Category Archives: Missional

Sunday: Did we Find the Point?

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In my previous post “What’s the Point?” I asked some questions concerning what the point of the churches weekend worship gathering. I must clarify one thing first. I am not standing on the edge of a bridge ready to jump off, ready to quit church, and wipe my hands of it forever. On the contrary I see my future as starting new churches for people who will not walk into our current church doors. But as I’m working toward planting this church and as I’m making whole piles of mistakes planting the Renovatus church I’ve begun to notice that not only does most of society around us not think that church is important, but even a large number of Christ followers do not see the value in the churches long standing tradition of gathering on the weekend. I think this is a problem. And to even further the problem I look at what I spout off as my own answer to the question “what’s the point?” and I think that my answers do not resonate with either jaded Christians or unbelieving others.

Let me do my best in one short paragraph to summarize the discussion that happened in the comments of this blog (as it was cross-posted on Facebook)…There were many thoughts and ideas concerning whether or not there is any reason to gather on the weekend as the church is known to do. Some have done away with it and gathering with friends during the week instead. Others have done away with it in part due to the churches corruption. Still others have taken breaks from the gathering because of burn out or disagreements. All in all this aspect of the discussion was much less tidy, and for the most part reiterated the original question: is there any important reason to gather on Sundays? Some of the answers as to why we should gather or why it is important to gather together include that we gather together to be reminded that we’re not crazy, or if we are crazy at least we have other crazies in with us. Remembering we’re not alone is a big deal especially when you couch your understanding of Christianity within the idea of living out an alternative society in our world. Living alternatively just doesn’t work well unless you do it with others in community. We need to know that we have support, a safe place, and encouragement. In addition to being a transformed and unique community of people Scripture also talks about how in Christ we as individuals become a new creation. Could it be that the weekend gathering is a public and open way for us to express and profess this identity to ourselves, God, and others. In my smaller group of friends I generally (and naturally) am around people that I connect with more easily. In the larger weekend gatherings an odd smattering of people are brought together under one banner, for one purpose (ideally right?), all united even thought they are extremely different from each other. In that larger gathering our uniqueness, our oneness, our unity, our transformation is all being proclaimed. It must be noted, however, that all this cannot be said without identifying the fact that at different points in history the church has lost its voice, forgotten its unique calling, and has wandered into some fairly destructive behaviors. And while this is true and must be said, the underlying theme of this discussion is that there’s something broken (in either huge or subtle ways depending on your context) that needs renovation.

I personally do not have any sort of great exclamation point statements to add to the end of this discussion. I can, however, tell you some of the things I’m processing through. I think that it is essential to the Christians life to gather on Sundays. I’m not confident of why, and I’m not confident that the manner in which we do it fulfills this need, but I do believe that God has wired us in such a way to need that communal gathering. The people that talked about how worshiping together reminds them that they’re not alone might be enough to answer this question, though I’m still uncertain. I believe there is something crucially important to being a part of a bigger gathering that is not about “me” in particular but about the community calling out to God in one voice. In smaller groups and amongst close friends its generally always about me or you, but in those bigger gatherings it’s about us and Him. I think there’s something important to that. I think there’s something important about being challenged to live like Christ more deeply which often happens (or is intended to happen) through the teaching. While all teaching doesn’t match this, I think the idea behind the sermon/message is to equip you and challenge you to live differently. I’m sure this could be accomplished in different ways and through different mediums but I don’t think it happens very well unless its intentional. It is super rare for a group of friends who are hanging out to spontaneously open up the Bible in order to grapple with some of the deep theological ideas that might challenge our daily lives. Generally the only times those conversations “spontaneously” happen is when you’ve got a group of seminary students together.

That’s all I’ve got for now. I mean, I could throw some stuff up there about how God commands us to gather, but I think that’s a somewhat fruitless discussion. It’s like telling an alcoholic to “stop it”. Well duh! Of course he/she should stop drinking, if it were as easy as someone just saying “stop it. It’s bad for you.” then there would be very few alcoholics! It’s not just about what’s right or wrong, what we’re supposed to do and what we’re not supposed to do, it’s about the journey there, it’s about the purpose of it, it’s about the person behind the commands, etc. Also, there are many good practical or technical reasons why we should gather together as the church is known to do. It’s easier to gain momentum as a group, it’s easier to support mission work, ministries, and to help people. You can have a larger impact on a neighborhood or city as a larger group and can additionally be a place where people feel like they can visit without being known or whatever. But I consider all these technical/practical which are of great importance but by themselves do not resonate as much as the deeper theological and heart ideas that the two paragraphs above talk about.

How am I doing? Are we tracking? Do you disagree? Do I make sense? Can you teach me something?

Thanks for engaging in this dialog, may we all be sharpened and grow together!

peace.

Sunday: What's the Point?

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What’s the point of worshiping with the church on Sundays?

As I look at the world around me I see that question being asked by Christians and those who don’t call themselves followers of Christ. Maybe its not said like that, maybe its not said at all but is rather a lived out question. I’ve also observed that for Christians and “non-Christians” alike there is a general acceptance of the church when defined as a community of Christ followers. The idea of the church being a group of people journeying together in faith, trying their best to focus on Jesus, to die to self, and to live for the world is something most people can get behind. But I believe there has grown a disconnect between that idea and its Sunday expression.

So I ask again, what’s the point?

Let me tell you what the whole point cannot be. The point cannot be fellowship, because you can get that anywhere anytime. It cannot be anything technical like the music, because if we were honest we’d agree that music is nearly (and sadly) always better outside the church than inside. It can’t be anything connected to duty or obligation, because while those can serve a good purpose at times they are not the primary picture of discipleship that I see in Jesus’ life and ministry. Better descriptive words in Jesus’ ministry (than “duty” or “obligation”) are “invitation” “hope” and “opportunity” We get to go to church.

So let me rephrase the question: what happens on Sunday that is essential to the survival of a Christ follower?

OR

What does Sunday’s church expression offer what cannot be found anywhere else?

OR

How does the churches Sunday worship expression change the world?

SO…

…what’s the point?

The Freedom to Choose

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I know a missionary who after returning “home” to America from doing mission work in Africa for some 15 years found himself sobbing in the cereal aisle as he stood there by himself with so many choices he did not know what to do. Where he had been living for the last 15 years his number of choices for nearly everything was limited to one or two items. But all of a sudden he came face to face with the culture shock of have an innumerable number of choices for something even as mundane as breakfast cereal.

In our culture choice has become the new God. Supposedly* the worst thing we can do in our world is to not allow someone the right to choose what they want, when they want it, and how they want it. We are inundated not simply with options, but so many choices that we have even created theology where God is the ultimate chooser. Which job should I take, which dining set should I buy, which china should adorn our dining room table, what restaurant should we go to, which car should I buy…and we beseech the almighty God to make his will clear for our lives because the most important thing to us is that we do not choose poorly. This blog is not even intended to go into the debates that Christians have surrounded themselves with concerning choice: abortion, gay marriage, assisted suicide, health care, and I’m sure the list could go on.

But I want to pause here because I believe there is a hypocrisy in our culture concerning the illusion of choice. I do not know who is at fault, if anybody is, but I do see it and I do believe it must be addressed. You’ll notice earlier that I threw out the word “supposedly” concerning the freedom to choose. Because while this is an underlying assumption, while there is outcry over those those whose choices have been taken away or not allowed like gay or lesbians for example, we have become perfectly comfortable with a level of suppression that pervades our society. I see this in two ways.

  1. Those who are on the outskirts of society, the poor, the elderly, homeless, etc. have been told (in many different ways) that they have no power to choose. Statistically those who grew up in the system of poverty will stay in the system of poverty. Welfare is setup in such a way so as to create suckers, feeders of the system. You are not rewarded for finding work or trying to better yourself. Trust me, I could tell you a number of stories of people who have lost, for example, their food and health benefits from the state that totaled $500 because their income went up $300. What does that teach those in poverty? Don’t make more money! The major blessing for those in poverty with regard to welfare is to have more children ’cause you get more benefits! We shut up the elderly in homes so that we don’t have to care for them. We tell them that their value is in staying to themselves, playing bingo, and knitting afghans that nobody will use.
  2. I should have clarified my previous statements because I do not see this second thing as a suppression of choice but rather a perversion of choice. We have so valued choice in our culture that it is destroying us. Watch Jerry Springer for a moment and count how many times you hear someone say something along the lines of “It’s my body, I’ll do what I want.” or “You can tell me what to do!” Somehow our primary expressions of choice have brought addiction and oppression. Off the top of my head here is a list of things that have become regular in our society through the guise of choice: overeating, using chemicals to grow our food, destroying the earth through pollution, killing babies and damaging pregnant mothers, teenage pregnancy, sex trafficking, the myth of materialism…the list could go on for a long time! Our freedom to choose is killing us! No, seriously, that’s not hyperbole but its both an expression and very much a reality that our freedom to choose has become the thing that is destroying both our physical bodies our our emotional selves (not to mention the spiritual aspect of this that I believe pervades both the physical and emotional).

As I read the stories about the life and work of Jesus, however, I see him constantly empowering people for new choice. Yes, he helps people through physical healing, but it nearly always included a “Go and sin no more” clause at the end. In his teaching, like the Sermon on the Mount specifically, I see him teaching a bunch of down-and-outs that there is blessing in being poor in spirit, in being meek, humble, persecuted, desiring justice, and to be in a place of mourning. I see Jesus teaching a message that says that “you have the freedom to make new and healthy choices! The world tells you that you’re poor but I tell you that it’s actually a blessing to be poor in spirit because the kingdom is filled with them. The world gives you reason to be in constant mourning, but I tell you that it’s actually a blessing ’cause you’ll know comfort more than any others. The world has not shown you justice and so you therefore desire it above all else, but I tell you that this desire is a blessing because if you’re seeking justice you will find it!” I see Jesus taking those whose choices have been seemingly removed from them and he is giving them hope that they have freedom to choose even in the midst of their suffering.

At the church that Jessica will be planting in a year and a half we have crafted a core value that says:

Choice-God’s love is a gift that has not only transformed our future hope but gives us the possibility for restored lives today. Intentionally living out this reality is a gift that can be chosen by any follower of his. We are given the gift of choice.

But is this just one more choice in the midsts of a world inundated with choices? Is the choice to enter into kingdom living that eventually culminates in a clearly heavenly kingdom just one more choice in a world thats overrun with choices? Or is there something different about the message and the method?

Becoming Missional?

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This is cross posted from a website connected to my school program that I am in. We would love for you to be a part of the dialogue, for you to read up concerning what’s happening, and to journey with us in this. I wrote the following blog on that website:

The week before I left my wife, children, and the pacific northwest to fly to Rochester Hills, Michigan for our first one week intensive course as a part of Rochester College’s first Missional Leadership cohort I began to get nervous. What kind of people will I be in community with during this learning experience? What kind of learning will we be engaged in? What have I gotten myself into?! And what a generous blessing it was to be welcomed into our first classroom experience by Pat Keifert. As I attempted to explain to people connected to our faith community here in Vancouver, WA I said “You know the people that teach the people that usually teach us? He’s that guy! He supposed to teach my teachers…but he’s teaching me!” Once we walked out of the classroom experience and arrived home in our usual ministry context our heads were still spinning with information, questions, and the task of trying to understand this new framework that we left the classroom with. As I wrestle with all of this I would like to share with you briefly two ideas that have stuck with me and that are currently trying to find their place in my life and ministry.

The Mission Field
We must ask the question: do we believe that our western culture is a mission field? And if, as it should be, we answer with a resounding YES! then I believe we must follow up with some deeply disturbing and hope-filled questions and practices. I say disturbing because if you look up the definition you read ideas like “to interfere with”, “to break up the tranquility”, “to inconvenience”, and “to interrupt.” The reality my friends is that if we intend to be relevant to the world around us (not in some sort of trendy tattoos and gravely voiced worship leader type of way, but in the way that combines the messiness of the world with the transformation of the Spirit) our churches need to be interrupted, inconvenienced, and interfered with! I need MY regular routine interrupted, interfered with, and inconvenienced! We I must start thinking like a missionary. Some of you can share better than I how missionaries operate and what the implications of this is. But I would suggest that we need to start with a posture of listening to the world around us.

The Mission and the Church
I would like to share with you some of my notes. These notes have been directly cut and pasted from the file marked “Missional Church Notes”, these important and detailed notes were written during class, and they have not been altered in any way:
“The church doesn’t have a mission, the mission has a church. The church doesn’t have a mission, the mission has a church. The church doesn’t have a mission, the mission has a church. The church doesn’t have a mission, the mission has a church. The church doesn’t have a mission, the mission has a church.”
Rather than saying more about what I believe the foundation and implications of this is, I would love to hear from you. If, indeed, the church does not have a mission, the mission has a church; how does this change our values and behaviors?
peace.

Ryan Woods
Connections Minister
Renovatus Church
My Blog: downtown.renovatus.com

Are you Practicing Ramadan?

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So my brother-in-law Ben is practicing Ramadan for the next few weeks in Bellingham where he works as a pastor of the Sterling Drive Church of Christ. Intrigued? Enraged? Impressed?
Read the article that ran in the Bellingham Herald newspaper, read peoples responses, and also take time to read Brian Mclaren’s blog about why he is doing it. Are you comfortable with this?

Article about Ben: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/1045056.html
Brian Mclaren’s blog: http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/ramadan-2009-part-1-whats-going.html

Let me tell you my quick thoughts about the whole thing. Ben’s not a Muslim. He’s not even trying to agitate things or “stir the pot”. I think he is doing what he can to learn to listen to the world around him, to learn to listen to the people around him that Jesus loves and died for. Ramadan is a season of prayer and fasting, both of which are traditional Christian practices. It’s not as if he’s joining in with sacrifices or or pilgrimage or some sort of practice that all Christians should not already be doing. I’m impressed by what he’s doing and I’m looking forward to hearing his observations about it. It’s not a stunt in anyway, rather it’s a willingness to go to places that Christians have often avoided, to listen to people that Christians have often been unwilling to listen to, and an openness to feast with people that have been rejected in normal Christian circles. Take some time to read through the gospels and tell me that Jesus did not feast with the “worst of sinners”, that he wasn’t willing to go to places that were considered off limits to “good God fearing folks” (do some research about Caesarea Philippi), and that Jesus didn’t listen to those who were considered rejects by the religious elite.

peace.