worship or church service) look like if people are gathered to share stories, give offerings, praises, and worship in our current era??? how do we expand the true meaning behind worship... what word(s) can we use to express the actual meaning of worship, 'cos clearly this word is missing it's heart.
just some gut reactions here.
Jer,
You might be interested in an article in last Saturday's Wall Street Journal. According to the article, Europe is secular because most countries still have a state church where the pastors/priests are employees of the government.
Unconventional,
Here is my sense of what God is calling us to be as a church:
Surrender all that we have and all that we are to God. Cooperate with the Holy Spirit and other believers to lead people to fall deeply in love with God. Build communities of followers fully devoted to Jesus Christ and each other.
By "people," I of course include non-believers. But "people" here also includes you and me. We also need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and others so that we ourselves draw nearer to God and fall ever more deeply in love with him.
By "communities," I mean families, small groups of every sort, as well as the congregation as a whole.
"What are the above implications for Open Door? What recalibrations are needed?" you asked. I really don't have an answer. But I would like to share what God is calling me to do differently right now. As I mentioned in my comment to your "Pasadena Conversation: 7/15" post, I am going through a very difficult season in my life – plagued by remorse, doubt, guilt and fear. How God is calling me to change is an outcome of this very difficult time of my life.
I believe God wants me to "live by faith, not by sight." (2 Cor. 5:7) This is because "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Heb. 11:6). "…The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." (Gal. 5:6)
God doesn't want me to study the Bible so I can improve myself. God wants me to study the Bible so that by faith, I can experience God and his love for me. Then, by faith, God will enable me to return his love by loving him and others as well.
God doesn't want my prayers to be some form of spiritual accomplishment. God wants my prayers to be "faith expressing itself through love." I want to pray whenever I am moved by love and compassion to pray. I want to pray whenever I am moved by obedience to pray. I want to pray regardless of whether I sense God's presence or not; regardless of whether I enjoy it or not; regardless of whether I feel anything is happening or not.
What should a worship gathering look like?
Matthew,
Great question! I love this dialogue we have going! As I have pondered your question, I must confess that I do not think I can offer a definitive or authoritative answer--instead, only thoughts that I hope are cloaked in humility.
But you know, I am not even sure I would want to be able to give a definitive answer regarding what a worship gathering should look like. Authentic and genuine spirituality rarely follows a formula, spiriutal equation, or some other mechanistic routine. I am afraid, then, if we get too specific we will stifle the creativity that "unconventional" is asking us to consider...you get what I am saying?
At the same time, we don't want to say nothing at all. As I hinted at before, there is nothing wrong with musical worship, teaching, sharing stories...etc. The question I have is: "are they worshipful or productional?" In other words, maybe we don't need to change what we are doing--but how we are doing it. Maybe it is as simple as corporately confessing that we often come to worship gatherings for the wrong reasons and collectively committing to ensure that every song sung, lesson taught, story told, and prayer offered is for God...and perhaps as we do that we will naturally get swept up in an experience of worship that could not be obtained in any way.
Mac,
I totally understand your wrestle with how to answer this question, as i land at a very same place.
i think the answer really lies somewhere in the idea of living on the fringes... when i look at the writings of David in the Psalms I see a man worshiping the God he longs to know and love. And his story is filled with fringe living. Then I think about the different stories that come in about people in areas where following Jesus is actually a life or death choice, and how the phrase "and their numbers grew" seems to follow.
So as I wonder about this, my simple crud conclusion is true worship happens when my life is on the line and yet my heart and desire is to follow the way of Jesus, and continue to turn to my God to give my all. It reminds me of C.S. Lewis's writing in "A Grief Observed." Generally when do people experience God the most in my experience is in very difficult times. Either it is through their felt "absence" of God, or the tremendous peace and closeness of God. Sit and ponder how you and i interact with God when he seems absent... not when we travel away, but when we come running and no arms catch us.
Sorry if this appears to have traveled off topic.
One last idea, for some reason right now I'm having an allergic reaction to the idea of "worship experience", the word "experience" just seems to irritate me 'cos it leads me to think that somehow the leaders of this "experience" have to cater to the audience in order to give them the experience.
enjoying the conversation... thanks folks.
Matt,
Per your 5:49 post.
I wonder if we can truly do this in a "high church" building with 150-200 people. My concern in attempting such a re-programming within our current setting would be that only the extaverted or initiative takers would be able to experience it. In other words, it is possible that in adding spice to the meat and potatoes of a gathering (like I would submit we have done in Open Door) the consumerism hasn't decreased--it has actually increased. Now, we have given people (mostly already Christian) something better, perceivably eliminating (on their part and maybe even ours) the need for discipleship that is existential--that is--informs living.
All that to say, perhaps what we need is to radically reimagine not only what happnes, but where, and with how many, understanding that the church is an organism and is constantly adapting. Perhaps it's dangerous to really define it.
Ultimately, we need push beyond the expression of a worship gathering and to what it means to be and develop disciples.
Wasabi--
Per your 9:13 post...
I love your heart for discipleship. I so resonate with much of what you wrote. Most poignant, though was when you referred to reading the Bible and praying not as accomplishment but as worship to inspire more worship.
The question I have is this--what do smaller communities look like that are formed by Jesus and therefore, all about mission? If Walnut Creek, the East Bay, the Bay Area are our mission field, then how are we doing?
Matt,
Per your 10:01 post--
I so resonate with your allergy to the "experience." Don't you weekly feel the pressure the create the experience? Don't you find yourself evaluating, not based on the stories of what God did/is doing (mainly because we never provide the space to hear them, nor the culture for them to be told) but on whether the "experience" was "good?"
Feels like the langauge of consummerism to me!
All of this discussion about worship is really stimulating to me - I too have balked at the idea of the "worship experience". As I sit here thinking, I'm drawn to the term "space". Maybe our worship gatherings are not about creating an experience, but about corporately creating space. Physical space - whether a beautiful sanctuary designed to glorify God in its beauty or a storefront, non-churchy looking space that is designed to be worshipful in the way it creates a safer space for those with church-allergies to come offer their worship. Space in our lives - intentional time away from our busy-ness to refocus our eyes, individually and as a community, on the glory of God, on the person of Jesus, on the movement of the Spirit. Space set aside for the divine/human encounter that gives God the honor due Him and forms flawed humans more in God's image. Just thoughts...
Matt,Mac and Unconventional,
I like what John Frame said:
"Worship is the work of acknowledging the greatness of our covenant Lord."
"Worship in Spirit and Truth," p. 1
In physics, work is expressed as Force X Distance. We could say that spiritual force = effort in or through the Holy Spirit. Then we could say that Spiritual Work = Effort in the Spirit X Time.
Then Frame's statement becomes:
Worship is period of time in which a believer's efforts in the Spirit truly acknowledge the greatness of our covenant Lord.
Worship is not primarily an experience for the believer. It does not happen just because a believer does and says certain things during the worship service. Worship is a spiritual work. It must be done in and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." John 4:23
I hope this is helpful.
I must correct what I said earlier about only being able to worship God in and through the power of the Holy Spirit. I looked up John 4:23 in the New Bible Commentary and it did not mention worshipping God in and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Only that true worshippers are not just participating in outward ceremony. Sorry, I need to be more careful.
Wasabi
Unconventional,
Per your 10:31 post…
Here are four things we can do to be more missional as a church. These are things we can do as individuals, in pairs, and in small groups of 2-4 people.
1. As individuals: As we run errands and go to appointments, spend an extra five minutes praying for people. Spend five minutes in the car praying for the employees and customers of a grocery store before or after doing your shopping. Spend five minutes in the waiting room praying for the staff and patients of the doctors, dentists, optometrists etc. before or after your appointment.
2. As individuals: Write up short prayers for people to pray while running errands or going to appointments. These prayers would be tailored to specific places. These prayers would be on behalf of the person praying and their families, but also on behalf of others for their blessing and salvation. We could have prayers for grocery stores, prayers for beauty salons, prayers for the gym, prayers for the doctors offices etc.
3. In pairs: Prayer walk the streets of our neighborhoods. Pray for God's peace and blessing on people living in each home we walk by. As God leads pray more specific requests. Be prepared to talk to people on the way. Be prepared to pray for people on the way.
4. In groups of 2-4: Participate in Life Transformation Groups based on the book, "Cultivating a Life for God," by Neil Cole. The Life Transformation groups have two main goals. The first goal is increasing in wisdom and maturity through abundant Bible reading and through holding each other accountable. The second goal is strategic prayer. Each group member identifies a couple of folks they feel led to pray for who are not yet disciples of Jesus Christ. All members of the group pray for all of the people of these people each week as well as for each other. These are the two areas you have emphasized so far as being important for the true church – missions and discipleship. To get a more detailed description of Life Transformation Groups:
Here is a review of the book on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A2F6FSEG90CXTE
Here is a short description:
http://www.mychurch.org/groups/247035/Life-Transformation-Groups
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