Myers ::: Organic Community

The Spirit of organic community is grace, not law; “edit-ability,” not accountability…This is how a good author-editor relationship works: The author submits a rough draft.  The editor makes suggestions, even disagrees at times with the author.  The author considers the editor’s suggestions, and will often make adjustments.  The author and editor continue to go back and forth until the project is complete.  The entire process is one of give and take collaboration.When presented with the option, most people prefer an author-editor relationship…We want someone to confide in, pray with, and listen to us.  We do not hope for someone to keep a record and reconcile us to the rules.  We hope our friends will help us to be reconciled to life, to community, to ourselves, and to God.

-Joseph Myers, Organic Community: Creating a Place Where People Naturally Connect, 138-140.

The story Christians tell of God exposes the unwelcome fact that I am a sinner.  For without such a narrative the fact and nature of my sin cannot help but remain hidden in self-deception.  Only a narrative that helps me place myself as a creature of a gracious God can provide the skills to help me locate my sin as fundamentally infidelity and rebellion.  As a creature I have been created for loyalty–loyalty to the truth, to the love that moves the sun and the stars and yet is found on a cross–but I find myself serving any powers but the true one in the hopes of being my own lord…Christian tradition has at various times and places characterized this fundamental sin in quite different ways…I doubt, however, whether there is any one term sufficient to suggest the complex nature of our sin.  This is exactly why we see we need the set of stories we find in Scripture and displayed by the church to recognize our sin.  As narrative-determined creatures we must learn to locate our lives in God’s life if we are to have the means to face, as well as do something about, our infidelity and rebellion against our true creator.

Just to the extent I refuse to be faithful to God’s way, to live as part of God’s life, my life assumes the character of rebellion.  Our sin is not merely an error in overestimating our capacities.  Rather it is the active and willful attempt to overreach our powers.  It is the attempt to live sui generis, to live as if we are or can be the authors of our own stories.  Our sin is, thus, a challenge to God’s authorship and a denial that we are characters in the drama of the kingdom.

-Stanley Hauerwas, The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics, 31

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Arcade Fire: Intervention

Intervention

Artist(Band):The Arcade Fire

The king’s taken back the throne
The useless seed is sown
When they say they’re cutting off the phone
I’ll tell ‘em you’re not home

No place to hide
You were fighting as a soldier on their side
You’re still a soldier in your mind
Though nothing’s on the line

You say it’s money that we need
As if we’re only mouths to feed
I know no matter what you say
There are some debts you’ll never pay

Working for the church
While your family dies
You take what they give you
And you keep it inside
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the solider groan, “We’ll cry alone”

I can taste the fear
It’s gonna lift me up and take me out of here
Don’t wanna fight, don’t wanna die
Just wanna hear you cry

Who’s gonna throw the very first stone?
Oh! Who’s gonna reset the bone?
Walking with your head in a sling
Wanna hear the soldier sing

Working for the Church
While my family dies
Your little baby sister’s
Gonna lose her mind
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan “We’ll go at it alone”

I can taste your fear
It’s gonna lift you up and take you out of here
And the bone shall never heal
I care not if you kneel

We can’t find you now
But they’re gonna get the money back somehow
And when you finally disappear
We’ll just say you were never here

Been working for the church
While your life falls apart.
Singing hallelujah with the fear in your heart
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan, “We’ll go at it alone”
Hear the soldier groan, “We’ll go at it alone”

Late last year I downloaded the album Neon Bible by the alternative/rock band Arcade Fire. The song above, “Intervention,” is sung over the blasts of a pipe organ. I grew up singing to the organ, so I’m very familiar with its power. When coupled with words that are sung with conviction, this is soul shaking stuff.

This song evokes images of war, religion, fear, loneliness, separation, and the need for relationships. Most chilling are the words that follow, “Been working for the church…” for I know (or know of) too many people that seem to fit the descriptions, “while your family/my family dies,” or “while your life falls apart.” Can you imagine being described as someone “singing hallelujah with the fear in your heart”?

The beauty of music is its ability to ignite our imagination. As I’ve continued to contemplate this song I’ve deeply considered the practices that lead to the deterioration of the inner life which occurs when church leadership neglects to undertake the disciplines which nourish the soul. I have thought carefully concerning the disciplines of rest, reflection, solitude, and re-engagement. Jesus modeled a life of withdrawal and engagement. His example might be one we wish to follow.

Such practices are for all disciples, not clergy alone. What are the practices that you include in the rhythm of your life in order for God to heal, restore, and direct you as you engage the world that surrounds you? How do you maintain spiritual health amongst the busyness which our age holds as a cultural value?

In John 10:10 Jesus said that he has come that we “may have life, and have it abundantly.” Investigate and incorporate the practices of discipleship which yield health, so that our involvement with church communities can yield good fruit and provide a witness of life, not death, as reflected in the song lyrics above.

What are the ways that you cultivate a healthy life of following Jesus?

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Radical Engagement and Matters of Truth

I live in an increasingly pluralistic age and stand in the midst of an increasingly pluralistic society–a country which is coming to grips with the decline of Christendom and the emergence of a new, multi-faith public square. It might be true that the vast majority of our nation still claims Christianity as their religious faith. However, religious expression in public discourse has become increasingly minimized, as matters of conviction and faith have been closeted.

Last night I had the opportunity to explore the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman found in John 4. A careful reading of this passage yields a great example of what it means to be in radical engagement of the other. Jesus crosses lines of gender (v.7), he discusses differences of religious opinion(v.19-20), he ignores ethnic barriers (v.9), and he even addresses private morality (v.16-18). As a Jew engaging with a Samaritan, Jesus sets a radical example of how we are to engage our enemies. There is even an occasion where literal and figurative interpretation of language is considered–modern interpreters take note (v.13-15)!

Throughout the passage Jesus and this woman dance around issues of truth. I am most struck by this portion of the discourse:

²¹Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³Yet 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. ²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Remember, Jesus is in dialog with someone who holds similar, yet distinct religious convictions. There is a clear divide between Jews and Samaritans, illustrated here by Jesus’ response to the woman’s question concerning the proper place for worship. I find it fascinating that Jesus is very clear in addressing the differences which exists between Jews and Samaritans while at the same time painting a picture of the radical shift in a future time where the centralized worship of the deity will no longer hold the greatest significance. What will take precedence? Spirit and truth.

What do those words mean? First, I understand Jesus to be addressing central matters of the heart, or our overall orientation towards God when we engage in worship. Are our motives pure? Are we extending ourselves toward the Father with the totality of our being? Are we sincere? Passionate? Open to healing, instruction, guidance, and direction?

Second, Jesus is making claims of truth. As a Christian person, I hold particular convictions about the stories of Israel and Jesus, most notably God’s action on the cross. The particulars matter. They make a difference. As much as we are called to follow after Jesus’ example in how we engage and listen to others, we are also called to hold and express our convictions with clarity and consistency as an expression of our commitment to Jesus Christ.

The Samaritan woman was wise to say, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Jesus was just as bold in sharing, “I who speak to you am he.”

Upon hearing these words may we be blessed with the gift of faith which comes by grace, taking hold of our particular claims and sharing them without fear. Like the Samaritan woman, may we boldly share with others what we have seen and heard with generosity, love, enthusiasm, and courage.

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Where are the Young People? Leadership Development and Going Forth

Over a month ago I happened upon an article concerning “young clergy” and the dire need to increase the percentage of young leaders within the United Methodist denomination.  You can read the article I happened upon here.

Since reading this article I have continued to reflect on this topic.  Upon following the link you’ll find an article titled, “Leaders Share Best Practices to Attract Young Clergy.”  The word that kicked my grey matter into action was “attract.”  It didn’t sit right.  In fact, my stomach churned.

The question, “where are the young people?” is not an uncommon one.  Jean Twenge, in her book Generation Me, has provided ample data to show that members of my generation are dropping out of the church in droves.  Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone chronicles the decline in civic involvement which has eventually led to my generation’s increased disengagement not only in church, but in all spheres of public life.  Many of our large churches are asking how to engage my demographic, formulating strategic plans, launching evangelism initiatives, and deriving innovative ways of doing and being church.  Perhaps the loss of the young’uns has hit the mainline denominations hardest, as existing beaurocracies perpetuate status quo approaches to doing ministry, expecting my generation to conform to traditional expressions of faithfulness mediated through too narrow a variety of communication techniques.  It isn’t that my generation doesn’t want to plug into something that is very old and very true, it is just that in many ways the truth of the gospel is being communicated in ways that we have not been trained to understand.

Which brings me back to the word, “attract.”  Would you rather be attracted to a special event, such as a Dave Matthews Band concert through saavy marketing, or personally invited by a friend to share in a common experience?  Leadership in the United Methodist Church and other denominations would be wise to implement invitational language in how they approach leadership recruitment and development.  Such an invitation also requires a compelling vision which a young person would like to come and be part of.  Planting churches, leading congregations, discipling people to follow Jesus, seeing lives transformed–such things are compelling enough, I believe.  Communicating this vision to ”young people” will require living in community with these people.  Where are the young people in our communities who have shown gifts for leadership and ministry?  Do you know any?  Have you developed any?  If not, how can you reach out into your community, find such gifted students, love them, encourage them, and develop them as leaders?  These people don’t appear from thin air, and there is no “bat signal” which will bring them to your doorstep.  You have to have your eyes open. 

Such invitations should also be accompanied by prayer.  What would happen if the Council of Bishops called on every prayer group meeting in every United Methodist Church to dedicate a portion of their meetings to specifically petitioning God to raise up leaders for the United Methodist Church in this generation?

I’ve been talking about the recruitment of young people for pastoral leadership, but such thinking also applies to including a younger contingency in local congregations as part of the laity.  This does require a change in worship format, as I indicated above–people in my generation need the gospel communicated to them in ways that are understandable.  More importantly, however, where do the 20 and 30 somethings in your community live?  Do you have people in your congegration who befriend and love them?  Is there a small contingency of young people who want to reach out to their friends and neighbors, co-workers and social networks and share the gospel?  Do they understand the reason why Christians convictions call us to talk to others about Jesus, and do they have a passion to communicate that message to others?

As much as language of “attracting” new leaders and young people to us might make sense, it won’t work.  The church will have to go, recognizing our unique vocation as a sent people to enter into the world as Jesus’ disciples, proclaiming his gospel and inviting others to walk with us on the journey.

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