Emerging Thoughts
"My best days as a Christian are not behind me." -Tim Keel
More to come but in the meantime I need additional time, prayer, meditating, and reading before I put anything out into the world of...well, wherever this goes. I need a bit more. This post was began several days ago but I am just now finishing it. I will admit that these thoughts, this conversations, the prayers, hopes, dreams, basically everything is far from finished. I want to start this with the caveat this is only a current situation and an expression of feelings but not necessairly a call for action. Often in our lives we look at choices and outcomes as either good or bad. We rarely take the time to use eyes beyond our own...because, more often than not, God pulls through in amazing ways. Details that are "bad" in our life frequently turn out "good" in the end. Therefore, don't hear me saying these things are good or bad. They are what they are in this moment. With that, this is not a deconstruction of current structures. It is a deep cry to God - Lord of the Angel Armies, please come down to this place and let us live our lives not going through the motions of our everday week! Please create a place that is more than church on Sunday! We cry, please establish your people here in Boston that can worship and pray to you honestly, authentically, and meaningfully! And Lord, more than anything - let this be for us in the purpose that we can finally bless and offer something new to this city for your sake!! Let's begin then. There is a deep ache in my heart for the church here in Boston. By this I worry about the state of many churches here in this city and I wonder what to do about it. Now, on the other end - I haven't fully experienced the depth of all the churches here, nor am I blind to the power of Christ through the church here. However, in my own story and the story of others - I know what it's like to go to church every Sunday and wondering if there's more. I believe there's a way of living life and creating a church that brings life and hopefulness...and I believe there is a way to live life and create church that brings just the opposite. What are we creating here? Where are we headed? What questions are we asking ourselves? Are we being as faithful as we are called to be? Do we even have room to ask these tough questions for ourselves? Are we willing to accept God's agenda and change if that's what he desires? Are we going where He is going? or have we missed Him completely? Are you comfortable bringing a friend, or even anyone, to your church and feeling they are experiencing the life of Christ throughout his people there?
This is a tough entry because I have so many thoughts on this topic. Perhaps, I should backtrack and tell you the recent story. A friend of mine and I (well even several friends) have discussed our frustrations with the church life here. Now, these frustrations aren't simple details like I wish the sermon was more... I wish the music was more.... I wish, I wish, I wish - those kinda things are completely off the radar but I hear them all the time. Our fear is that there is a gaping hole in the church scene here. As an educator I can almost 100% quarantee that this is the case. Children are extremely different, I daresay, completely different from you or I in our 20's and no where anything like our parents or grandparents. Education and schools are just now catching up with this change. The church is very much doing the same. Call it postmodernism or whatever you want. Basic point: people are different and schools are radically changing because of it, because they know they're losing kids really quick...I think it's obvious when we look at it. My fear, the church is in the same place. Yet, there are people who need the church exactly the way it is - I'm not calling for a destruction, but rather an open conversation about this and opening up the possibility of wherever that may take us as long as we're having the conversation and that conversation's point is to figure out what Christ wants and being faithful to that. Two weeks ago someone approached me and asked if I was starting a "house church" Wow, big question - especially when it came outta the blue. I had a very difficult time deciphering if there was a hidden question or statement in his question. Here's my answer and I'm open to hearing your thoughts on the matter. No, I'm not starting a house church. However, I'm open to talking about these issues, praying for them, and trusting in the holy Spirit to come through and lead us. I worry about having this conversation though because so many people become hostile about it - so please, if you wanna comment... ask yourself if you're offended at me or because I hit a nerve or touched upon something you believe because it's what you always believed. Please open yourself up for questions and answering them honestly. Let me tell you one more story. When Annie and I dated she moved up to Rochester. She spent roughly a year hopping around churches because she had gone from a life in college where lives and faiths were naturally intertwined to a church on sunday life on the week. Now, part of that is just the switch from college to life. But, I know the lack of that aspect in her life was very frustrating for her and very difficult for me to watch as well. Her and I spent so much time discussing this and I was terrified when I left college that I would experience the same thing. Now, since then I know she has found community through her church but I still don't know if she's fully satisfied with the state of the church there - haven't talked to her in quite a while...would be a great story to hear. When I left college I had this deep fear that there is no way I could ever get to that point in my faith again. I feared the best time of my life had passed me by. Yet, this wasn't the case. I actually became part of a church that lived life in God in a way that blew off my doors. Not in terms of what I was getting - but in terms of the story God was playing out in these people to bless the world around them. People were naturally drawn to these people and you couldn't help but ministry to occur, the overflow of people's lives into the community was amazing. I worry about the way we're living our lives here in terms of church. I'm gonna stop her, but, if you'd like to comment - feel free...I'm always open to suggestions and stories. If you really wanna help, pray for our city and us as we seek to live the way Christ desires.
posted by andebos at 12:31 AM
8 Comments:
In this picture I've always wondered where these two are going with their coolers...into the Canadian Honker? not likely, back to the hotel? probably the best quess - because the only other place to go is in front of St. Mary's...and that, it's just kinda weird - but I've done it before. Finally, they are kinda old and when you're that age - you do what you want, when you want, and how you want....you dont need some kid who can't shave correctly guessing what you're doing with coolers. My second question - is how did they get into color when almost everything else is faded? Old people! weird!!
Hey man it was good to talk to you. I cant really answer your question its just yes they are old. - Talk to you later your brother Mike
I was pretty good in in our poetry unit in high school but unfortunatly this is not my work this is by Pete Yorn its called Turn of the Centry its really a great song you should download it- Your Bro Mike
You know that sort of looks like mom and dad with coolers
hhhhmmmm FORBIDDIN JR BACON CHEE
whaddup...okay the emergent church. i'm actually reading a book regarding the "missional church," which seems to be another label for the emergent church movement. i definitely like alot of what they have to say, and i find a pull in my soul towards this kind of "incarnational" ministry. relational ministry, outside traditional "church boundaries" has always been somewhat of a desire in my heart and a leaning of my giftings. i worry, though, that in the attempts to reform and change the church, there might be a tendency to "throw the baby out with the bathwater." that is, just leveling all that is good in the church. i think we can all agree that there is something quite broken about the current Western church and a total disconnect between church and mainstream culture. but i personally love the local church, and have a passion to see God move in it. the church is where i came to know Jesus and was discipled in the way of Christ. (i know, hard to believe, God can move in a traditional, united methodist church! shocker!) i have much more thinking do on this (understatement of the year)and the book to finish, more books to read, more people to chat with, more prayers to pray and more Scripture to search before i can come to any conclusions...if i ever can at all! these are just very initial thoughts. does that answer your question?
holy cow. Tyler...you just put into words what I have been wrestling with for the past 2 months. I agree with you, opening the conversation is the key. I am reading this book called "The Shaping of Things to Come," which I think I mentioned to you before. It talks about the missional church in the 21st century, especially the Western church. I like the questions the raise (they make me uncomfortable and they make me think.) However, they go to the other extreme in my opinion. Here is an example of what I am talking about: a quote that I struggle with..."We (the authors)start by confessing a great (and increasing) sense of personal disquiet about the spiritual health and viability of the Western spiritual and theological tradition. It is a tradition that has carried us to this point in history and left us more than a little spiritually bankrupt with no real success in the grand mission of God." Wow. That's a bold statement with which I have a hard time getting on board. It assumes that the way we do/or do not do church is the end-all, be-all to God's power to work in this world. He does not need the church to accomplish His will. He chooses to use us as a vessels, and knows we are broken ones. I think we need to think deeply how we can better situate ourselves to be used in a broken world. This is our task. It is NOT our task to accomplish the will of our heavenly Father. He does this through us, He is behind all the action. It might seem like semantics, but I see it as a question of ownership. If the Church (in whatever form it may be) is God's, then we are to be good stewards as part of that Church body, the bride of Christ. If the Church belongs to us, then it's on our shoulders alone to "get it right." (which we won't without the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit.) Does any of that make sense? I'm not even sure it does in my head yet. I'm like you, still thinkin and praying...
Actually it makes complete sense...I feel you can get a feel as to whether we are trying to own God, which then we are just fooling ourselves and who knows what it is we're controlling - or we are allowing ourselves to be owned and fulfill what it is God's calling us to do. As a people of God I hope we can realize our broken state and embrace it rather than try to control the world around us, for "when we are weak, he is strong," and maybe for the first time in history we can really be faithful to Christ. I liked what you had to say and I'll have to think of it more - let me know any other thoughts you have, love to hear them.
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